Car Wars

Owning a vehicle is difficult here!

I have been trying to replace the tie rods in the beast for over 2 months. It took me a few weeks to buy the parts. You have to buy your own parts and take them to the mechanic.

Then I had to wait on getting another vehicle so we could put one in the shop.

Then I had to wait until my friend had time to take me to the shop. (I never would have found it. It was way off the beaten path. A personal intro is required)

Finally, we got it into the shop...for the body work...not the tie rods...that will follow in a month or so.

So you get the picture. It takes a long time to do things here.

Today we dropped the car off in Anastasio where the body shop was located. Then we proceeded to David to get some title work done.

Title processing used to be done in Dolega, a 20 minute drive from Boquete.

But suddenly and arbitrarily, they closed the Dolega office.

Now, only the David office does this work. And they only take 10 people in the morning and 10 in the afternoon. So you have to show up at 7 in the morning to get a number to complete your stuff.

Well, this morning, we couldn't get to David by 7 because we were dropping off my car. So we had to wait in line for 90 minutes, just to talk to a clerk about the process.

Now, here is where a good knowledge of the system comes into play.

My friend has lived in Central America for over 15 years and knows the ropes. He submitted his 7, count them, 7 title changes to the clerk. She explained to him how he had to get there before 7 am and take a number.

He pointed out that the paper work was complex and she should page through it. On the third page she found a 20 dollar bill.

Promptly, she looked up and said all would be ready at 2:30 TODAY!

Amazing how well it all goes when you know the ropes.