PBH / colombia (travelguide, pictures) / post

The real price, not the gringo price

The alternator belt on my mazda 323 went this morning. Paid $8000 for the 75cm belt and $5000 for the taller to install it in which he needed all of 10 minutes to go buy the part and install it. I bought the mechanic a 600 peso tinto because it was cold and rainy as well. I think you need to pay a mechanic in the states $75 just to open the hood.

By spigrimace on Jan 9, 2008, 05:50 in Friendly Talkzone. AddThis Social Bookmark Button


LilaM says on Jan 9, 2008, 05:54:

That´s why Colombia is a Paradise... Lot of things well done and cheap.

"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don´t try" B. Sills

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vicshere says on Jan 9, 2008, 05:59:

agree spig.....just got my carburetor completely dismantled and rebuild....labor 40,000...that includes removing and reinstalling...the carburetor parts .....about 15,000...some needles and gaskets.....just took me car last week to NCT.....passed on the first run....cost 100,000 for the inspection.....not bad for a 1992 Mazda

listo

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Tinto (Moderator) says on Jan 9, 2008, 06:11:

I wish it was only $75 to open the hood. The shop rate where I go is up to $105 an hour. Recently I had two serpentine belts replaced (more or less the same repair you had done). Parts were $50 plus one hour of labor. Front brakes $500, *&^% P.O.S. plastic filler tube for the radiator $300, cam shaft sensors (two pieces of cable) $500, the list goes on...

I'm getting a horse.

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miamimike says on Jan 9, 2008, 06:30:

Spig, my Volvo mechanic would charge me about $35 for an AB change(simple) on my 740 Volvo wagon as its simple. I recall being dimed about $85 for a Serpentine Belt on my Chevey Astro van. I have to get a Fan Belt on changed on a Toyota Land Cruiser I am looking at buying so I will soon get a good idea of the price. BTW- In Colombia, how much would a good mid 90s vintage Toyota Land Cruiser(all-4- wheel drive) sell for in Colombia? I know it cannot be imported due to the Law, only 2008 year Vehicles with less then 10,000 miles, are eligible for import to Col.

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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tejasmarcos says on Jan 9, 2008, 06:37:

Miami Mike - I looked at a 97 Toy LC with the equivalent of 100k miles and it was around $17,500 USD. It was in great shape, 1 owner. I would say your range is about $14,000 - $18,000 USD here in Medallo for 93-97 with varying mileage.

When I compared with Autotrader, the prices were pretty similar, with maybe a 5-10% increase for the Colombian counterparts. The big difference was that the models here were basic with cloth fabric and standard transmissions as apposed to the USA where fully loaded leather models were the norm.

trying to walk a straight line on sour mash and cheap wine...

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MitchAlvarez says on Jan 9, 2008, 06:40:

thats not the only thing cheaper in colombia. lol ask elmo!!

"Ingrid callate la jeta!! Stay in France"

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tomtom33 says on Jan 9, 2008, 07:46:

Luv that new avatar, Mitch.

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MitchAlvarez says on Jan 9, 2008, 08:10:

not quite as hot as yours but she was dynamite let me tell you. lol

"Ingrid callate la jeta!! Stay in France"

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expatriate says on Jan 9, 2008, 08:11:

California, 2004 - Rotate and balance the tires - $52
California, 2004 - Four wheel alignment - $180
Cali, 2007 - Rotate and balance the tires, and four wheel alignment - 20,000 Pesos

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tomtom33 says on Jan 9, 2008, 08:12:

Let's work a trade. I live for variety.

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miamimike says on Jan 9, 2008, 08:18:

Tejasmarcos--the Land Cruiser my neighbor wants to sell looks like the one in eBay Link Below ; his is a 93, same color but the Hood and roof paint faded due to setting out in the Florida Sun for a few years. He HAS to sell it as he is out of Town otherwise he is calling a Tow yard/Junkyard company where he will sign the Title over the Junkyard and have them Tow it away. It hasn't been started in 2 years but I beleive it will start with a New battery, new gas and Alternator Belt. Has a $2000 Speaker/Amplifier/Stereo system with speakers the size of My Microwave in the storage area backspace. maybe I'll offer him $400 and see his response. LOL

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=37000891...

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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joetexan says on Jan 9, 2008, 08:44:

Cars are extreme expensive in Colombia compared to the U.S., but repairs are extreme cheap. I could probably sell my 93 BMB 525 in Texas for $1,500.00, if that much. I bought a 2004 Mazda Allegro in Bogota for $13,000.00. On the other hand, I need to have the head replaced on my BMW in Texas and the repair cost $5,000.00. Way more than the care is worth.

I have lived in my apartment in Bogota for more than a year, and just now I met for the first time my neighbor. He is an OB-GYN and native Bogotano. At 10am, he insisted I have a few wiskeys with him and invited me to spend a week hunting with him next month in Los Llanos. He has a collection of about 30 rifles and loves to hunt. I think he is interested in buying a finca in Los Llanos and suggested that maybe we could split the cost. Listen to this: 5,000 hectares (10,000 acres) for $150,000.00 U.S. That is a Texas size ranch.

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Tinto (Moderator) says on Jan 9, 2008, 08:47:

What the good doctor didn't tell you is that you'll be hunting FARC and AUC.

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LilaM says on Jan 9, 2008, 08:49:

ajajajajaj tinto

"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don´t try" B. Sills

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miamimike says on Jan 9, 2008, 09:05:

Exactly what do they hunt in Los Llanos? No girly commnets please. When you say Rifles, it makes me wonder. INow if you said that about a Doc in Chile or Argentina where they have a great varietyof everything from Birds to Big Game I could understand. I just never heard much about Hunting in this day and age in Col. I suppose some well heeled Sports could lease a large tract of Land and stock it with some exotic Game but if thats the case, its not well publicized.

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Jan 9, 2008, 10:47:

JoeTexan, maybe that's the same ranch that my friend had to sell to the FARC for $1 about 15 years ago.

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joetexan says on Jan 9, 2008, 12:26:

Well Hollywood, maybe. I was certainly taken by surprise when the Doc invited me to see his library, pulled back some drapes over the wall, and there were about 30 hunting rifles and a dozen pistols hanging on the wall. He said he used to be military and has a way of buying guns. Also, the mounted heads of two ugly animals that look like huge warthogs. He said there is a type of rodent, the largest rodent specied in the world, about the size of a large dog, that he hunts in Los Llanos. Also, wide boar, rabbits, and several species of ducks.

I asked him about the security because I have heard Los Llanos is the primary stomping grounds of the FARC and he said that it is has not been a problem for the past five years. I have never had a desire to own property in Los Llanos, but damn! He is talking 5,000 acres for 75 grand U.S. Oh well, don't want to live in a bunker.

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Tinto (Moderator) says on Jan 9, 2008, 12:42:

Some of Colombia's records are digital and world class, others are stuck in the days of viceroys and quill pens. If land records are digital, seems like it would be easy for the government to do a search for outrageously low prices, go find the buyers, and kill them. ;-)

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jonas says on Jan 9, 2008, 14:50:

but for land that doesn´t look like your Texas-farm-ready to put the seeds in the ground- but a piece of jungle with it´s quebradas and such, the price seems to me very reasonable. And about the hunting invitation, sure there´s wildlife here, just a little limited. If you want to read a great adventure story from the 50s I believe, read "mi alma se la dejo al diablo" de German Castro Caycedo. A true story about some guys building a finca in the deep jungle to get gringo hunters to visit from abroad. They even go hunt "original geezers". About 40 of 42 people lose their lives during this adventure. Just ask your neighbor about the book. And when you´re finished reading it your Colombiano is about perfect and there will be at least 3 hijoeputas in any 4 word sentence :-)

What I have, I do not want to lose, but Where I am I do not want to stay, but those I love, I do not want to leave, but those I know I no longer want to see, but Where I die, I do not want to go;I want to stay where I have never been

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aztec says on Jan 9, 2008, 19:10:

I know some people who used to fly from USA to Cali in their private planes for bird hunting. Obviously it was long before the area became so unsafe. Also the time was before Anti Americanism became in vogue with the leftist pseudo intelligentsia.

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