We Bought a Car

We are fortunate enough to have been able to borrow a car. We live approximately 10 minutes away (13km or 8mi) from the town where our business located so having a car is important to us. However, like all good things that come to an end, it was time for us to return the car and purchase one for ourselves.

There are several challenges when looking for a car. First, Robert and I needed a car with specific towing abilities. I like trucks, but since this car is going to be our only car for the foreseeable future, I was hoping not to have a truck and a full sized SUV, if possible. I was not sure whether or not this would be possible, but a girl can dream, can't she?

Ultimately we narrowed our list of desired vehicles we were searching for. The main car on our list was a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder, or newer. If that was not possible, we were hoping for an affordable Toyota Land Cruiser (not the Prado version), or a Nissan Armada (which we did not find out until later that those do not exist in Panama). If an SUV did not work out, our next options included a Toyota Tundra, or Nissan Titan. Of course, we had a specific budget we were aiming for also.

Another challenge is the language barrier. Robert and I are gradually getting better at our Spanish. Congratulations to us, we probably have the Spanish vocabulary of a 2.5 year old. The final (and scariest) challenge was finding a good car. There are no lemon laws here so many people take a trusted mechanic with them to make sure the engine is not going to fall out as you are leaving the lot. With a specific budget and a very specific list of cars, let the hunting begin.

Robert and I read quite a bit about what to expect when buying a car from Panama. Unless you buy a brand new car, it is likely your car is going to need some kind of work, whether it is new tires and an oil change, or something a bit more drastic. There is a place in Panama City where cars go to die and get reborn again. This isn't always the case, but I've also read it is not an uncommon practice.

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Yay, we are walking into a death trap and have a very narrow list of cars to pick from! This is the place where it is common for dealerships to turn back the miles on the car so they can get higher prices. My anxiety was high but what better way to be welcomed to the big leagues. May your Spanish speaking abilities serve you well!

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Hmm...maybe it wasn't that bad, but I was still on edge.Robert and I were hoping to be able to drive the cars, but we quickly saw that many car dealerships pack cars in like sardines, making it like one of those slide puzzle games to get the cars out. 

Robert had an idea of two dealerships that sold the Pathfinders we were hoping for. When we went to our first stop, the person did not speak English and we spoke limited Spanish. Luckily we can say "¿Tienes un Nissan Pathfinder?" "Do you have a Nissan Pathfinder?" was a very quick way to get our needs met. The first person said yes and had a driver take us to the body shop where it still needed a bumper. The car was nice but we wanted to see if there was anything else for us.

We went off to our next dealership, which looked like a mechanic shop. We asked the mechanic if he had cars for sale and told him what we were looking for along with our price range. All of this was in Spanish...very, very, broken Spanish. The mechanic said yes but to give him one hour. We thought we would continue to look around in the mean time. 

The mechanic we found seemed nice and eager to help. He said he found a truck for us but no Pathfinder. He tagged along with us to several other dealerships until we found the vehicle we ended up purchasing, which also happened to be one of the original dealership we were looking for.

I was hoping to have the mechanic look at the car to make sure nothing major needed fixed. The person who sold us the car was English speaking and said the mechanic wanted to change the oil and do routine work on it. No big deal considering. Plans to use our newfound mechanic did not work out and we ended up dropping him back off at his shop, unsure of exactly what condition our new purchase is in.

We have had the vehicle for about a week now. So far the only major things that the car needs include a brake light and we got the oil changed. We'll also need to get the tires changed eventually, but they will work for now. While this experience was somewhat stressful, and very overwhelming, Robert and I are both enjoying our new car. It has everything what we need and the dogs seem to like it (our big one keeps trying to jump inside for a car ride), which is another bonus.