Thanks for the advice. Here is the whole story: I am married and my wife also wants a car there, so I actually need to get TWO vehicles. Due to my position in Uruguay, I can sell the vehicles back for what I paid for them three years later, so it's an opportunity to try a car you might not want to pay for otherwise (no convertibles, though). I can either ship one of the cars from the USA or buy it there, but the second car must be bought there (prices for me are similar to USA prices). Both cars can be sold there (the local one wouldn't be legal almost anywhere else, anyhow), but I have the option of shipping the USA-spec one to the next place, wherever that is.
So, now I am debating what (if anything) to buy in the USA before going there. It sounds like buying a diesel vehicle in the USA might be asking for trouble when the ones there would probably be better suited for the local dirty fuels. Even a hybrid might have issues since the local mechanics are probably used to simpler designs.
To make matters even more complicated, I'm overseas now (Baghdad) and don't know yet where I will go after Uruguay. However, it will probably be somewhere else overseas and not back to the USA. Since the vehicle-importation rules are different everywhere, I might not be able to take a USA-spec vehicle with me after Uruguay anyhow (this has already happened to me, which is why I'm currently in the market for two cars).
I will be in the USA for three months right before going to Uruguay, starting around Thanksgiving, so I really could use a car during that time (a three-month rental would be rather expensive). The usual makes of cars are available in Uruguay, including BMW, VW/Audi, Honda, & Toyota, along with local favorites such as Peugot and Suzuki. Any suggestions other than the obvious (i.e. buying a gas vehicle in the USA now, shipping it to Uruguay when I leave for there, and buying another (diesel?) vehicle after arriving there)?
