Second Time Around

We purchased another used car on the island. This time it was so much easier because we sort-of knew what we were doing.

I found this car on a Facebook site (Bonaire Car 4 Sale).  It  was a newer model and had lower mileage than our current island car. 

We met a man at literally a wide spot in the road and he showed us the car.  He was with Douane (customs on Bonaire).  We liked the car and wanted to know if he could prove ownership.  He said he didn't own the car and was showing it for the owner.  We were suspicious about buying a car through a private party and this statement made us even more unsure about how to prove ownership.

We said we would buy the car if ownership could be proven.  The Douane Agent calls the owner, puts us on speaker phone and we ask for proof of ownership. The owner just happens to be the head of the legal department for the OLB (the island government).  Our fears subsided as she sent us all the documents we needed and then some.  As a lawyer, she prepared a Bill of Sales that looked like a serious legal document.

We purchased the car on the Friday before Easter weekend.  On Bonaire, everything closes down on Good Friday and stays closed through "Easter Monday". On Tuesday we got insurance, paid the insurance in person at the Ennia office, paid the road tax at the Post Office as well as the $8.70 for the plates, and proceeded to the license plate office. We completed licensing in 2 hours! 

The first time, we tried to license our first car it took us 5 days. This time we had very low expectations of getting the license in less than a few days.  We also had a bank account on the island which sped up the payment process.  We had Crib numbers (tax id) and our Sedulas (resident cards). We also knew where all the places were that you had to go to get the process completed.

We are now experienced islanders and the second time around seems way easier.