If you read through the early posts, you know that Tracy and I bought a Toyota Noah minivan in Paraguay. There were many reasons to buy a car, but one of the more important long-term reasons is Tracy can use the vehicle for her tours, which will save money on transportation costs. The other reason was to use the car on our summer trip, which didn’t work out as planned. Rental cars are not an option as the companies do not allow their vehicles to cross borders, and apparently they track the cars with GPS to make sure they stay in the country.
The car buying journey was a most interesting one. It is more difficult for non-citizens to purchase cars in Paraguay. So, a business associate and friend of Tracy’s offered to purchase on her behalf, and then have her take the car (which we paid for) and use it. Apparently this is a common practice in Paraguay, even among citizens. The driver isn’t always the registered owner.
The cars have an interesting twist as well. It is common practice in Paraguay for used cars to be imported from Japan. Due to tight emission controls in Japan, it is difficult to keep a car for what we would consider it’s full useful life. There are no laws limiting how long a car can be active, but the older the car gets the more expensive the emissions tests and licensing become. So, at some point, it is cheaper to buy a new car than to keep driving an old one. Retired cars are exported to South America.
In Japan, cars drive on the left side of the road which puts the steering wheel on the right side of the car. In Paraguay, cars drive on the right side of the road. That’s a bit of a problem. Shops in Paraguay convert the cars by moving the steering wheels, pedals, etc from the right side of the car to the left side of the car. It’s a bit crazy. Not all of the controls wind up where you would expect them, including the shifter which can be on the left side of the steering wheel. But, I have to admit it’s a great car for the price and they have a good safety record.
The purchase process was in full swing at least a month before Tracy and I started our first trip in March. The car was ordered and the wait began for it to arrive in country and clear customs. Relationships and/or bribes come in handy here. Of course there is paperwork involved in the purchase and registration of a vehicle. Certain parts of that paperwork need to be processed before the car can be taken out of the country. Also, if anyone other than the owner is driving the car without the owner present, there must be proper paperwork (notarized) in the car naming the other drivers. Supposedly this last part is intended to stop car theft. If you are stopped for any reason, like driving without your headlights on, you must produce the proper paperwork.
So, why am I telling you all of this? In March, Tracy was planning to meet me in Uruguay with the car when I arrived on the 6th (which turned into the 7th due to weather delays). Even though multiple people in the process had indicated there would be no problem having the papers by the end of February, there was no paperwork by the time Tracy needed to leave Paraguay. Obligatory bribes and constant pushing had not worked their magic. The papers were awaiting government approval. So, we decided it would be better to have Tracy wait in Paraguay as the papers were coming “tomorrow”. Tomorrow came and went multiple times, so we eventually decided Tracy should fly down to meet me and kick off our trip. Her friend agreed he would drive the car down to Uruguay when the papers arrived, which he did one week later.
A common word, at least in Paraguay and Uruguay, is “tranquilo”. The literal translation is “quiet”, but it is used more in the context of “relax, don’t worry”,”be happy”. Tranquilo came up frequently throughout this process.
Will