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The Argentine DMW

By on June 14, 2010 in Living

I’m happy to report that the Buenos Aires Registro del AutoMotor (the Argentine version of the DMV) is pretty much the same as its American counterpart – slow and inefficient. On the positive side, the Argentine DMV in Olivos had shorter lines than the NYC one. On the negative side, nothing is computerized and we had to go three times to get what we needed.

The first time that we went, I guess it was really not their fault that we had to come back.  We went just after Buenos Aires had been hit with a major hail storm, and the roof of the DMV offices had been completely destroyed.  The workers were sitting outside the office drinking their maté and told us no one could go inside. I asked if there was a different office, but as nothing here is completely computerized, we needed the actual papers of the car, which only existed inside this office’s filing shelves. They assured us that all the records were still safe and under plastic covers (reassuring) and that we should come back in a few weeks when the new roof was completed.

When we returned, the new roof was finished and the lines were not that bad. We were here to obtain a “Cédula de identificación para autorizado a conducir (Cédula azul),” or more simply “blue card.” This card basically shows that I am allowed to drive Laura’s car when she is not with me. (The car owner has a “Cédula verde”  or “green card,” that they carry which shows they are the owner.)  These cards are required whenever you are driving someone else’s vehicle and were intended to allow police to more easily find people driving stolen cars.  We had to present my DNI and all the papers of the car including the title as well as Laura’s DNI.  They looked over the paperwork and then went to the back to pull her car’s file.

I thought this process would take forever because you could see rows and rows of shelves with green folders for each car. The files looked completely disorganized and like they were basically ready to fall off the shelves, but surprisingly, the woman returned within a couple of minutes with her file. We paid the $95 peso fee and she told us to return the next day to pick up the card.  When we returned the following day, we walked in and walked out with the card within 10 minutes. Not too bad…

In addition to this card, you need an international driving permit to drive in Buenos Aires. I picked up mine at AAA while I was in the States though it is possible to obtain one in Buenos Aires as well. (you must get one in your home country)

Look for a future post with some of my observations on driving in Buenos Aires.  All I can say for now is, driving here is an experience.

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Buenos Aires News: Edition 9

By on June 11, 2010 in News

I’ve decided to bring back the Buenos Aires News postings that I had previously been doing. I know it’s been awhile since Edition 8, but look for them to come more regularly now.

If you want up-to-the-minute Buenos Aires updates, follow the Buenos Aires Life Twitter account.

Can Argentina’s Diego Maradona work his magic? [Miami Herald]
Argentina’s World Cup hopes are riding on whether volatile coachDiego Maradona can work the same kind of magic he did as a player.

Messi, the surest bet to shine in South Africa [The Globe and Mail]
The Argentine star could set the world alight – if he survives Maradona’s madness.

Ugi’s PIzza Inflation Index [Buenos Aires Photographer]
The Argentine government continues to under-report the true level of inflation in Buenos Aires.  This blogger took matters into his own hands by reporting how much the cost of pizza at his favorite pizza place has gone up since the year 2000.

In Buenos Aires, tourists charged the same as locals [ToursHelp]
An older article, but interesting in that it recounts that the Buenos Aires tour bus was charging different prices for locals than for tourists. A consumer advocacy group complained, and now the price is the same – a higher $70 pesos for all.  Obviously, this means locals can pretty much no longer afford to take the bus ride. So, was justice done?

More American expatriates give up citizenship [NY Times]
Another older article, that is also interesting. “Amid mounting frustration over taxation and banking problems, small but growing numbers of overseas Americans are taking the weighty step of renouncing their citizenship.”

Sleep-in journalists aim to save newspaper [guardian.co.uk]
Journalists fighting to block the shutdown of the Argentine newspaper Crítica have been on strike since 29 April, when they received no pay cheques.

Per capita beef consumption drops to 56 kilos [The Argentine Post]
Argentine beef consumption has dropped from 70.3 kilos to 56.3 kilos in the first half of this year due to smaller supply and increased prices.

Domestic plane tickets hiked 15% [Buenos Aires Herald]
Plane tickets on domestic flights to all 30 destinations in Argentina went up by an average of 15 percent this past week.

Deported Barras Arrive In Buenos Aires [Goal.com]
The group of 10 Argentine soccer hooligans with criminal records deported from South Africa were greeted by police and news crews, and some were taken into custody.
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Argentina Entrance Fee Increased

By on June 10, 2010 in Travel

As of June 4, 2010, the United States has increased the price of the visa application fee from $131 to $140.

Since the Argentina entrance fee is a reciprocal fee to what the US charges Argentine citizens, it also increased by $9 to U$S 140 as of this date. This fee applies to any American citizens entering the country through Ezeiza airport. It is a one-time fee that is valid for 10 years.

No word yet on whether this new fee, which first went into effect on December 20, 2009, has affected tourism to the country or not.  Considering that a family of  four would pay an additional $560 for their vacation, I would have to imagine that it has caused some people to rethink their travel plans. I’ve also heard that some people are flying into Montevideo, Uruguay, and then taking a cheap connecting flight into the Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (the local airport in Buenos Aires), where the fee is not applied.

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Saving Money With Movistar Prepago

By on June 9, 2010 in Living

I had previously posted instructions about how to add credit to your Movistar pre-paid mobile phone via credit card, but I thought now would be a good time to talk about how to save some money on using your pre-paid cell phone plan.  While I am covering Movistar in particular, these tips also apply to the other carriers here as well (Claro, Personal, etc.) albeit with slightly different instructions.

First, let me give you some background… Pre-paid (“prepago”) cell phone service is pretty much the only option for foreigners in Argentina. To get a regular monthly mobile plan, one needs to have a DNI and residency which most expats do not.  I have been told that the residency also needs to be permanent and not temporary, which further complicates things.

The problem with pre-paid service is that it is relatively expensive. With Movistar pre-paid, calls to Movistar numbers are $0,99 (US $0.25) per minute, calls to non-Movistar numbers are $1,98 (US $0.51) per minute and SMS messages are $0,43 (US $0.11) each. These charges add up quickly, but luckily there are some options to help you save some money.

The best option for saving some money are the weekly promotions from Movistar. These promotions are sent via text message to your cell phone and usually offer to double (and sometimes triple) any credit that you add to your phone that day only. While I initially thought these promotional texts were annoying (mostly because they are in Spanish and I could not understand them), I now add credit every time they come.  When there is a triple credit day, I always add the maximum credit that is allowed because the promotion is so good.

The next way to save some money is to know about the “crédito de regalo” (gift credit) that Movistar gives you for adding certain amounts.  These gift credits currently are $15 if you charge $30, $20 if you charge $40, $25 if you charge $50 and $50 if you charge $100 or more. Also, if you charge $30 or more, you get a 50% discount off the price of calling other Movistar numbers, bringing it to $0,50 (US $0.13) per minute.

Another way to save money is to look at the services you use and to pre-buy packages for those services.  To do this, you send a text message to a particular number.  The current packages are:

  • Send “SMS” to 2345 to receive 3000 text messages to use over 3 days – $10
  • Send “Minutos” to 2345 to receive 40 minutes of calling to other Movistar numbers for 3 days – $10
  • Send “Free” to 2345 to place calls for free to one other Movistar number to use over 5 days – $10
    (you must register the number after you buy this by sending a text to 5000 with “ALTA ##########” where the #’s are the number you want to call)
  • Send “Fijos” to 6789 to receive 40 minutes of calling to “land line” phones in the same long distance code as your mobile to use over 3 days – $10
  • Send “MMS” to 2345 to receive 20 MMS messages to use over 7 days – $9
  • Send “LDI” to 6789 to receive 10 minutes of international calling plus 10 international texts (Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Peru only) to use over 3 days – $10
  • Send “Datos” to 2345 to receive 1 GB of data to use over 2 days – $10

You can buy as many packages as you want and use them in combination. You can also buy the same package and they will extend automatically.  You can get more information on these packages by going to the Movistar web site, selecting: Planes -> Movistar Prepago -> Paquetes.

Hopefully these tips help you save some money.  Let me know if you have any other tips or tricks.

UPDATE (2/16/11): Movistar has increased some prices and reduced the number of minutes, which I updated below.

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