Has anyone used Maurice to Legalize their car?

[valbogyo]

Hi,

I have elderly friends that are really in a bind. They must give up their foreign plated car or import it. They can not drive it to the border so they will pay the high cost of legalizing. I received good recommendations for Maurice, who advertises in the Guadalajara. The process is lengthy and expensive, but it is worth it to these people. The car still has a lot of good years ahead of it.

I keep reading to beware of people who are legalizing cars locally. Though we have references and feel very good about this fellow, I would like to hear about who had had problems with their legalized car.

This fellow does the entire process, including taking the car for inspection and getting the Jalisco plates.

Please PM me with feedback, first or second hand only. Not rumors. Thanks!!

[border crosser]

"They must give up their foreign plated car or import it." ??? Is this now a fact or is this still rumor?

[RVGRINGO]

..............This fellow does the entire process, including taking the car for inspection and getting the Jalisco plates.

BEWARE: If he is Mexican, it is against the law for him to drive a foreign plated car without the owner/importer in the vehicle. The owner could lose the car if he should get pulled over or even have a fender-bender.

[Mainecoons]

"They must give up their foreign plated car or import it." ??? Is this now a fact or is this still rumor?

Apparently a fact at this point in time. If you are Permanente, you can't have a car here with foreign plates. Someone has decided that Permanente = Immigrado (that was also the rule for this former visa category) without any formal legislation saying so and apparently there have been some vehicle confiscations over on the coast.

A fellow by the name of Mexguy has been trying to address this situation. Here is what he posted:

I wrote the following to a person who wrote to me regarding the Immigration and Vehicle Issues, and am passing this on to everyone, here:

Yesterday, I was in Guadalajara where I presented my Immigration Report, and your email (without identification) was copied into this report. Both I and the person who asked me to write this report attended this meeting which included some of the most powerful and connected people in Guadalajara and very senior officials in IMN, Guadalajara.

I learned that the issue of vehicles lies in the fact that neither SAT (Hacienda) or Transito (Federal) has for many years made any modification to their laws and rules and regulations pertaining to the import of vehicles into Mexico. As a comment, I wonder if they have not done so since NAFTA came into being? When the official clarified this situation, I made the comment, "I now understand, however, the persons who have written to me, and with whom I have spoken are blaming IMN, because they see IMN as having caused this problem, not SAT or Transito, because it is IMN who changed their laws."

As you may not know, Presidente Nieto recently signed a new Amparo law; which in part states Amaparos cannot be used against the Government to block or suspend any legal Government laws. When new laws are passed or laws amended, the Government is required to enact within 90 days the administrative rules and regulations. This certainly did not happen when the IMN law was changed in May, 2011. I do not know whether the new Amparo law is retroactive, so the one Tio Corp mentions is now null and void. As a heads up, be very careful of who you use to replate your vehicle, as I am hearing of people being ripped off. This is a caution, and no comment intended for or against Tio Corp.

Back to my preceding paragraph. In my report I made a number of recommendations for the Government to consider, one being that a special import permit be issued for a period of four years to allow these vehicles to remain legal in Mexico and thereafter either the vehicle would have to be removed or replated to remain in the country. As a consequence of the discussions on this matter, these officials agree a solution has to be found and they agreed that within the next 30 days they will hold a meeting with all the senior Government officials directly involved with the vehicle issues, to come up with a solution and recommendation which will then be delivered to the appropriate officials within Presidente Nieto's office.

Respecting my submission and discussions on the new IMN laws, etc. I feel this caught the attention of everyone, and as consequence locally in Lakeside there will be some positive steps in respect to what is happening here. I did state the fact that our IMN issues at Lakeside are not just unique to this area, rather have to be impacting the whole of Mexico, where the some 982,000 foreigners live permanently. And so I stated, I know any changes will have to come from Mexico City.

Both I and the person who asked me to write the report, gave the "thumbs up" sign to each other as we left the meeting. Especially, when we heard that our messages will be delivered to Presidente Nieto's office. This does not mean changes will be made, and if they are, will be made soon. But definitely I and the person with me delivered the message of the urgency on these matters, as people have left the country, and are planning to do so, as they see their dreams of their retirement years having been destroyed due to the new IMN laws.

Big discussion of all of this here:

http://www.chapala.com/webboard/index.php?showtopic=42582

[lakeside7]

Apparently a fact at this point in time. If you are Permanente, you can't have a car here with foreign plates. Someone has decided that Permanente = Immigrado (that was also the rule for this former visa category) and apparently there have been some vehicle confiscations over on the coast.

Nice, eh? You no longer have the option to stay Temporal and keep your car and you have no grace period to make the switch or import the car. And they wonder why people are packing up and leaving.

But you can stay Temporal if you go out and restart process, Yes..a pain in the butt but an option?

[Mainecoons]

You'll have to leave the country to stay Temporal. How many people are going to be willing to risk that given the chaos in INM Spencer is reporting?

Unfortunately, with this on top of all the rest, more than a few are leaving and keeping going.

[valbogyo]

No, Maurice is not Mexican and I have references so he has successfully done this. Its not easy and it is very expensive, around 3000 to get the plates and everything but then it will be done and the couple can relax.

Its just a case of me wanting to be thorough because of the warnings. I wish that people could name names of who the bad guys are so the good honest people working on this won't have mud sticking to them when they are not ripping people off.

I think we are going ahead with Maurice and will let people know of the results. Should take 45 days. This is a 2004 Nafta Car. They would be just as happy to sell it to a Canadian who wants to take it back to the border. That is now their main goal: sell the vehicle and it will be easier if it is legalized. They really want a smaller car and would be happy to buy one locally after they sell this one.

[giltner68]

Yep, I'll be making the trip in Sept to start a new Temporal, unless they get their act together before. I may be dumb, I may be gringo, but I'm not a dumb gringo cash cow.

[lakeside7]

No, Maurice is not Mexican and I have references so he has successfully done this. Its not easy and it is very expensive, around 3000 to get the plates and everything but then it will be done and the couple can relax.

Its just a case of me wanting to be thorough because of the warnings. I wish that people could name names of who the bad guys are so the good honest people working on this won't have mud sticking to them when they are not ripping people off.

I think we are going ahead with Maurice and will let people know of the results. Should take 45 days. This is a 2004 Nafta Car. They would be just as happy to sell it to a Canadian who wants to take it back to the border. That is now their main goal: sell the vehicle and it will be easier if it is legalized. They really want a smaller car and would be happy to buy one locally after they sell this one.

I think your last paragraph gives them a "good" option sell it at the boader and re start with a "mexican" car or maybe time to use taxi and friends

[cedros]

Remember Aduana has still not said if a person who has a Permanenete visa can't have a foreign plated car here so don't panic on rumours.

[valbogyo]

Remember Aduana has still not said if a person who has a Permanenete visa can't have a foreign plated car here so don't panic on rumours.

I think your last paragraph gives them a "good" option sell it at the boader and re start with a "mexican" car or maybe time to use taxi and friends

Yes, we have been round in circles on this one. They are no longer able to make that long car trip. They just want a little car for getting around town here. This is a big Van and they can't drive it out themselves. I can not drive it out for them as I am permanente, also I have never driven beyond Guadalajara and Jocotopec. So anyway: back to the topic: Anyone heard of or used Maurice who advertises in the Guadalajara Reporter. No news is good.

[The new one]

BEWARE: If he is Mexican,

Do you mean that if he is Mexican, then, he is not honest?

[bournemouth]

Do you mean that if he is Mexican, then, he is not honest?

I'm fairly sure RV means that a Mexican should not be driving a foreign plated vehicle without the owners being in the vehicle too.

[ichbinsaege]

Do you mean that if he is Mexican, then, he is not honest?

Your quote was completely out of context. RVGringo was stating that a Mexican cannot drive a foreign plated car unless the owner is also in the car. Was nothing more than that.

[Mainecoons]

Remember Aduana has still not said if a person who has a Permanenete visa can't have a foreign plated car here so don't panic on rumours.

They haven't "said" anything, their actions are doing the speaking.

Very extensive discussion on MexConnect here:

http://www.mexconnect.com/cgi-bin/forums/gforum.cgi?post=188946;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread

[Cortland]

I met Maurice when he was down at Ajijic Legal & Immigration. Kevin Paulini suggested that I speak to him. That said, I have no personal experience but you may want to talk to Kevin. Our current "No Inmigrante" is due for renewal in November so I will wait until September to see if there is any clarification from aduana, before doing anything.

[AlanMexicali]

FOM forum 03 abril 2013.pdf (32.8 KB)

This is from the link Mainecoons posted above. Very interesting to read what is the newest developement.

It appears as soon as you recieve your Residente Permanente visa your TIP has expired. Alan

"09 abril 2013

Friends of México a.c.

Foro on foreign-plated cars

Tuesday, 09 abril 2013 the Friends of México held a forum

on foreign-plated cars being maintained in México by non-

Mexican citizens.

Attending the forum and speaking were representatives

from: Migración, Aduana, Policía Federal, Tránsito de

Mazatlán, and Tourismo of the State of Sinaloa. Also, Luis

Ramírez, the USA Consular Agent in Mazatlán, and Wendy

Hardouin, the Canadian Consular Agent in Mazatlán, were in

attendance and spoke.

There were lengthy presentations by Migración and Aduana.

It was pointed out that the only changes in the law affecting

the forum´s subject were the Mexican Federal laws of

Migración which did not amend any laws or regulations of

Aduana.

Hopefully, the video we made will be up on the Friends of

México web site soon at no cost (friendsofmexicoac.org).

That will include discussions of the new statuses under the

new laws: Residente Permanente, Residente Temporal, and

Turista.

The most affected status with respect to foreign-plated cars

seems to be Residente Permanente. Under prior law the

equivalent was Inmigrante (and prior to that FM2). FM3 or

noninmigrante no longer exists.

2

Under noninmigrante if a person was retired and earning no

money in México they could maintain a foreign-plated car if

they notified Aduana and obtained an extension each year.

This year in November the local Migración and Aduana

people were under the impression that a Residente

Permanente who was retired and did not earn money was

able to maintain a foreign-plated car. So, several new

Residente Permanentes received extension letters from

Aduana.

Then Mexico City notified Aduana that the new Migración

law has nothing in it concerning "rentista" or retired without

earning income. Therefore, upon attaining the status of

Residente Permanente the permiso to maintain a foreignplated

car expired and the car would have to be promptly

nationalized or removed from México. The extension letters

issued were declared null and void.

So, it is not a question of there being nothing in the new

Migración laws addressing the issue of Residente

Permanente and maintaining a foreign-plated car. Just the

contrary, there would have to be a "rentista" or other

exemption which there is not. So, a Residente Permanente

cannot maintain a foreign-plated car, punto!

There are two ways to nationalize a foreign-made vehicle in

México. The first is expensive and likely not to be used. The

owner, in this case in Sinaloa, must go to Hacienda in

Culiacán and obtain a permit to nationalize it. Then the

owner must pay 50% of the Mexican blue book value of the

car plus 16% value added tax.

3

The other way to nationalize is done in accordance with the

NAFTA Treaty between Canada, USA, and México.

Presently, that must be done at the border (I posted the

detail of my nationalization in March of 2013 under my

Mexconnect user name of littletulip01).

The car must have been manufactured or primarily

assembled in the USA, Canada, or México, and this is

determined by the VIN which must begin with a number and

not a letter. 1 and 4 are USA, 2 is Canada, and 3 is México

(eg. the PT Cruiser which was made in México and sold in

the USA and, I believe, Canada).

The car must also fit into the age brackets of the particular

year of nationalization. Presently, it apparently applies to

cars of the model years of 2006 and 2007. Every two years

the age is two years newer until there is no distinction,

2019. Any newer car cannot be nationalized, but must wait

until it fits the required model year.

Theoretically, the penalty for not removing or nationalizing a

foreign car is confiscation. At the forum, the representative

of Policía Federal said that if a person is driving to the

border and does not have an accident or drive erratically or

otherwise prompt being stopped by the Federal Police,

there will be no problem. This was entirely verbal.

It was also pointed out by Aduana that one can go to

Hacienda and ask for a "safe passage letter." This will be

mailed to the applicant from México City. A couple of

attendees shouted they had applied and not received. No

solution was offered for that situation.

4

Luis Ramírez, the US Consular Agent, asserted that as far

as the USA Government was concerned, a US citizen could

drive a Mexican-plated car in the US for up to 6 months with

no problem. However, he pointed out that each state has its

own regulations and if the owner drives to the state where

he or she is a resident, he or she must comply with the

state´s laws.

Mr. Ramírez also pointed out that a "green card holder"

from the USA (not a citizen) might have problems if he or

she became a Residente Permanente of México and

information concerning that would be shared by México with

the USA. Presumably, that would only be a small number of

persons.

Wendy Hardouin, the Canadian Consular Agent, announced

that a Canadian could maintain a Mexican-plated car in

Canada for up to 6 months, again subject to the laws of the

owner´s province of residence.

One further note is worth mentioning. Under the old FM2

and noninmigrante statuses there were limitations on how

much time a holder of that status could be out of México.

Migración confirmed that the new Residente Permanente

has no such restrictions concerning leaving and re-entering

México, which is at least something positivo!

There was other valuable information given at the forum and

I suggest viewing it, when available, on

friendsofmexicoac.org.

Sincerely,

Tom C. Whitmore"

[AlanMexicali]

Hi,

I have elderly friends that are really in a bind. They must give up their foreign plated car or import it. They can not drive it to the border so they will pay the high cost of legalizing. I received good recommendations for Maurice, who advertises in the Guadalajara. The process is lengthy and expensive, but it is worth it to these people. The car still has a lot of good years ahead of it.

I keep reading to beware of people who are legalizing cars locally. Though we have references and feel very good about this fellow, I would like to hear about who had had problems with their legalized car.

This fellow does the entire process, including taking the car for inspection and getting the Jalisco plates.

Please PM me with feedback, first or second hand only. Not rumors. Thanks!!

"There are two ways to nationalize a foreign-made vehicle in

México. The first is expensive and likely not to be used. The

owner, in this case in Sinaloa, must go to Hacienda in

Culiacán and obtain a permit to nationalize it. Then the

owner must pay 50% of the Mexican blue book value of the

car plus 16% value added tax."

This seems to be the route one can take if not using an importer on the border [the inexpensive route].

I have a list somewhere with the "Mexican Blue Book" vehicle values at SAT´s website you can look up the current value of the vehicle and calculate the total cost ADUANA will recieve minus the facilitators fee if nationalized inside Mexico. Alan

[jrm30655]

Yep, I'll be making the trip in Sept to start a new Temporal, unless they get their act together before. I may be dumb, I may be gringo, but I'm not a dumb gringo cash cow.

Nothing says that you can have a NOB plated car under that VISA either.

The law actually reads that you can keep NOB plates as long as you have a current FM-3. Since the FM-3 is now gone, getting a Temporal may or may not cover you and allow NOB plates.

Until the rules are published, no one knows..........

[Mainecoons]

Nothing may say but apparently Aduana has decided on their own that Temporal can have a TIP and Permanente cannot.

Legally, they have basically written their own law without benefit of legislation. Anyone from the U.S. should hardly find this kind of behavior by a bureaucracy unique.

Unless someone from higher up puts a hold on this, I think we'll be hearing of more car confiscations and other problems with U.S. plated cars being driven by Permanentes.

Just saying.

[AlanMexicali]

This is an Excel file from the SEGOB website that lists all new catagories and all are now one year except Residente Permanente and called Visitante so maybe a TIP will be good for the rentista Residente Temporal visa holders now according to what ADUANA is saying in Mazatlan last week. Driving with an expired TIP whether Residente Temporal or Residente Permanente seems a bit of a problem for now and waiting for who knows what is not the best way to go. IMO

http://webcache.goog...9&ct=clnk&gl=mx

Then click this link to show the statistics " Abra este contenido en una nueva ventana "

or click here to see the original download at SEGOB.gob.mx

http://www.inm.gob.m...aracion_V2.xlsx

Nothing says that you can have a NOB plated car under that VISA either.

The law actually reads that you can keep NOB plates as long as you have a current FM-3. Since the FM-3 is now gone, getting a Temporal may or may not cover you and allow NOB plates.

Until the rules are published, no one knows..........

[cedros]

Nothing says that you can have a NOB plated car under that VISA either.

The law actually reads that you can keep NOB plates as long as you have a current FM-3. Since the FM-3 is now gone, getting a Temporal may or may not cover you and allow NOB plates.

Until the rules are published, no one knows..........

Are you sure that is what it says? I thought it said as long as your visa was current without specifying what type of visa.

[cedros]

Yes, we have been round in circles on this one. They are no longer able to make that long car trip. They just want a little car for getting around town here. This is a big Van and they can't drive it out themselves. I can not drive it out for them as I am permanente, also I have never driven beyond Guadalajara and Jocotopec. So anyway: back to the topic: Anyone heard of or used Maurice who advertises in the Guadalajara Reporter. No news is good.

Who says you can't drive because you have a permanente?

[AlanMexicali]

Are you sure that is what it says? I thought it said as long as your visa was current without specifying what type of visa.

Did new visa holders notify ADUANA of their new INM change? If not within 15 days their TIP will become invalid or a fine will be levied to reinstate it. INM Residente Temporal visa holders with their RT visa in-hand are supposed to notify Aduana of the new expiration date, and Aduana is supposed to adjust the expiration date of your TIP to match your Residente Temporal permit's expiration date. Residente Permantente visa holders are now not classified as rentistas anymore. Alan

[AlanMexicali]

Who says you can't drive because you have a permanente?

ADUANA states so. Your TIP expired when your last FM3 or FM2 rentista expired. If you are driving with an expired TIP you should take care of the problem now! IMO Alan