If you’re staying in Puerto Escondido for more than a month you may seriously be considering buying a scooter or bike to get around while you’re here.
We’ve already touched on why we find bikes or scooters as the best method for getting around Puerto Escondido in a separate guide so we won’t get into those details here as they can be found here.
The purpose of this guide is to dissect the pros and cons of buying as opposed to renting and everything you need to know before making a purchase.
Why buy rather than rent
The main factor to take into consideration before deciding if you’d rather buy or rent a bike in Puerto Escondido is how long you plan on staying here.
Puerto Escondido is a vortex that entraps you and leaves you never wanting to leave. People come with the intention of staying for 3 days and end up staying for 3 months.
If you’ve already read our guide on scooter rentals then you’ll know a scooter rental can be one of the most expensive investments that you’ll make for the duration of your stay.
With daily rates ranging from 200 – 400 pesos and monthly rates ranging from 3000 – 7000 before you know it you may have spent enough to just consider buying a bike outright.
For example:
A 3-month scooter rental at 7,000 pesos per month = 21,000 pesos.
A new 125 cc bike + registration = 20,990 pesos
So not only in the example above have, you saved money on the complete cost of the bike when it comes to leaving Puerto Escondido Escondido you’ll be able to sell it and make 50% or more of the bike value back.
Aside from the monetary reasons why you’d buy, when you rent you often may need to leave your passport and/or a large deposit which a lot of people don’t feel comfortable with.
Where to buy a bike or scooter
If you want to buy a used bike your best bet will be to look on Facebook marketplace. If you’re buying off someone second hand you need to ensure that the owner signs over ownership on the back of the original CAR FACTURA.
You’ll also want to ensure that the name on the CAR FACTURA matches the person selling it to you by checking their drivers licence.
If the bike has had more owners than one then it starts to get a little bit messy and it’s hard to know if the bike and papers have been stolen so if you’re worried you may just want to buy a new one.
Often you’ll find that the price of the used ones listed for sale aren’t even that much cheaper than the ones you’ll be able to purchase new. The cheapest place to buy a new bike in Puerto Escondido is either from Chedraui or Coppel.
Use the websites as a general price guide but you’ll want to pop in to the stores and see what they have in stock as the wait time on online purchases can take up to a month to get to Puerto Escondido.
What do I need to buy a bike or scooter
So you’re in the store and you’re ready to purchase your dream bike? Awesome! Don’t forget to take your drivers licence and your passport.
The other thing you’re going to need is a local phone number and address to link to the ownership of the bike.
The store is more focussed on making the sale so you won’t need to stress too much with your address, usually people just put down the address of where they’re staying.
Registering and insuring your bike in Puerto Escondido
After you’ve purchased your bike/scooter the most important thing to do is to get it registered so as to avoid getting pulled over by the police and getting a fine.
In order to get it registered you’ll want to phone SEMOVI to schedule an appointment. The price of a new registration varies but it will normally cost around 2,000 pesos and take up to 2 weeks.
When you first buy your bike you’ll be given a 30 day grace period where if you get pulled over by the police you can provide the purchase papers and legally they “shouldn’t” be able to fine you .
Once you’ve registered your bike you can get third party insurance for around 500 pesos and this can be purchased from the same place you purchased your bike.
Getting your scooter serviced
If you want to maximise the return on your investment when it comes to selling your bike you’ll want to ensure that you get the scooter serviced on time as indicated by the log book (usually green) that comes with the bike purchase.
The service interval varies but normally the first service is due 1 month after the purchase or when the spedometer reaches 3,000 kilometers.
It is important that you only get the bike serviced at the location advised by the place that you purchased the vehicle.
Selling your bike
When it comes to selling your bike you’ll need to sign over the ownership on the back of the CAR FACTURA.
It is for this reason that is very important you never lose the original copy of this or you run the risk of never being able to sell your bike because there is nothing differentiating it from a stolen vehicle.
Safety information
The speed limits around Puerto Escondido range from 40-60 km/h so generally getting around is fairly safe. You’ll want to make sure that you always wear a helmet for safety reasons and to avoid getting stopped by police and handed a hefty fine.
Police and the place where you purchase a bike in Puerto Escondido don’t usually even check if you have a bike licence, they only check to see if you have a licence.
Although in theory you can get away without even having the appropriate license we’d recommend checking getting a Mexican drivers licence as otherwise you run the risk of insurance not covering you if you get into an accident.
The other thing you’ll want to consider is where you store your bike. Although it is rare, unfortunately sometimes people do steal bikes so you’ll want to be careful where you leave your bike however this is the same case for bike rentals.
Summary
Buying a bike or scooter in Puerto Escondido is great. Having your own vehicle to take you around to all the awesome beaches and locations will give you an unmatched feeling of freedom.
Not only may you save money in the long term by buying a bike, you’ll also be able to make money back when the time comes for you to leave.
Hopefully this guide has armed you with the information you’ll need to start your bike buying journey. If we’ve left any of your questions unanswered send us a Whatsapp message and we’ll be more than happy to help.
