Registering a Car - Part 2

The following are the steps we had to take to purchase our car here in Bolivia and get it registered:

- Francisco returned to La Paz and gave me his report.  We then went back to the third floor of the Motor Vehicle department, got another order for a telegram to be sent, this time to Santa Cruz.

- Then we went back to the SENATER office, paid another fee and had the second telegram sent to the Santa Cruz Motor Vehicle office.  They said they would call us when they received a reply.

- We waited over a week for the reply which never came.

- Right at that time I had a scheduled trip to Santa Cruz to visit the congregation of FIEL that is located there.  Francisco was designated to accompany us.  We decided that while we were there we would personally visit the Santa Cruz Motor Vehicle office to see what had happened with the telegram that had been sent.

- When we got to Santa Cruz we were able to find the Motor Vehicle building there and first went to the telegram office.  They told us they had not received the telegram that supposedly had been sent. 

- Next we went to the vehicle registration window.  They found a file folder on our car, but it simply had a note about the crime that had taken place in 2007.  There was also a document in that file indicating that the vehicle was actually registered in La Paz!  The lady at the window told us that we would have to go to the Motor Vehicle department in La Paz in order to obtain the document we needed.

- When we got back to La Paz, tired of all the run around we were getting, we hired a lawyer to look into the matter and try to get the document we needed.  The lawyer was successful in getting the document.

- With the final required document in hand, we went back to the Motor Vehicle office in order to submit all the papers.  After waiting four hours in line, when we got up to the window, they told us that the previous person in line was the last one they were going to attend to that day.

- We went back the next day early in the morning.  This time we only had to wait three hours and finally were able to submit all the documents for getting the vehicle registered in my name.

- Now there were only three more steps to take before everything would finally be finalized.  First we had to take the vehicle transfer papers from the Motor Vehicle department to a notary in order to have the signatures both of the former owner and the new owner notarized.

- Next we had to take all the papers back to the Mayor’s office in order to get an ownership card from them.

- The final step was to take a copy of all the papers to the police department in order to get a certificate of ownership from them.

- Finally, after a month and a half of running around, the car is now legally ours.  We thank the Lord that He has granted us success in this endeavor.

Registering a Car - Part 1

The following are the continued steps we had to take to purchase our car here in Bolivia and get it registered:

- Then came the process of registering the transfer of ownership of the car.  The first stop was the mayor’s office.  We had to make a copy of all the ownership papers and the purchase contract that had to be submitted there.  The line there was very long and it took all morning to finally get to a reception window where we submitted the required papers.  We were then given two documents.  One was a bill for the taxes owed for doing the transfer.  The other was a document to turn in to the Motor Vehicle department so that they could legally register the car purchase with the government. 

- We got into another line at the Mayor’s office to pay the taxes owed for the transfer of ownership.

- With the receipt for the tax payment in hand we made another copy of all the documents and then went to the Motor Vehicle department.  When we got there we saw on the wall a long list of requirements for getting the car registered.  We already had most of the required documents, but there were two that we didn’t have.

- The first requirement that was missing was a vehicle inspection.  When we got to the location of the vehicle inspection with the car, they had their own list of required documents in order for them to be able to make the inspection.

- We went to get the required documents for the vehicle inspection and the next day returned to the vehicle inspection site.  This time we were successful in getting the vehicle inspected.  However, the vehicle inspector told us that we would have to get photos of the small plate located on the inside of the windshield which had the number of the motor on it and also a picture of a sticker located on the door frame of the car. 

- We went back home and I took the pictures of the two items that had been requested and printed them.  The next day we took the printed pictures back to the inspector and showed them to him.  He rejected them and said the pictures had to be done by a professional photographer. 

- We found a photographer who took the pictures, printed them out, signed his name to them and this time they were accepted.

- We had to wait a couple more days for the vehicle inspector’s report to get sent back to the Motor Vehicle department.  When we returned there, we were told to go up to the third floor in order to obtain the other required document that we still did not have.

- At the office on the third floor we were told that in order to get the document that we needed, we would have to go to a different office called SENATER in another part of town.  At this office they would send a telegram to the city where the car had been previously registered in order to get a copy of the former registration papers.  The officer signed a paper giving the order for the telegram to be sent.

- We then drove to the SENATER office where telegrams were sent from and gave them the signed paper that we had received from the officer at the Motor Vehicle building.  We paid their fee and they gave us a receipt and told us they would call us when the answer came.

- Three days later they called us and told us to go back to the Motor Vehicle department in order to get the answer.  So we went back to the Motor Vehicle department, went back up to the third floor and asked the officer there for the answer to the telegram.  He replied that he did not have the answer.  We would have to go back to the SENATER office in order to get the reply.  He signed another paper authorizing SENATER to give us the reply.  Then off we went back to the SENATER office.

- The SENATER office did indeed have the reply to the telegram.  The reply stated that they were not going to send the information by telegraph.  Rather we would have to go personally to the city of Cochabamba in order to get the required registration documents. 

- So that I would not have to interrupt my classes, Francisco and I went to a lawyer’s office and I had a power of attorney document written up for Francisco.  He was then able to make the trip to Cochabamba with out my needing to go along. 

- When Francisco got to Cochabamba, he went to the Motor Vehicle building there and inquired about the registration document that was needed.  He was told that the only officer who could do the search for the required document was not there that day. 

- Since Francisco did not want to wait around possibly for several days until the officer in question would return, he asked around and was able to get the phone number of the officer.  He called the number, but a family member answered.  The family member said she would try to find the officer, which she did.  The officer agreed to go with Francisco to the Cochabamba Motor Vehicle office to search for the required document.

- When they got there, the search began through a whole room full of file folders.  The officer examined the file folders one by one and he allowed Francisco to also examine each folder.  After four hours of searching they both concluded that the required file was not there.  The officer then made some calls and discovered that the former registration documents were actually in Santa Cruz.

Visas Approved

This month, we were able to pick up our one year resident visas after being in Bolivia for about two months. This visa will be valid for one year. After we had received the visa the agent informed us that we now need to apply for our carnet - a national ID card. This card must be obtained within 25 days. We submitted the papers the next day and should have the carnet by the end of this week.

We are very thankful for all the help we had from Dra. Zulema, the lawyer. With her guidance and Francisco's help, we were able to fulfill all the government's requirements to receive the visa. The Lord has been very gracious in providing kind and willing helpers.

No Hay

In early February, we spent the entire day trying to advance work on our Bolivian visas.  We got up at 4:30 am to get the early bus to Santo Domingo.  When we got there the line for the bathroom was quite long, so we walked across the street to use the bathroom in the mall.  Now came the first clue of the day!  All of the cleaning ladies were standing in front of the men's bathroom and wouldn't let Philip in.  He asked politely to get by, but they kept saying, "No hay - there is none" No hay servicio -there is no service, No hay entrada - there is no entrance".  First clue of the day!!

Then we got a taxi to the Bolivian consulate.  We found it and got in without any problem.  She looked over our papers and we were quite hopeful of a positive answer.  She said, "All your papers look good.  You have everything you need.  Everything seems to be in order".  So just as we were getting our hopes up, (GASP!!) she speaks those two dreaded words -- No hay - there is none!!   No hay timbres - there are no stamps!  No hay sellos - there are no seals!  She said it would be about 10 - 15 days until she expected to receive more stamps and seals from Bolivia!

So, on to step three.  Since we are going to have to wait for them to get their supplies, we decided to go to the US Consulate to see about getting additional pages put into our passports.  We had to wait a couple of hours until that specific office opened.  When we got up to the window, the lady looked at our papers and said everything looked ok.  She could do it right away, but (GAAASP!!)  NO HAY cajero - there is no cashier!!  The cashier had gone home for the day.  Come back on Monday!!!

So after a 14 hour day, five hours on the bus, six taxis around town, and one meal - No hay - there is none!

This past Friday, Missionary Philip and Kathy received their entrance visas for Bolivia after two additional trips from Santiago to Santo Domingo.