Want a car? Wait. and Pay

A buddy of mine is thinking about getting a new pickup truck.

Well, he'll have a lot of time to think. The high demand for new cars in Caracas (and indeed the whole country), depending on the model, means a wait of 3-8 months. Apparently the Chevy Aveo is an 8-monther, because its so cheap. The Mitsubishi Montero, as I personally found out, will set you back 3 months and a bunch of cash upfront.

Why not buy a late-model used car, I asked? Because then you need the money upfront, and nobody has it. Better to spend more in the end on a brand new car, and just take the loans at 12-20% (ish) that the auto company gives you. Case in point? One bank here has auto-deposit set up for customers with 20 popular companies, 3 of which (GMAC, toyota finance, chrysler) are car loan companies.

How much does a car cost? Usually about the same as in the states. A Montero is running about $30 grand. A Volkwagon Gol, manufactured in South America, skews cheaper - around $10 grand. Strangely, a mini will set you back nearly $40 grand, I'm told.