That New Car Smell

Our new car awaits us in Uruguay. In April, on our last trip to Uruguay, we went car shopping. Considering where we will be living, out in the campo, we need a car. And, considering a new car in Uruguay is not necessarily something you drive off the lot the same day you purchase it, we started shopping early. Good thing we did.

After narrowing our choices to Volkswagon, Honda and Peugot, we decided on the Volkswagon Parati. Para-wha? The Parati is assembled in Brazil. I am not sure, but I think it is named after a town in Brazil. It is comparable to a Jetta station wagon.

Shopping for a car in Uruguay is nothing like shopping for a car in the U.S. First, the price is what it is. We visited about six dealerships and the price quoted was exactly the same at each one. Second, this may be different for luxury cars, but in our price range, you get what you get. We did not have a menu of options from which to choose to customize our ride.

Cars are expensive in Uruguay. For example, MSRP for a basic, manual transmission Honda Civic in Uruguay is $28,900. A comparable Civic in the U.S. would cost $10,000 less. That, and the fact that the only Honda dealer in Montevideo would be getting one Honda Fit in two to three months later eliminated Honda from our short list. It is not a common car yet and we do not want to stand out.

So, after deciding on the make and model we wanted, and choosing the color - choices were grey, and grey - we put a deposit of $1000 down on our car and went home. A month later it still was not in. Then it came in, in black. We decided to wait for the next delivery since we now had extra time due to postponing our move once. Meanwhile, the price went up, but the dealer honored our original quote. When it did arrive - after a small delay because of a general strike at the port - we wired half of the money to the dealer. Our friend Gloria paid him a visit to get confirmation that he received the money and to get the VIN number. Only after she confirmed the car was in the showroom and was ours did we send the balance.

Another note about buying a car in Uruguay, forget the test drive. That is a luxury you simply don't get. Again, maybe it is different with the luxury brands, but with the average car, you can look at it in the showroom, sit in it, and that's it. Dealers simply do not have the resources to keep a bunch of cars around. In fact, it is customary to pay first for the car, then the dealer is able to get it out of the port, then you get your car. You really have to trust the dealer, and that is something we are trained not to do in the U.S.