How To Ship Your Car to DR 🇩🇴

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In this edition of the Grubernation Weekly Newsletter:

• How To Ship Your Car to DR 🇩🇴

• I’d Drive Across Dominican Republic for These 3 Meals

• Reporter DESTROYS Dominican Republic - And Then Gets Owned!

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How To Ship Your Car to DR 🇩🇴

You’ve been waiting for this and here it is!!

Here’s what I’ll share in this article:

• Cost of shipping and taxes

• Process and contacts we used for shipping

• Process and contacts we used for customs in DR

• Biggest challenges we faced

• Why we shipped vs purchasing in DR

Let’s get to it!

COST OF SHIPPING AND TAXES

As I lay out the numbers below, please remember these figures are for a 2020 Honda CR-V - value of vehicle determines the tax (the contact in DR that i’ll provide can quote you based on your vehicle)

I’m going to give you a full checklist including key contacts for every step. Save this image below. I’ll break it down with essential details below.

PROCESS AND CONTACTS FOR SHIPPING

We used a company in the US that we did NOT like at all.

They attempted to get our vehicle on a date we told them it wasn’t available and then spiked the price when having to come at a later date.

My wife battled with them to get the price down to $800 or so but we weren’t happy.

The contact listed, Luis, was the driver/trucking company that the company we did not like used .. and HE was great.

Feel free to attempt to contact him directly. I have no idea where in the country he ships from or if he’s only midwest. But he’s who we had and who I can recommend.

I’d mention Silvia Gruber as the contact that referred him. We get NO compensation for this to be clear, so I only say to use her name as a point of reference if he needs it.

Once our vehicle got to Ft. Lauderdale, it’s important to note a few things:

1. The drop off point in Fort Lauderdale is only open week days until 3 pm

2. If your vehicle arrives outside business hours, it’ll sit outside unguarded until they open again - so be mindful of shipping dates and timing your vehicles arrival

3. There was an $80 fee (included in the pricing above) to essentially move the vehicle around the yard 🤷🏻‍♂️

Once in Fort Lauderdale, the company we used to ship the vehicle was Crowley and they were EXCELLENT!

There was communication for every phase of the shipping from them to us online - even when the ship broke down in the port before leaving!

Also, we paid for (and recommend you do) shipping insurance on the vehicle to be safe. It was not very much and included in the pricing grid above, but make sure to ask for it if not offered.

Cars have fallen off boats before - it happens!

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PROCESS AND CONTACTS IN DR

For everything on the table above related to the Dominican Republic, my buddy Jay referred me to Wilmer Autobrands and he did NOT disappoint.

Wilmer is our ‘connect’ in DR and we would recommend him. Mention Silvia Castillo de Gruber if you use him. Again, we are NOT being compensated by him because who knows if our experience can be duplicated over and over again - I’d rather not have any financial connection to your experience haha.

That said, when the vehicle came off the boat, he took photos and sent it to us.

When it arrived in Haina port, more pictures were sent to us.

He took care of all of the paperwork, dealt with the dealership, gave us the quote for everything above and it came in where he said it would.

You do need to ask questions though because it’s common practice to only answer what comes to mind for many Dominican business owners and not explain questions you don’t know that you should be asking!!

So when we would say ‘what else do we need to think about’ he’d say ‘nothing’.

Then we’d say ‘well what about your fee’ and he’d say ‘oh well that 8000 pesos’.

My wife asked him about having coverage on the car for when we drove it out of Haina and he only then said he can help us with that!

So hopefully you’re better equipped with the list above.

But let me make this SUPER easy ..

For everything on the checklist above starting with CUSTOMS IN DR to the end, all of that is Wilmer!

When my wife called me on my way back from Jarabacoa and said ‘the car’s ready to pick up’ I thankfully had a friend that could drive the car I was in so I could get our CR-V.

No kidding - when I arrived he handed me a key and showed me the documents - and I drove away. Simple as that!

My wife sent a picture of me to him so he knew who to give the key to, but otherwise - DONE!

BIGGEST CHALLENGES WE FACED

Honestly, it was a pretty easy overall process.

The hardest things were outlined above:

• The original shipping company from Michigan to Florida

• Not knowing what to ask of Wilmer (you’re prepared for that now!)

But otherwise, nothing was missing, nothing was damaged, he did a great job showing us the car at every phase after arrival.

Many messaged me warning me that between Santo Domingo and Punta Cana the entire chassis of the vehicle was going to fall out from under me becasue every nut, bolt and screw were stolen by someone.

That can be true - but I think having a Wilmer is essential - so use him!

Also, that was probably more true 5-20 years ago than it is today.

Again, it happens still but most that messaged me were PTSD from an old experience or their parents experience years ago.

I got an equal number of people that said they ship vehicles all the time and have ZERO issues.

Hope your experience is as easy as ours!

WHY WE SHIPPED VS PURCHASING IN DR

This came down to what we want vs. the cost - period.

My wife insisted on a new vehicle if we purchased in DR and she loves Honda's and Toyota’s.

She’s right that most people we know (including us) that have purchased used vehicles here have more issues than normal and require a mechanic a lot.

Unless we’re buying from a trusted friend who themselves purchased the vehicle new, we felt like we wanted new.

A new CR-V like ours goes for about $50-60k in DR - cars are pricey here unless you want a Changan or some other lesser known brand.

So our standard was narrow - we didn’t want anything other than a Honda or Toyota mid-large SUV.

Our vehicle had been sitting in our garage for 2 years doing nothing. It’s a 2020 with 35,000 miles on it, we purchased it new, and we know it.

If we sold it, we’d get $20-25k.

If you add the $10k or so that we paid to ship, that means we’d have $35,000 for a new CR-V purchase that costs $50k minimum.

Easy decision for us!

Plus I wanted the content if I’m being honest haha.

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW

Let me give you some quick bullets to know about this process not already mentioned:

• Your vehicle must be 5 years or newer - so in 2025 you can ship a 2020, but not a 2019 (I’ve learned that there may be a 6 month grace period into the next year, meaning a 2019 that arrives before June 2025 may be good but check with Wilmer)

• You can waive much of the tax if you’re a Dominican citizen and have owned the vehicle for more than one year - this care was in my name and I dragged my feet on citizenship, so we had to pay - but if you’re moving in a year or two and are the same as us, transfer the title to the Dominican in the household!

• The waiver is good ONE TIME and it’s for an entire shipping container which can include the car, furniture and anything else you want to ship

• The vehicle MUST be paid off with a clear title

• You’ll need to have the title and bill of sale with you in DR to activate this process

• Do NOT sign the title in any way - but you’ll need to get it to Wilmer along with the BOS to process the vehicle

Lastly, you can do all of this yourself if you really wanted to.

You can get with a dealer directly and not use Wilmer like we did, you can handle the registration and marvete (which is essentially like an annual registration) by going to the DMV on your own.

We chose to pay to have everything done. We don’t buy flashy cars, we have a modest home and live debt free - but we will pay for convenience!

But that’s us - doesn’t make us right.

I hope this helps you and gives you a good sense. If there’s something I left out, feel free to email and I’ll fill in blanks, but honestly, your best best is Wilmer!

I’d Drive Across Dominican Republic for These 3 Meals

You’re coming to Punta Cana for vacation but would love to spend a few days getting out into the country, renting a car and checking things out!

Well today, I’m going to give you a road trip worth taking for the perfect day of dining in Dominican Republic.

Get out your GPS and warm up your taste buds .. this post is gonna make you hungry!

BREAKFAST 

Let’s start the day in Cabarete.

Leave Punta Cana the day before, grab an Airbnb and stumble out of bed for a real treat!

Check out Vagamundo Coffee and Waffles!

Honestly, get anything and everything. Why not?

You’re on vacation, so try a few different types of waffles, grab their delicious chai latte and even a protein bowl or a smoothie for good measure.

Trust me - it’ll be a sweet start to the day!

But if you need something for the road, run by Belgium Bakery and grab whatever looks good!

LUNCH

On your way back to Punta Cana through Santo Domingo, take a detour to Jarabacoa and stop by our next culinary destination!

Grab a table at Vista Del Campo.

The food is really good, the atmosphere is better and they have an EPIC wine bar if that’s your thing.

This is the only restaurant with a view in Jarabacoa where the food is actually consistently good .. a shame that’s true!

And while you’re in Jarabaoca, grab some banana bread, carrot cake and anything else that looks good at La Tinaja - more sweets for the road!

DINNER

Take your time leaving Jarabaoca, because you’re gonna want to have plenty of room for this spot in Santo Domingo.

If you’re a foodie who loves pizza - then Detroit Pizza RD is your spot.

You just need to trust me on this. You’ll get beyond pizza and enjoy a culinary experience.

I’m a big fan of their cheese log, the Maria 2.0 pizza and their burger pizza as well.

But what I love MOST is the mantra they have to ‘eat dessert first’ - and you should.

Grab the cookie with ice cream on top and you’ll be in ABSOLUTE heaven!

BONUS SPOT

You’ve stumbled out of Santo Domingo wondering when you could EVER eat again!

After all, it’s only 2 hours to Punta Cana…right?

But along the way, the reality of Santo Domingo traffic kicks in and you’re delayed getting out of the city.

Just enough time to build up an appetite for something extra - or maybe you just want to stress eat after not moving for 2 hours in the city.

Right before the last toll booth before Higuey on your left, pull into the gas station and run into Shish Kebab.

Do yourself a favor and grab a bag of empanadas (chicken and cheese for me) and a few quipe’s (kipes) for the remaining trip - or even to warm up later if you’re not quite hungry enough yet.

Their chicharron can be good too .. hit or miss but worth a try!

Man … I’ve been carnivore for nearly 2 months - maybe I’m having some cravings 😆 .

Reporter TRASHES Dominican Republic and Instantly Regrets It!

If you hate hearing ignorant takes on DR, love bad southern accents or all of the above, then THIS is a must watch 😉 

That’s it for this week - stay tuned for a video giving a bit more context on shipping and thank you for following along!!