What car do I rent in Argentina?

And why is the Toyota Hilux the best vehicle for Argentina?

Before we offered Toyota Hilux rental cars our rental car service for tourists in Argentina started with a couple of used, chassis closed 4×4 vehicles. For example, the Mitsubishi Nativa and the Nissan X-Terra. However, these vehicles are not manufactured in Argentina. Obtaining spare parts is expensive due to import restrictions. There are also regular problems with these vehicles. The air conditioning in the Nissan X-Terra is undersized. It often fails and has to be repaired constantly. Most European customers come to Argentina in the summer between October and March. Therefore, it needs good air conditioning. Because Europeans like to travel in the dry and hot regions. You will be grateful to have a working air conditioning system in the car in the heat.

Fleet of modern Toyota four-wheel drive vehicles

After the usual initial problems and experience gained, we have completely renewed our fleet. We now only offer the best vehicles in the 4 × 4 segment in Argentina. So the Toyota Hilux double cabin or similar high-quality vehicles.

The Toyota Hilux is currently simply THE vehicle for larger tours through Argentina and Chile.

The Toyota Hilux is built in Argentina (Zárate, Buenos Aires province). It is the best-selling pickup truck in Argentina. Therefore there are no problems with the procurement of spare parts. There are also official Toyota garages in every province. A garage stop is almost never necessary because the Toyota Hilux is an extremely robust vehicle. You drive comfortably at 130 km / h on the (few) motorways. And the diesel also runs smoothly at Andean altitudes above 4,000 m above sea level.

Small car cheaper but unsuitable

Of course, small cars like the Chevrolet Corsa / Classic (Opel Corsa) / Onix are much cheaper to rent. Such vehicles are only suitable for short journeys in the city.

Some of our European customers would prefer a closed SUV instead of a pickup. It is wrongly feared that luggage can only be stowed securely on the loading area. There is a closed version of the Toyota Hilux, the SW4. However, this model is so expensive due to a luxury car tax in Argentina that no one wants to rent this vehicle due to the resulting high rental price.

The Toyota Hilux pickup double cab has the best price-performance ratio

The pickup version of the Hilux with double cab gives enough space for 5 people. Only then must the luggage be stowed on the large loading area (cargo area). It is protected under a tarpaulin (“lona”). Most of the time, our customers are only traveling in pairs. The luggage is then stowed in the back seat without any problems.

We plan to purchase fixed loading space covers and possibly attachable cabins (“jaula”) for our Hilux fleet in the future. We offer these for an extra fee.

You can get anywhere by 4 × 4 or 4WD

Our small fleet of Toyota Hilux consists exclusively of the 4 × 4 or 4WD version. Not only do you get along in difficult terrain and on the Andean passes, you also don’t need snow chains in winter. Because some passes require snow chains for vehicles without all-wheel drive.

Another advantage of the Toyota Hilux is that it has a long range at over 700 km per tank of fuel. So you can fully enjoy your Argentina tour. With a tank you can e.g. from Cordoba to Buenos Aires or Mendoza. And diesel is everywhere. In fact, cheaper in Patagonia, because the diesel is subsidized because of the huge distances.

Conclusion: Do not rent a small car for a tour of Argentina! Better not do that to yourself! Ultimately, just to save a few euros or dollars. Better rent an adequate vehicle right away to enjoy the great landscapes of Argentina with pleasure. The Toyota Hilux double cab is the first choice!

Do I need an international driver’s license in Argentina?

Is my European or American driver’s license valid in Argentina?

Australian driving license valid? Canadian driving license valid?

If you come to Argentina as a tourist, you can drive a car with your national driver’s license for the duration of your tourist stay. An additional international driver’s license is not mandatory, but it is useful. The international driver license is held in several languages ​​and can therefore be read by a “village policeman”. In fact, an international driving license is only valid in connection with a national driver’s license. This is foolish, but unfortunately a bureaucratic requirement. In addition to your international driver license, you also have to bring your home driver’s license with you and keep it with you. Driving with a national driving license and the international driving license is only valid in connection with the national one? You naturally ask yourself immediately: What is the international driving license good for? If someone has an explanatory answer, please email us.

If you are not a tourist or not any longer one, e.g. because you received a long-term work permit or the permanent residence, then you have to get the national driver license of your jurisdiction. This is the Municipalidad of your home address in Argentina. The national driver license in Argentina has a validity period of 3 or 5 years. You can choose the validity and the only difference is the fee.

Conclusion: with an international driver’s license + national driver’s license you are driving on the safe side.

P.S. The “safe” side is the right side in Argentina, because there is right-hand traffic in Argentina. Read our blog post on the Argentine traffic regulations.

Traffic rules in Argentina

Before you contact a car rental company in Argentina, rent a car there, and then drive through the pampas, you should familiarize yourself a little with the obscure traffic rules. The written and unwritten laws. Here is a short list with the most important differences to European traffic regulations:

• Turning left is not desirable at beam traffic intersections with oncoming traffic without a left turn arrow! Only if there is a left-turn lane with a left-turn traffic light.
• Argentines use the hazard warning lights to park and stop.
• Stopping is also indicated by hand signals with the arm held out of the window.
• Outside the cities, dipped headlights must also be switched on during the day on country roads and motorways.

Here you can find the traffic signs of the actual traffic rules in Argentina.

Speed limits

Speed ​​limits:

• Downtown on Avenidas: 60 km / h
• In urban areas on normal roads: 40 km / h
• At unlighted intersections: 30 km / h
• Country roads (cars, pickups, motorcycles): 110 km / h
• On country roads (minibus, motorhomes): 90 km / h
• Country road (truck, caravan as trailer): 80 km / h
• Expressways (cars, motorcycles): 120 km / h
• Motorways (cars, motorcycles): 130 km / h
• In front of schools, sports centers and places with high public traffic: 30 km / h

Seatbelts and hazard lights

• In Córdoba city, children under the age of 10 must be seated in the back seat
• Seat belts are mandatory for all vehicle occupants
• Blinking left warns the following vehicle not to overtake because cars are coming
• Flashing to the right indicates to the following vehicle that it is safe to overtake

Alcohol limits

Allowed blood alcohol content / alcohol limit

• Motorists over 21 years old in Córdoba city: 0.4 gr / l
• Motorcyclists: 0.0 gr / l !!!
• for drivers of trucks with trailers in Córdoba city: 0.0 gr / l
• Drivers of trucks up to 3.5 t without a trailer (Categoria C) in Córdoba city: 0.2 gr / l
• Taxi drivers, remises, bus drivers, ambulance / fire engine drivers in Córdoba city: 0.0 gr / l

Other traffic rules

• “U-Turn” is never allowed
• Can I turn left at unlighted intersections? Yes.
• The car can be towed when driving without a license
• The driver’s license category B (category B) corresponds to that of a car driver’s license
• The category A driving license corresponds to that of a motorcycle license
• Can I drive a motorcycle with a car license? No.
• In one-way streets you can only park on the left side if this is explicitly signposted
• It is mandatory to have a valid insurance policy with you when driving
• When parking, keep a distance of 5 m before intersections / pedestrian crossings and 10 m before and after bus stops
• Parking is prohibited in front of garage entrances (also in front of your own garage!)
• Parking is prohibited before the entrance to “Playas” (parking lots), even at night when they are closed
• You shouldn’t actually park cars on the street to offer them for sale
• Towing is not permitted with a tow rope, but only with a fixed tow bar
• Washing cars on public roads is prohibited
• You can only park in the caravan or trailer on paved streets for the night where this is indicated
• There is no overtaking on bridges, in tunnels, in curves, on intersections, on level crossings
• Intermittent red traffic light indicates “STOP”
• When parking you have to keep at least 50 cm distance to the next vehicle
• Helmets are mandatory for motorcyclists and riders
• Mopeds / moped drivers under the age of 18 may only drive alone
• A taxi driver and Remisero are not allowed to drive in shorts and slippers even in summer
• A “remis” (green radio cab) driver must not pick up passengers on the street
• Remis drivers must not have a passenger with them during the day
• A remis driver may only take 3 other passengers with him at night

Here are a few Argentinian specialities from your car rental company

“Living parking meters”, so-called “winkmen” or “car watchers” are annoying. Some of these are urban job creation measures. Mostly, however, only self-created “jobs” with no discernible benefits. Wherever there is a lot of public traffic with cars (in front of banks, clinics, in city centers, in front of discotheques, pubs, etc.) these “Naranjitas”, “Trapitos” or “Chargemen” charge you for parking. Therefore always keep small change. The naranjitas or trapitos have recently been banned for charging “compulsorily” for parking. This is only allowed in designated areas. Nevertheless, they still hang around everywhere. As a result, self-proclaimed caretakers are of course more or less allowed to receive something voluntarily.

The eternal windshield cleaners are no less annoying. They jump in front of the car all the time and start unasked with their imposed service. There are also salespeople who lurk at every corner or traffic light. Or the unskilled juggling artists, fire-eaters and other acrobats who celebrate their unprofessional performances on hot asphalt. Therefore, you should always have a sack full of small change with you to warmly feed all these highwaymen.

Water bottle on the roof of a parked car

Why do parked cars often have a water bottle or similar on the roof? Argentines let other Argentines know that the fair vehicle is for sale. They cannot sell the cluncker to a foreigner, because the (stupid) foreigner usually does not know what the water bottle actually means…. Man, why don’t they just stick a note on the windshield with some grateful information, such as the price or a phone number ?? Because if a potential buyer is actually interested in the rust bucket under the water bottle, he often desperately searches for the seller.

EU citizens can easily travel to Argentina with their valid passport for 90 days. If you want to stay longer, you can have this tourist visa extended for another 90 days by a foreigners’ registration office (Migraciones). In the end, the administration fee was the equivalent of around 50 euros.

* Note: Migraciones actually has 2 stamps: once with 90 days (90 dias) and once with 3 months (3 meses). This is a difference! Because 3 months are not necessarily 90 days …

As a rule, a border official stamps an entry stamp in your passport with the date and the note “90 días” or “3 meses”. Also the abbreviation “TA” for tourist (turista).

Instead of wasting a lot of time at Migraciones to extend the tourist visa for another 90 days, it is easier to leave the country briefly before the first 90 days have expired. Then you can enter Argentina again. This automatically reissues a tourist visa for 90 days or 3 months.

Conclusion: Rent a car in Argentina and max. drive around in Argentina for 89 days. Finally cross the border on the 90th day at the latest. For example with a spectacular trip through the Andes from Mendoza to Santiago de Chile. Or cross the huge Rio Paraná to Uruguay. Finally return to Argentina after a few days.

* Remember the weather when crossing the Andes, because the passes are often blocked due to snow …

Buying a car in Argentina?

Can you just buy a car in Argentina for a few months and then sell it again?

Why is it so difficult to buy a car in Argentina? Driving around with it and selling it again at the end of the trip? Better to buy an old car than to rent an expensive rental car for months at a car rental company …

Buying and selling a car: difficult in Argentina

In other countries such as Australia or the USA, it is very easy for foreigners to buy a car. It is also cheap and worth buying a cheap, used car for a few months. You can use it to drive through the country and just sell it again at the end of your stay. There are e.g. in Australia even car dealers who end up buying the same car back without any problems.

Not so in Argentina. And not in other, surrounding countries in South America either. Cars, and especially used cars, are very expensive in Argentina! You can only get a reasonable used car from around 5,000 Euros / US$.

Car registration complicated in Argentina

But this is not the real problem. Rather, it is very time-consuming and bureaucratic to have the car registered. After all, a tourist wants to quickly buy a car and then drive it. And doesn’t wait for weeks for the “tarjeta verde” (vehicle registration), the insurance policy (póliza de seguro) etc. As long as you don’t have the final vehicle registration in your pocket, you can drive around. But it is better not to leave your own province. A border crossing with the vehicle, e.g. to Chile is impossible.

The act of vehicle registration is not only time-consuming, but also very expensive. In addition, documents must be provided to the “registro de automotores” that a tourist cannot normally provide (e.g. tax certificates, CETA). A tourist also has no permanent residence in Argentina. Where should the entire correspondence, e.g. from the insurance, the motor vehicle tax of the Municipalidad (patentes) and the Province (rentas) are sent? Especially since some payments have to be made monthly, e.g. the Municipalidad and the insurance company. For an automatic payment you need to have an Argentine bank account with automatic debit installed (débito automático). Or a national credit card such as the Tarjeta Naranja.

Garage / indoor parking space for car necessary

And where does the tourist leave his car? At night on the street ??? So you have to rent a garage / an indoor parking space … The risk of theft is otherwise quite high. And to deal with the insurance, the registration office and the police for months in the event of theft … an endless hassle for a tourist.

Car sales are also time consuming

Selling the car at the end of the trip is also not easy. Even if you have found a buyer, transferring the vehicle to the new owner is again a bureaucratic act like when you bought it. Here, too, the seller must be there personally and help. And if at the end you get a bunch of pesos in the hand of the buyer, what do you want to do with the pesos ??? Maybe then there will be currency restrictions again and you can’t just exchange the pesos for Euros or US $… ..

Conclusion: Due to the huge amount of time and the associated costs for a tourist, it is not worth buying your own car in Argentina for a few months. It’s much, much easier and, in the end, even cheaper to simply rent a car from a car rental company for your duration in Argentina!

Why are rental cars in Argentina relatively expensive?

Why is it so expensive to rent a car in Argentina?

Surely you have already searched for cheap rental cars in Argentina but found few offers. Surprisingly rental cars are expensive in Argentina!

All-wheel drive vehicles, SUVs or 4 × 4 in particular have their price in Argentina. Not because overpriced tourist prices are made here. But because there are specific reasons for this in Argentina. We also started and offered much cheaper cars. Until we were caught up in the high Argentine costs. Here we show you why it is relatively expensive to rent reasonable vehicles in Argentina. Expensive car hire in Argentina has its reasons.

The top 10 reasons why rental cars are relatively expensive in Argentina.

• New cars like used cars are more expensive than in Europe
• Taxes, duties and fees are higher than in Europe.
• Loans are much more expensive than in Europe
• The condition of the roads is much worse than in Europe, so more repairs
• The distances are huge and the mileage is much higher than in Europe, therefore increased wear
• Spare parts, especially imported ones, are more expensive than in Europe
• The rental market is much smaller, the season is limited to summer
• Insurance is more expensive than in Europe
• There is a property tax in Argentina, which also includes cars
• Cars have to go to technical revision every year, pickups even every 6 months

There is an urban and a provincial vehicle tax (patentes + rentas).

Value added tax (IVA) is high (21%). There is gross sales tax (Ingresos Brutos). Additionally the profit tax (Ganancias) is higher than in Europe.

Everything related to cars is expensive in Argentina

… .. everything, but also everything to do with cars and transport, is heavily cashed in Argentina. By the always clammy municipalities, provinces and the state. Buying / selling a car and transferring it is hell of a bureaucracy. And also an economically damaging waste of productive time.

A car registration in Germany takes about 15 minutes. You only need the insurance code and it does not even cost € 50.

In Argentina you can’t do it in one day. Because first you have to do a “verificación policial” (takes several hours waiting time). The engine number and chassis number are compared for the umpteenth time on the same vehicle. The windows have to be engraved, as well as various other car parts. You have to buy countless documents. And at least an entire morning is spent in the “Registro de Automotor”. All the fun costs around a month’s wage. Nevertheless the new vehicle registration certificate will only come in 2 weeks. To get it you have to go back to the “Registro de Automotor.” Improvements are coming slowly with digitalization.

Compare the prices for 4 × 4 all-wheel drive vehicles in Argentina! Quickly turns out that Facilrent with its car rental Argentina is one of the cheapest providers.