Shipping a Car to Ecuador

It seems like we get this question daily: Can I ship my car to Ecuador? Unfortunately, the answer is NO, you cannot bring a vehicle to Ecuador unless you are a returning Ecuadorian citizen.

In fact, you cannot bring a car, truck, motorcycle, golf cart, or anything with a combustion engine that’s used for transportation. You are allowed to bring electric bikes and scooters with your household items, but not electric cars or golf carts.

The next question we often get is: How do those van lifers drive their vans to Ecuador if you can’t bring a car into the country? You are allowed to drive through the country and even tour around for up to 90 days. Then you need to leave.

You are required to register your car in Ecuador and pay the appropriate taxes. However, only cars that have been legally imported by a licensed dealer can be registered. If you attempt to keep an unregistered car in Ecuador and you get stopped by a police officer, your car could be permanently impounded.

Finally, Ecuador only has a limited selection of vehicle makes and models. For example, you cannot buy Buicks, Subarus or Telsas, and only a few models are available from Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Honda, Kia, etc. So even if you could bring a car to Ecuador, you may not be able to get it serviced.

If you’re a returning Ecuadorian citizen, you need to apply for a special program and meet specific requirements. The automobile or motorcycle must be shipped with your household goods, it must be less than 4 years old, and the price must be less than $32,000. There are also engine size limits.

For more information about this topic, check out this article next: Shipping Household Goods to Ecuador.

DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING WE GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH OUR LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU. PLEASE READ OUR DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

JP Stonestreet

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Hola todos! Welcome to my author bio page! Let's see. Where to begin... I grew up in the country on a lake outside a small Kansas farm town. As soon as I could, I got the hell outta there! Since then, I've lived and/or worked in Kansas City, Washington D.C., Denver, San Francisco, and Ecuador. I started and sold a dotcom, wrote a book about it, started a YouTube channel, and now I write a lot. Amelia and I have embraced the Unconventional Life and we want to help you do it, too!