Planning a 12 month trip starting in June but getting buried by conflicting google information.

Would love to talk to folk who have done it already (have also asked on some travel forums but STW is always full of A1 info)

On the lower end budget say $5k for a vehicle which I appreciate will make it harder but it is possible.

Torn between:
-buy a vehicle in the US (we fly to miami initially) then Roll On Roll OFF for $500 from Costa Rica to Columbia

-Fly as planned miami-peru and buy a car locally- cars are more expensive and we don’t speak muchos spanish so will undoubtedly be a royal ball ache.

Have you looked at Horizons Unlimited? loads of info on there. What about Carnets?

thanks pigface, currently sifting through Drivetheamericas, will have a look there next

I would say:

1. Learn to spell Colombia. They will get arsey about it otherwise.

2. Buy a car in the US. Used old cars are FAR more expensive in South America and you can get something old but reliable for $5k in the US.

That said, expect to stand out if you do drive around in a car with US plates. You may have more trouble with both criminals and law enforcement.

http://www.mundoanuncio.com/ is a kind of South American gumtree, you could have a look what kind of cars your budget would buy.

Track down this book –

Chasing rainbows

I don’t know if it’ll be any use, but I’m quite enjoying Dara and Ed’s Great Big Adventure (Ed Byrne and Dara O Briain driving down the Pan-American Highway) on the BBC at the moment!!

Thanks folks, yes apologies my spelling isn’t the strongest.

Looking at gumtree equivalents, my budget isn’t going to buy very much at all in Peru. Love how many old VW beetles there are!

I’ve not driven it myself but have travelled mainly overland from Lima to Santiago. Surely a cheaper but local sourced vehicle which is in abundance (Vw bettle or water-cooled van\bus which are everywhere don’t know what they cost) has its advantages e.g. when it breaks it’ll be easier to get parts\get it fixed. As well as potential problems with a us plated car what will the odds be of getting bits for a newer American car in the likes of Bolivia? Just thinking out loud…..

It is more a motorcycle travel forum but have a look at advrider.com

Some brilliant south american rides there, I would imagine a lot of the information is relevant to both bikes and cars.

Cars are very cheap here , have you investigated buying here – you can at least spend some time sorting the vehicle out , and then shipping it to Miami ?
I would imagine driving on USA plates through South America would be asking for trouble at some point. UK plates and right hand drive would be fine.
You could then sell/abandon the car as you wish.

Hmm that is true, from reading travel blogs US folk tend to get a less loving reception.

I did think about the UK-S.A shipping but it is too expensive especially with import taxes.

Thanks all, lots to read up on!

Rent one?
http://www.avis.com/car-rental/content/display.ac?contentId=press-release-US_en-030441

https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/productservice/index.jsp?targetPage=euaffordableLA.jsp&leftNavUserSelection=globNav_3_5_1&selectedRegion=Latin%20America