Rent or Buy? Need 2 phones for Chile for 2 weeks.

T

TheUnrealMe

New member
Like it says, I'm going to Chile for 2 weeks, and we'll need 2 phones while we are there.

I'm a Verizon (CDMA) customer, so I have no clue about GSM phones or SIM cards.

I've been looking into renting a phone, but it looks like it might be pricey.
I though maybe I can buy 2 on ebay, and then sell 1 or both back on eBay.

I noticed when I looked for rentals, some companies provide phones for Chile, and some don't.
Is that by choice? Or are there certain phones that won't work in Chile?
I don't think I'll be using it a ton, but definitely some local calls, and mainly to each other.

I have a month to plan this, any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

- RX8 -
 
buy a used a840 off ebay its cdma and takes sim card its a world phone this way you can use with verizon and dont lose the money on it also you could buy a unlocked gsm phone and buy a card there.
 
Chile uses GSM1900 , just get an unlocked phone and buy a sim here , they cost 5 dollars in ENTELPCS.cl , also if your company has roaming here they will provide you with a handset .
 
Get an unlocked quad-band GSM phone - they are cheap and easy to find. You can then use it in any country on Earth that has GSM service (which is every country on Earth except South Korea and Japan).

If you could use a second phone in the US, get a T-Mobile ToGo account - it's one of the best prepaid products available anywhere. You can then put that in your GSM phone when you're not travelling. It also works in Canada at reasonable rates.
 
PATo355,
Thanks for the advice. I'm assuming ENTELPCS.cl is a carrier in Chile just like Verizon is here, so there should be stores that I can go to to by the sim card, right?
I'm flying into Santiago on March 16th in the evening, but I will staying in Vina del Mar w/ my wife's family.

Since you live in Chile, you may be able to give me some travel advice.
I need a rental car, and gps.
I have a pocket pc with a bluetooth gps receiver. I've been looking for maps of Chile to download, but I haven't had much success.
Are there any you can recommend?
And as far as a rental car, shopping online from the states, the cheapest I've found is $400usd for 9 days which is how long I'll need it.

Are there better options for transportation? Or rentals?

If you can give me any tips, it would be greatly appreciated.
 
I live in Santiago , Entelpcs is the best carrier around here , you can pick up CLARO or MOVISTAR too , but entel has the best coverage , prepaid is very expensive tho , like half a dollar per minute :O , we get charged per second , so its like 0.1 dollar per second , you have a store IN THE AIRPORT , as for rental cars just go safe with hertz , ask for info in the airport , a family sedan wont be much expensive than 50 dollars per day , you need a credit card , which i assume in the us everyone has one , so 400 per 9 days seems fair , a city car runs for 30-35 dollars / day.

The GPS system as NAVSAT is not already implemente in Chile , all cars come with the system stripped out , so you better ask for directions if you know a little spanish , people are always glad to help you .

1 Us Dollar = 540 chilean pesos .

Firstrentacar.cl has this options :
CLASE G $ 69,500 Chrysler Caravan - Hyundai Terracan or similar
CLASE F $ 56,500 Hyundai Sonata or similar
CLASE E $ 44,500 Hyundai Elantra or similar
CLASE D $ 35,500 Toyota Corolla or similar
CLASE C $ 29,500 Toyota Yaris c/aire or similar
CLASE B $ 23,500 Chevrolet Corsa full or similar


Atlasrentacar.cl has gps options but their site is down now , will check back later to give you info

Oh ... and you can buy pay as you go phones for 23000 , that is 40 dollars with 35 dollars in credit to make calls + 100 sms

http://www.clarochile.cl/interior/equipos/detalle.php?id=Alcatel_e257a
http://www.clarochile.cl/interior/equipos/detalle.php?id=LG_MG110
http://www.clarochile.cl/interior/equipos/detalle.php?id=Motorola_C139
http://www.clarochile.cl/interior/equipos/detalle.php?id=Nokia_1110

Movistar and entel will give you only 18 dollars to make calls , but you can buy a phone from 28 dollars

http://tienda.movistar.cl/listamovil.asp?action=movil&marca=BenQ-Siemens&id=1225
http://tienda.movistar.cl/listamovil.asp?action=movil&marca=Nokia&id=1238

http://www.entelpcs.cl/modEquipos/ficha.iws?cod=31224&IDP=&IDPa2b=B591945F-4730-4886-9513-E1FAF6D505E8

http://www.entelpcs.cl/modEquipos/ficha.iws?cod=14463&IDP=&IDPa2b=B591945F-4730-4886-9513-E1FAF6D505E8

If you will stay on the city than all carriers are pretty good .


Back to the rentals :

http://www.atlasrentacar.cl/cotizador/index.aspx

8 dollars per day is the GPS extra , they have great options in cars , cheap stuff .
 
@DubDub
Unfortunately, we're going to see my wife's grandmother, who's very sick, and in no condition to help us w/ arrangements.

@PATo355,
Thanks for the info and links.
That helps a lot.

By the way, I'm from Argentina, so communicating won't be a problem.

- RX8 -
 
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