Five Latin American markets on one table: age caps, mileage limits, duty and clearance ports.
Latin America is not one market for used-car imports. It is five separate rulebooks: the same vehicle that is legal in one country can be refused entry in the next, and the difference is rarely the car — it is the age cap, the mileage cap and the tax structure. This table puts the five markets we ship to side by side so you can pick a destination before you pick a car.
Chile generally prohibits used-vehicle imports for permanent circulation except through the ZOFRI Iquique and Arica free zones. Peru allows used cars up to 2 years old and 32,000 km, and bans used diesel. Ecuador allows up to 5 years old. Colombia prohibits used imports except antiques and returning-resident cases. Bolivia admits generally recent models, roughly 1 to 3 years.
Used imports generally closed; free zones only.
2 years and 32,000 km, checked separately.
5 years, but the tax stack decides.
Effectively new-vehicle only.
| Country | Used-vehicle age limit | Duty and tax | Clearance ports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chile | Generally prohibited for permanent circulation (Law 18.483, Art. 21); free-trade zones ZOFRI Iquique and Arica admit used units for storage and re-export | New: 6% duty + 19% VAT (IVA) | Valparaiso, San Antonio; free zones Iquique, Arica |
| Peru | Maximum 2 years from manufacturing date and up to 32,000 km; used diesel prohibited (D.S. 005-2020-MTC) | New: 9% duty + 19% VAT; used adds 30% selective consumption tax | Callao, Chancay |
| Ecuador | Maximum 5 years from model year for personal import | Used: 35% duty + 12% VAT + ICE + 0.5% FODINFA | Guayaquil, Manta |
| Colombia | Generally prohibited except antiques (30+ years) and diplomatic or returning-resident cases | New: 35% duty + 19% VAT + 8-16% consumption tax; NEVs preferential | Cartagena, Buenaventura |
| Bolivia | Generally recent models, roughly 1-3 years (confirm with Aduana Nacional) | EVs duty-exempt; other vehicles standard duty + VAT | Landlocked: transit via Arica or Iquique, then overland |
The five markets differ on three independent axes, and a vehicle has to clear all three.
The first is the age cap, and it is not uniform: Peru counts from manufacturing date, Ecuador from model year. A car near the boundary can pass one test and fail the other, which is why we verify the date on the document rather than on the listing. The second is mileage — Peru caps used imports at 32,000 km in addition to the 2-year limit, and those two are checked separately, so a unit that passes on age can still fail on mileage. The third is fuel type: Peru bans used diesel outright, so a diesel SUV that is otherwise eligible cannot be imported at all.
Reading the three together is what tells you whether a specific unit is shippable, not the headline age number alone.
Chile is the market most often misread. Used-vehicle imports for permanent circulation into mainland Chile are generally prohibited under Law 18.483, Article 21. What is open is the free-trade zone route: ZOFRI Iquique and Arica can receive used vehicles for storage and re-export.
That distinction changes what the vehicle is for. A unit entering a free zone is a re-export or regional-distribution play — it serves buyers further north and inland, in Bolivia and Peru — rather than a route into Chilean retail. Moving it out of the zone into the domestic market is a separate process with its own conditions, and it should be confirmed in advance rather than assumed. The 3CV approval process and the Euro VIc emission requirement are also updated periodically.
These two are the clearest cases where the age rule is not the binding constraint.
Ecuador admits used vehicles up to five years old, but layers 35 percent duty, 12 percent VAT, the ICE consumption tax and a 0.5 percent FODINFA charge on top. The ICE is banded by engine size and price and both it and FODINFA are adjusted by periodic resolutions, so the landed cost has to be worked out on the brackets in force on the shipment date. Colombia, by contrast, is effectively a new-vehicle market: used imports are closed apart from antiques and returning-resident cases, and the real decision is between a conventional new car and a new energy model, whose preferential duty and VAT treatment is granted by resolution and has been revised more than once.
In both, comparing FOB prices without the tax stack produces a misleading ranking.
Bolivia is landlocked, so every unit crosses a neighbouring country's port before it reaches the buyer: typically Arica or Iquique in Chile, or a Peruvian port. An inland leg has to be planned on top of the ocean passage, and a quote that stops at the sea freight understates the final landed cost.
The age limit is generally recent models, roughly one to three years, to be confirmed with Aduana Nacional. Electric vehicles are the standout line because of the duty exemption in place since 2021 — but that exemption has been extended and amended several times and applies by model and model year, so it is worth confirming it covers the exact year you plan to buy.
Age limits, duty rates and tax brackets are set by each destination authority and change by decree or resolution. Figures are indicative — confirm the current rules with the relevant customs authority or a licensed broker before contracting.
Send us the target country, model year, mileage and fuel type. We will confirm whether the unit fits the age and mileage limits in force and which route applies.
Age limits, duty rates and tax brackets are set by each destination authority and change by decree or resolution. Confirm the current figures with the relevant customs authority or a licensed broker before contracting.
