). High clearance is necessary because the roads flood in the rainy seasons. It also says that 4X4 is necessary if you want to leave the city on the weekends (which I will definitely be doing). Size of vehicle is important as we will be living in a city; the smaller the better. There is also a size restriction on shipping so really big vehicles like a Suburban aren’t even possible. There is only one dealer in Brazzaville (two in the entire country, both are Toyota). None of the Toyota drive trains are the same as in North America and few of the models are the same. Repairs for anything will be difficult. Reliability is going to be important. I will have to bring extra tires, filters, and anything else that I might need in two years and not be able to find locally. In addition to this guidance, there is a fact about auto insurance that few of us think about; it doesn’t cover acts of war. Should I be evacuated because the country falls into civil war (again), I could lose the entire vehicle. This isn’t much of a concern, but I don’t think I will be rolling those dice with a Range Rover. I don’t want to take junk because reliability is going to be so important, but, combined with the potential for bumping my way through traffic, I don’t want to take on too big of a financial exposure. I can't actually take on too much exposure anyway since financing isn't an option; short of dipping into less liquid assets, I really need to stick to the amount sitting in the bank right now.
I think I know what I am going to get, but I thought I’d share my weird car shopping situation. What would you get?
). I am sure we will be buying lots of things on the internet, but hopefully not car parts. For items under the size limits, shipping cost isn’t a problem as I get a US address and then the government handles it from there (like military).
