Bank loans in Ecuador
Finances and banking can sometimes be a headache for many expats, especially when it comes to taking out bank loans.
Is it difficult for an expat to get approved for a bank loan in Ecuador?
What are the types of bank loans available for expats (mortgage/bonds; business loans; car loans; personal loans; student loans)?
What are the general conditions for expats to take out bank loans (interest rates; timeframe to repay loans, etc.)?
Which bank in Ecuador is the most popular or accessible for expats regarding loans?
Would you normally require the services of an accounts manager at the bank in order to facilitate the process of taking out a loan? Is this service free of charge?
What would happen in the case of an unpaid loan if you have to repatriate back to your home country or move somewhere else?
Are there any other options for loans aside from the bank in Ecuador, such as taking out a loan from your bank in your home country, or other types of companies not affiliated with banks, that give out loans?
Thank you for sharing your experience.
Priscilla
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My husband and I want to get a car in Ecuador.听 We don't have the cash to pay for it right now.听
Can we get a bank loan in Ecu? How are the interest rates?听 It would be paid off in a year or two at the most.
Any information would be helpful!
Thanks,
Robin and Joel
I can't speak to the experience of buying a car in Ecuador, but I can say that major car dealers (Toyota, Kia, chevy,etc} advertise financing.
I can't speak to the experience of buying a car in Ecuador, but I can say that major car dealers (Toyota, Kia, chevy,etc} advertise financing.
I just choked on my tea.
I wonder if getting an unsecured personal loan before leaving the USA would be possible?
An additional reason for me to take the bus and Uber
Now, as for Uber, taxis and buses - for a couple, it eventually gets old. This is such a gorgeous country and the best way to enjoy it IMO as a couple is with a car, and preferably an SUV.听
In Quito, going down to the valley for a Sunday drive for brunch or a caf茅 is beautifully scenic.听 So, IMO the benefits are significant for couples.
But the rates are what they are and buying a car is expensive in Ecuador. First, we have to deal with car prices being as much as 50% more expensive than our neighbor Colombia, case in point is Chevrolet Cruze which starts at $22,900 there and starts at $33,900 here then we have these exorbitantly high rates.
So when someone makes a claim that cost of living is cheap. That claim is rather ignorant because it鈥檚 not reflective of cost of living in Ecuador. It reflects their lifestyle.
For a person to be objective they have to view prices for everything, and not just bananas, tomatoes and returnable Pilsenser beer bottles.
In doing so, the true cost of living is known. Cars are not cheap, apartments in Centro North Quito and elsewhere are not cheap, and quality schooling is certainly not cheap.
Quality clothing, footwear, grooming products, computers, cell phones, and stuff for hobbies are also not cheap at all. Imported beer, many kinds of food items, mid-range and high-end restaurants are not cheap especially when comparing to neighboring countries.
Interest rates are merely just one more thing that is not cheap.
lebowski888 wrote:I can't speak to the experience of buying a car in Ecuador, but I can say that major car dealers (Toyota, Kia, chevy,etc} advertise financing.
I paid cash in Quito (via overseas bank wire) for my 2016 Chevy Sail, so I didn't do intensive research on car loans.
I would be surprised if an Expat could get a car loan secured only by the vehicle, regardless of what the billboards are supposedly offering.听 If the car was theoretically totaled, the lender would be SOL (out of luck).
A related (though probably moot) issue is that new arrivals usually have no credit history in Ecuador.
cccmedia
Colombia has a benchmark 4.25, and Peru has a benchmark 2.5.
But I am still bummed I can't import my Lexus to Ecuador. I do love it. Though that car would probably make me a constant target for kidnapping.
lebowski888 wrote:When the time comes for me to get a car, I'll do what I've always done: buy a quality car model as recommended by consumer reports, buy low mileage used and pay cash.听
But I am still bummed I can't import my Lexus to Ecuador. I do love it. Though that car would probably make me a constant target for kidnapping.
There isn't an entity like carfax that compiles service records.
I'd never get a used car in Ecuador for this reason and also because cars only depreciate about 7% a year at most. This includes the first year.
Used cars are expensive here, and considering the bad condition of many roads, and the flooding?
Hey, I don't know how they were driven or how many real miles.听
Thank you, but no thank you to used cars.
vsimple. wrote:There isn't an entity like carfax that compiles service records.
Used cars are expensive here, and considering the bad condition of many roads, and the flooding?
Hey, I don't know how they were driven or how many real miles.听
Thank you, but no thank you to used cars.
Excellent points that are peculiar to Ecuador. I hadn't considered that.听 The听 system for VIN checking, accurate titles, etc. is non-existent. I'll keep that in mind when I need to look for one. Maybe the laws will change by then, anyhow
cccmedia
lebowski888 wrote:vsimple. wrote:There isn't an entity like carfax that compiles service records.
Used cars are expensive here, and considering the bad condition of many roads, and the flooding?
Hey, I don't know how they were driven or how many real miles.听
Thank you, but no thank you to used cars.
Excellent points that are peculiar to Ecuador. I hadn't considered that.听 The听 system for VIN checking, accurate titles, etc. is non-existent. I'll keep that in mind when I need to look for one. Maybe the laws will change by then, anyhow
It鈥檚 alright, and yeah things are different here. We all learn new things every day, and it鈥檚 better when info is shared. With buying cars here, it鈥檒l ultimately end with getting a much lesser car for the price.
But speaking about the law, there are some exceptions with lower taxes. Hybrids are exempt for some taxes including sales tax (12%). So something like a Kia Niro is about $28,000. Unfortunately, there aren't many cheaper options and cheapest I believe is Hyundai Ioniq which costs about $25,000.
With the engines they have, I would get something cheaper.
My husband and I need to buy a car or truck.听 The taxies don't like to drive up the mountain to our home and I don't blame them.听 But walking down the mountian is not so good either.听 We are going to build a new road to make it easier.
We go back and forth now from the USA to Ecu.听 I am a retired teacher and he is going to work for one more year for a big company.
We take taxies and buses and that is fine.听 We also go with our Ecu neighbors on the mountain.听 We have become familia!听 They have helped us out in many ways!听 It has always been good!
One more year and we will live there permanently.听 We are so ready to move but things have to get finished up here first - USA.
Thanks,
Robin and Joel
MikeJosha wrote:I put my money in听 real estate ... apartment in Ba帽os, house in Ba帽os, farm in Palora, and three properties. We average 10% income, and I do occasional building partnerships with local builders, at 20% return plus capital per 120 days. I am not smart, but find Ecuadorian business pretty easy these past 12 years.
That's a fascinating post, Mikejosha.
You are modest and (I believe) much smarter than you think you are.
Most Expats would fall down a figurative hole if they attempted half of what you are obviously succeeding at.
----
Note to Expats:听 don't try this stuff unless Mikejosha has personally taught you his 尘茅迟辞诲辞蝉.
cccmedia
Austerity in full swing, apparently.
dumluk wrote:I've always, (at least here in latin amer) bought used cars with low mileage from local execs or burned out gringos/as and will continue to do so.
Good job, Dumluk.
Buying your cars from burnt-out Gringos and exiting execs is the best idea I've seen you post on this site.
Most Expats should probably do the same, but if they're not as savvy as you, they should consider 'buying used' from a dealership....
If a burnt-out Gringo rips them off in some way
听 听 听 they won't have any recourse.
cccmedia
cccmedia
This post has provided much information with so many comments. We have decided to wait and pay cash for a car/truck when we buy.听 A friend who is like family and has helped us in many ways, also Ecuadorina, will negotiate the price of what we want and then we will buy it.
We do need one due the area in which we live and we do want to travel.听 As a couple, a car/truck will make it easier.
Thank you everyone.
Robin
I bought new in 2016 -- yeah, yeah, I overpaid -- because of convenience, presumed dependability of the vehicle and because it was the first time I had bought a car in Am茅rica del Sur.
It has always run well, except that I had to have the embrague replaced twice, the first time for free, under warranty.听 I believe I am much improved at shifting gears while driving .. although the parts replacements don't exactly prove it.
What I was getting at, Dumluk, is:听 using your 尘茅迟辞诲辞, how do you find the folks you described as looking and living "like they take care of things" and who also fit the profile of desiring to sell a decent car?
cccmedia, currently in Lima, Peru
dumluk wrote:I have heard that new cars (at least new, maybe used) can be bought duty free in Iquitos, Peru.....Would you know anything about that? Of course you cant just drive them out of there...You have to put them on a boat and ship them to the closest port on the hwy sistem.......
Iquitos, huh?
So far on this Peru trip I have been in Lima with its plentiful casinos, tasty food and safe, Expat-friendly Miraflores district.听
听
I think of Iquitos, Peru, as a steamy inland jungle, a hotbed of shamans proffering their fancy ayahuasca potions and incantations
听 -- a bizarre and obscure fifth-dimension .. where a North American can appear and "disappear" amidst unusual dreadlocked company.
Go to Iquitos to buy a car and ship it to some more-civilized port to save a thousand dollars or even more by evading/avoiding a tax "duty"?听 Thus reinvesting some of the putative savings in car-shipment fees, a port fee plus insurance against damage during shipment....
All the time figuring out how and where to register the car, how to store it in Peru or wherever when the owner is away, paying the annual property tax on the vehicle, dealing with drivers insurance and licensing and half a dozen other 迟谤谩尘颈迟别蝉 I cannot even foresee.
----
I'm all for legally gaming the system when it comes to avoiding payment of a worldwide income-tax to a South American country .. or figuring out a workaround to sidestep an airline's onward-travel requirement.
But going to Iquitos, Peru, to buy a car
听 听 and then dealing with the ensuing 辫辞谤辩耻别谤铆补 ?
I don't see how it's possibly worth it.
So count me out.
In fact, count me as rejecting such a possibility
听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听
with 'extreme prejudice'.
听 --听 cccmedia in the Peruvian capital

听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听and me da igual听 if I don't hear about it again.
The casinos here in the capital are friendly.听 I haven't seen anybody on the staff sending FinCEN reports to the gaming authority when players win money.听 At my favorite casino in Miraflores, Lima, they open up a hot-food area at 8 p.m. (except Sundays) and give players a free plate of food in addition to the customary free-beverage service.
La Hacienda casino has signs up saying that over-betting can lead to 濒耻诲辞辫补迟铆补, which is a fancier word for gambling 补诲颈肠肠颈贸苍.
-----
Frankly, Dumluk, the hot humid weather in Iquitos will keep me from even considering a trip over there.
Thanks for giving me the earlier opportunity to craft a "colorful" post.
cccmedia in Miraflores, Lima
RobinJoel wrote:Hi All!
This post has provided much information with so many comments. We have decided to wait and pay cash for a car/truck when we buy.听 A friend who is like family and has helped us in many ways, also Ecuadorina, will negotiate the price of what we want and then we will buy it.
We do need one due the area in which we live and we do want to travel.听 As a couple, a car/truck will make it easier.
Thank you everyone.
Robin
Just be careful when it comes to "friends." Try to be more independent and not involve "friends" with purchases like cars. You can easily find out the price of a car by looking at the dealer's face book page as they often have monthly deals. Read some of the comments as well. This of course will require a level of Spanish.
Some offers are on a national basis and are something like free matricula or a free whatever.
The best thing about living in a new country is to actually do the stuff on your own. To actually learn and do it yourself.
This is of course my opinion and reflects generally to anyone interested in living in Ecuador.
@vsimple Another way to put it might be this - living like a middle to upper-middle class North American in Ecuador is not cheap.听 However, living like the typical Ecuadorian in Ecuador can be very inexpensive for a North American, especially if you get out of Quito, one of the most expensive areas to be.
if you are serious about money, and you avoid temptations like bar b que restaurants, Ecuador
is easy on the pocketbook...most folks live on less than $400 a month...a gringo can live well on $600 a month, including rent, cable, internet, food, wine.
Wow.听 Wish I had the lungs of a llama I鈥檇 move back. Anything looks cheap compared to California.
My daughter was born at home in Tumbaco. The copay was $200. Dr Celi passed away听 听That was a beautiful experience. It was all natural. 馃挄馃挋
saludos
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