Testimonials

We have been to Costa Rica numerous times and we are in the process of building a house. I had been looking for a vehicle on my own for awhile. I have read numerous warnings about trying to purchase a car in Costa Rica. There can be many pitfalls.
Right now there is a sellers market and houses and cars are being snapped up quickly. I started my search being very picky and cars were being sold before I could get to them. Sellers were posting different prices on different websites, some were hard-driven rentals, some are rumored to be shipped here from flooded states after hurricanes. Yikes!
In the end I decided we would be happy with a car under 5 years old, automatic, 4×4, folding seats, common to CR for repair parts. That’s where I found Jacqui from YourCostaRicaContact.com. To make her job tougher, it was just before Santa Semana, when everything, I mean everything, closes down. Lawyers, escrow businesses, auto shops, and just about everything we needed to buy a car. We were in an expensive rental and needed a car NOW. Jacqui quickly got to work, eliminating sold cars, bad cars, talking to Spanish speaking only folks. She narrowed in on the car and really got to work. She negotiated the price, had the car inspected, identified maintenance and repair items, issued a written report. She rounded up attorneys and an escrow company willing to stay open to handle the paperwork. She was communicating with us the whole time, way past regular business hours.
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My husband flew to San José. Jacqui made sure he was picked up and taken to a hotel. The next morning everyone met and we were able to purchase the car thru wire transfer.
This is not an easy process especially if you don’t speak the language well nor have a local phone or bank account. I highly recommend Jacqui Monacell and her team to handle your car or real estate needs. We are getting ready to buy a truck soon and happily would use Jacqui and YourCostaRicaContact again!

My wife and I are from Toronto and have built a new house in the Southern Zone of Costa Rica, south of Ojochal. We have been renting vehicles on numerous trips here knowing that we would eventually purchase a vehicle once the house was built. It also allowed us to better understand our vehicle needs for our lifestyle in Costa Rica.

Our friends said that they had purchased their used vehicle using an agent Jacqui Monacell located in San Jose who, for a ​set fee, would locate, ​inspect,recommend and eventually negotiate and purchase the vehicle. ​As part of the fee, ​her company arrange​s​ for a qualified independent mechanic to conduct a ​fairly thorough inspection of the vehicle we select.

Although we had never previously engaged an agent for a vehicle purchase, we felt that given the fact that ​used car markets worldwide are notorious for concealing and altering vehicle instruments, ​it made sense to us.

Jacqui came highly recommended​ and has a mechanic​ who​ would be able to advise us on the worthiness of the vehicle in its present condition ​and ​what to anticipate in terms of repairs. ​We fully recognized there could be a conflict as any mechanic can exaggerate what needs to be fixed. But based on our friend’s referral, we felt that we could trust both Jacqui & her ​team.

We engaged Jacqui giving her our vehicle​ criteria and ​she ​started the process of hunting for a vehicle in mid-November. ​Wi​thin a few weeks ​she had ​located a vehicle​ that met our needs and was in good mechanical condition​.​

This was an excellent, almost seamless experience in acquiring a vehicle in a foreign country and we ​would not hesitate recommending Jacqui’s services to others​. In fact, we have already recommended her to others.

I can certainly echo the previous remarks as to the excellent service that Jacqui and her staff provide. I had a frustrating experience buying and selling a vehicle in CR. I thought I had a legitimate buyer that turned out to be a no show at the lawyer’s office two days before we were to return to Canada. I contacted Jacqui, told her the situation, and she arranged certification, paper work, everything needed to sell the vehicle, all at a reasonable cost I might add. I had a feeling of trust and sincerity throughout the transaction, especially being out of country.

My wife and I moved to Costa Rica in Sep 2012. After extensive research, I decided to contact Jacqui about her services and a few questions. She quickly responded with extensive information. Having signed a home lease outside Atenas, we decided that purchasing a vehicle would be the best route for us. Jackie was always willing to provide me with any information I needed. After describing the type of vehicle we needed, Jacqui immediately began a search. Within a few days, she had eliminated a few available options, but she soon presented us with pictures and facts regarding a 2002 Honda which met our needs perfectly. She maintained excellent contact and information through each phase of the initial and complete inspections. Soon, we settled on a fair price, and Jacqui conducted all negotiations for us.

On our day of arrival in San Jose, Jacqui arranged a driver to pick us up from the airport, and he transported us to her office where we met the seller, an attorney, an insurance agent, and the mechanics from Car Doc who had already completed the post-purchase maintenance package and an extensive report regarding the inspection of the vehicle. To say that we were pleased is an extreme understatement. The car was in immaculate condition, and all aspects of the purchase were conducted professionally in a single conference room. Within a reasonable time that same afternoon, we drove away in OUR owned, insured vehicle.

Sadly, my wife and I had to move back to the USA due to family health issues. With very little notice, Jacqui (who was on vacation outside Costa Rica) agreed to advertise and broker a sale of the vehicle for us. We simply delivered the vehicle to Jacqui, signed a POA, and left the real work to her. Within a few weeks, Jacqui had found a buyer, negotiated a very generous price, and closed the sale for me. She was very quick in wiring me the proceeds back to the USA.

I highly commend Jacqui and her staff for the great job in both the vehicle sales process as well as the vehicle purchase process. I would not hesitate to contact Jacqui again when I return to Costa Rica.

Thank you, Jacqui! You made our vehicle purchase and sale effortless for us.

I am a tour operator from Finland and I had a problem with a hotel on the Caribbean regarding a booking I had made for one of my groups (for 8 rooms and for 4 nights ) last year. I had paid a deposit of more than 7000 dollars for the booking which I had to cancel before we got to Costa Rica. The hotel should have returned the money, but I never heard back from them. This year I made a new booking hoping for them to credit my account with my previous payment, but again, I never got a response. SInce I was already in the country with my group I contacted Jacqui who not only in a day’s time organized my booking for my group for the following day, but she also got me the full refund of the 7000 dollar deposit I paid a year.

It is wonderful and extremely good to have somebody like Jacqui helping you

Back in 2007 we bought a 2nd home in the southern Pacific of Costa Rica and needed a reliable 4 x 4 car. I am a city guy and I admit I know very little about cars and was wary of buying a used car in Costa Rica. I had heard about Jacqui Monacell & Your Costa Rica Contact from several friends who had retired in Costa Rica. I thought I would call her and check it out. This happened to be the best decision I have ever made in my Costa Rican adventure. She found me what I was looking for, it checked out as a sound automobile by her mechanics and at a reasonable price. Jacqui made it a breeze. She took care of the all the legal work and government paperwork, had some parts replaced/adjusted and all I had to do is show up sign the papers with an attorney, got a lesson on driving and caring for the car from her mechanic and she even got me a hotel room near her office and shop!

Best Part of the story the car has been great, no major problems and we have had it for 7 years!

Thanks Jacqui!”

I moved to Costa Rica at the begining of 2010 to begin a period of 12 months of travel in Central America. I felt that having a pickup truck would give me additional opportunities to ‘get off the beaten track’ during my travels and after a little research I worked out what type of pickup truck I would need. But for a non-Spanish speaker in Costa Rica knowing what I needed and actually getting it were two very different things. Step up Jacqui and Your Costa Rica Contact. I spoke with Jacqui, explained what I was looking for and from that point on everything went like clockwork. While Jacqui was looking for a suitable pickup truck I was in a remote part of Costa Rica and when a suitable vehicle was identified I travelled to the capital, inspected it and with great pleasure agreed to the purchase. I honestly don’t think that I could have successfully and confidently negotiated the complicated purchase process without Jacqui’s help. Having been inspected by the affiliated car workshop CarDoc I had the confidence that the pickup truck would survive the rough Central American roads and it didn’t fail to deliver. I kept in contact with Jacqui and CarDoc throughout my travels and when my 12 months of travel came to an end I had full confidence in leaving the pickup truck with Jacqui for her to sell on my behalf as I travelled back to New Zealand. I think this highlights the trust I built up with Jacqui and CarDoc and I have no reservations in recommending their services to anyone who is looking to make their move to Costa Rica as painless as possible!

Best of all, Jacqui Monacell’s company does what it says it will do—and without delays. The paper work in San Jose was a breeze. For our seven months in Costa Rica, she found us a very good and reliable car, a 4Runner that’s been perfect for the byways of Guanacaste, the bridgeless rivers and the dusty, rocky roads of Nosara, Ostional, San Juanillo and north to Tamarindo. She also directed us to an Hipermas, San Jose’s version of WalMart, and to a vivero, a nursery with a very knowledgeable gardener. Her 16 years in Costa Rica and her fluency in Spanish are great assets to people just arriving. And now we’ve asked her to sell our car when we leave at the end of August.

Jacqui Monacell was referred to me by a friend of ours that had raved about how efficient she had been for them when they moved to Costa Rica. I didn’t have much time left in the country and I had to move quickly so I called Jacqui and she made room in her schedule to meet with my wife and I right away. I left the car for inspection and she had a seller lined up before I even knew what needed be updated on the vehicle. She had the car sold within a week and I had funds wired into my account in the US before my belongings even arrived via shipping. I was able to pay for the necessary repairs and Jacqui’s fee for selling the car and still walk away with more than I had initially paid for the vehicle. I would highly recommend using Your Costa Rica Contact for anyone coming into or leaving Costa Rica. They made my life a lot easier and I might still be there trying to sell the car if not for Jacqui and her hard work.

Jacqui,

We came to you with a near impossible situation—we needed a car, corporation, home, cell phones, etc., in a very short period of time—but you made it happen and saved us the delirium of dealing with so many of the systems in Costa Rica. Your rates are better than anyone else and your service is top-notch. There are several dear friends of ours who will be moving to Costa Rica in the coming months and we will not let them talk to anyone other than you—guaranteed! Thank you so much for understanding our situation and for reacting to accommodate our needs. Your professionalism is second to none. You are the very best!

I’ve lived in Costa Rica three times in the past three years and each time I’ve sought the expert help of Jacqui because her Spanish is amazing and she’s been in Costa Rica long enough to understand the culture and the infrastructure extremely well.

She has helped my family and I with buying and selling cars, buying and selling costa rican companies, getting a cell phone, getting a Panamanian bought car visa extensions, residency, temporary accommodation and more.

Her attention to detail, professionalism and organization skills are rarely seen in ANY country. She is also a great person with a friendly attitude and I can clearly see has a genuine concern and care for the success of my trip and experience in Costa Rica.

I’ve used similar services in several other countries and no others compare to Jacqui’s. If I didn’t know I had Jacqui to help me out each time I visit, I’m not sure if I’d visit Costa Rica as often as I do.

Highly recommended.

Working with Jacqui was a delight, from my first contact with her until I drove away in my new (to me) car that is perfect for what I need. She is trustworthy, competent, and has a natural talent for what she does that makes buying a car in Costa Rica a pleasure.

The service that Car Doc provides is also excellent and well worth the money. They did a thorough inspection of the car and replaced any worn parts to bring it up to “like new” condition.

In the past few months I have driven the car all over Costa Rica, and every time a drive it, it brings a smile to my face.

Thank you Jacqui! ¡Bien hecho! (Well done.)