How to buy a used car in Colombia

The procedure for searching and registering a car in Colombia is very similar to the Russian one.

Cars are searched via the Internet.
Main sites:
https://www.tucarro.com.co/ - duplicated on https://carros.mercadolibre.com.co
http://www.carroya.com/

There are weekend car markets in Bogota. We found our 2000 Mitsubishi Montero at Alamos Ventas De Carros. There are several other markets next to it. This place has the largest concentration of used cars in Colombia.
Как купить подержаный автомобиль в Колумбии

Documents for the purchase of a car

We have decided on the car, agreed on the price, and proceed to the documents.

In Colombia, the driver must have three of them:
  1. Tarjeta de propiedad — TCP and registration certificate in one;
  2. SOAP - compulsory insurance;
  3. Certificado de revisión técnico-mecánica - inspection.
Check the documents for a match between the numbers and the end date of insurance and inspection, as they do not need to be re-registered and they will be transferred to you. If the end date is just around the corner, it promises you additional expenses of $ 100-$ 300.
Before registering a change of ownership, it is necessary that all taxes are paid on the car, including for this year.
You can check the payment here: https://oficinavirtual.shd.gov.co/ConsultaPagos/ConsultaPagos.html

If the tax has not been paid for the current year, you can share it with the seller, according to the time that the car was owned by the seller and you. We bought the car at the very beginning of the year, so we paid in full for the whole of 2019, about $80.

Fines must also be paid, check here: https://consulta.simit.org.co/Simit/
Подержаное авто в Колумбии
Then we go to SIM (Servicios Integrales para la movilidad) together with the seller https://www.simbogota.com.co/
First of all, we register in the RUNT system.
Show your passport, smile at the camera, put your fingerprints on it. Half an hour of time, $5 of money and you're in the "club" (this can be done immediately upon arrival in Colombia).
We are preparing the documents for re-registration.
There are usually offices near the SIM office where they will fill out an application for re-registration and prepare a purchase and sale agreement (compra-venta). The issue price is $7-$10.

Special VIN prints, engine and chassis numbers are glued to the bottom of the compra-venta. They are done easily and quickly, with the help of specially trained people who also hang around the SIM office.
We submit the documents to the SIM.
The contract is signed on both sides and submitted to the SIM registration authority. If everything is OK with the documents, they will be accepted from you and they will tell you in how many days to come for Tarjeta de propiedad in your name.

If both the seller and the buyer are registered in the RUNT system of the same city, then the production time will take 1-3 days. If from different ones, then 10-15 days. You can track it here: https://www.simbogota.com.co/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=127

The state fee for the re-registration of used cars is $35
Calculation.
After you have accepted the documents in the SIM, the seller gives you the Tarjeta de Propiedad in his name (it is not picked up in the SIM and you can safely drive with it while waiting for the Tarjeta de Propiedad in your name), insurance and technical inspection. After that, you can drool and give the money to the seller.

We withdrew Colombian cash from banco pichincha ATMs (1,000,000 pesos at a time ($310) without commission from banco pichincha). Bank transfer can also be a working option. We use and rejoice https://transferwise.com/a/olesiab7.
Ready! By the way, you will still have the same number on the car as the previous owner had, because in Colombia the number is assigned once and for all. At first, the whole process seems like a whole quest. Actually, it's very simple.
Yes, most importantly, why buy a car in Colombia?

  1. If you plan to stay here for a long time or come here often.
  2. If you are going on a long trip to South America (as in our case). At the end of the route, it is easy to sell a car in another country by general power of attorney to the same traveler traveling in the opposite direction, for example, from Chile to Colombia or after making a circle back to Colombia.
Well, in addition, a post in Spanish about the re-registration of the car:
http://www.carroya.com/noticias/guias-de-compra-y-venta/como-evitar-enganos-en-el-traspaso-de-un-vehiculo-2086
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