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Re-opening an old can of worms


Mexiken

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I am hoping to hear from anyone who has had recent personal experience down the vehicle legalization, importation, Mexican plating rabbit hole.

Viz.:  Through which ports of entry can one import a US plated car? Which customs broker, if any, did you use? What might be the cost to import a 5 or six year old importable car? What does anyone know about a scheme being around Lakeside to obtain plates from the DF?

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I doubt that you will get any " recent personal experience ", and I surely don't have anything that matches that requirement, but.....

1) the "plates from DF/EdoMex " has been shown repeatedly to be a scam... both by attorneys reporting here and individuals who deal in importation. Contact local SAT/Aduana offices for confirmation if considering.

2) legitimate vehicle Importation has been reported to be done at several large border areas including Tijuana, Nogales, Jurarez and Laredo. Mostly, for us, Laredo is used due to it's proximity to Lakeside and San Miguel de Allende.

3)  this must be done by a bonded broker, not an individual; as part of that process the vehicle must first be Exported from the US using Customs and Border Protection Agency. This is not expensive but adds a "day or two" to the process to meet their schedule. The bonded broker will/must do this part also.

4) a 5-6 year old vehicle can NOT be imported/Nationalized.... currently only vehicles manufactured in 2009 or 2010 (may include 2011 at this point).

5) cost depends on the value of the vehicle being Imported but a reasonable estimate would be $2,500.

 

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I went to two agents.  My car is 1992.  One said 1600usd the other was 1300usd.  The gaff is that you can buy a car here but the price goes up if it's a gringo car and someone paid to import it.  Logical.  So it comes out about the same.  Or buy a Mexican-made car.  

And... Once I bought a Mexican Beetle.  I drove it to Central California and lived there for a year still driving a bug with Mexican plates.  Never got stopped once.  Later sold it for a huge profit...with Mexican plates.

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9 hours ago, sugarplumfaerie said:

Sonia does NOT do importations at the border as the OP is inquiring about.  Also Sonia, who has in the past done “virtual” importations from Guanajuato under the auspices of the national “UCD” organization, has not been able/can not presently Import vehicles using that program. When she can the vehicles are NOT Exported from the US as is required by US/Mexican agreements for importing vehicles but the vehicles none-the-less appear to be able to get official Mexican/State documents authenticating the process. 

In any respect, Sonia is not an option for the OP. 

 

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1 hour ago, modeeper said:

  And... Once I bought a Mexican Beetle.  I drove it to Central California and lived there for a year still driving a bug with Mexican plates.  Never got stopped once.  Later sold it for a huge profit...with Mexican plates.

It is not surprising that you were not stopped, especially in California, while driving a Mexican plated vehicle within the first year as one can legally drive a Mexican plated vehicle in the US for up to 1 year. BUT it must be removed by the end of that year. You didn’t say just how long ago this was but one also Cannot legally sell a foreign titled/plated vehicle in the US as it does not meet either EPA/CARB nor DOT requirements. Not saying that you didn’t.... just saying that it is not legal. 

 

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2 hours ago, RickS said:

Emissions are just part of the story. But as I said, I don’t doubt that you sold it.... just how legal it was to do so. And, yes, Grey sales are ubiquitous in the US and Mexico. Just not legal.

 

Legal and Mexico to me are two words not to be used in the same sentence.  If that comment causes ire in you just read up on the colonization of Mexico .. how the mordida came to be, and still remains.  It's a cultural issue, it's a cultural norm, and not reason to get a warning from a moderator because you mentioned it.  IMO the more negativity you find in the mordida system, the more Gringo you are.

Caution, off topic rant:

Okay, Okay .. The Spanish sent hundreds of magistrates to their new acquisition.  They were un-salaried.  What was left of the Mexican population after the smoke cleared were expected to pay those salaries to the hard-working noble-like magistrates and their office staff.

Since cultural norms are akin to culture they are very slow and resistant to change.   A State Trooper here has about the same salary as my Social Security entitlements; enough for a single guy or gal who happens not to have a family umbrella.  So the cops protect and serve for a wage not really so low but not not a windfall.  Your mordida is a contribution .. it their eyes.  And they are probably thankful for it.  

When a Mexican faces legal scrutiny he's not thinkin lawyer automatically, he's thinking whomever he know who has influence.   If he has nobody to speak up for him he's thinking m-o-n-e-y.  

The popular notion that Mexico is not a president-centered legal system is errant.  It is.  But it isn't. 

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