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Want to import my vehicle when I retire in Guada in the fall


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Hello,

I have a very well maintained Ford f-150 with 593,000 miles on it --but it has been rebuilt and painted and a camper shell added.

I would like to bring this with me when I retire to Guadalajara this fall.  I am in the process now of getting a Temp or Perm Resident Visa -which ever is easiest to bring the vehicle in.

I would appreciate some help in identifying someone who could help with Importing and Customs.  I will be driving down through Nogales.

Thank you

Algie

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First about diesel.... an F150 is not going to be a diesel and if it were with 593,000 miles on it, it would NOT have to use the newer low sulphur fuel so he would be fine with the grade of diesel in Mexico.

If by importing you mean get a TIP (Temporary Import Permit) then as mentioned you could only do that with a Residente Temporal visa... and after 4 years you must go to Permanente so goodbye to the truck.... and you can't sell it in Mexico to anyone. This kind of importing is NOT expensive.... $50?..... BUT one would have to also put a refundable deposit on it... yours would probably be $250. 

 If by importing you mean a 'permanent' import, that can be pretty expensive depending on value etc.  Maybe as much as $2500 for yours. Either a Temporal or a Permanente can permanently import a vehicle. This has to be done at the border by a bonded Mexican import agent and takes a couple of days as it also has to be Exported from the US by Customs personnel. The Mexican Agent would handle that process for you.  IF the title to the truck says "Rebuilt" and I believe "Salvage" (you said it had been rebuilt so I don't know if the title also says that!) then the vehicle cannot be permanently imported into Mexico no matter what your visa status might be. Once imported one must also pay Jalisco state fees for title and plates in addition to the fees you payed form importing the truck. 

 

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If the vehicle is more than 30 years old in the time you are in Mexico, it can be imported as an antique or classic. I understand this is fairly simple, but you would have to hire an expediter, probably in Mexico City (CDMX). It would be tough to give up on your lifetime buddy! Parking will also present a problem in Guadalajara, it is not really a "pickup" sort of big city. Chapala is more so.

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Gotta agree with Jonny. Leave all attachments to nice vehicles up North.

Down here, I would go inexpensive and as minimally functional as needed, and purchased in-country.

Parking sucks, roads suck, parking lot etiquette sucks - you will get ding-ed, sooner rather than later - and we haven't even begun to see the car jackings and thefts that will happen down here in next few years. The poverty gap is widening, and stealing a nice car is a good equalizer.

Sorry to sound so negative, but don't make yourself anymore of a target with your vehicle than you already are.

Get yourself something that no self-respecting car thief's wife would be caught dead driving.

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But....you will only have it for just under 4 years!  You will also have to formally notify Aduana of every change of INM status; beginning with the change from 'canje' of your visa approval to the actual visa, just after you first arrive in Mexico, and at every INM visa renewal until you approach the 4 year point, when you will have to take it out of Mexico forever.

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26 minutes ago, RVGRINGO said:

But....you will only have it for just under 4 years!  You will also have to formally notify Aduana of every change of INM status; beginning with the change from 'canje' of your visa approval to the actual visa, just after you first arrive in Mexico, and at every INM visa renewal until you approach the 4 year point, when you will have to take it out of Mexico forever.

RV there is 'some' evidence (Aduana at GDL) that one no longer has to report to Aduana annually to update the TIP connection to a Temporal Visa. I say 'some' as I haven't personally seen evidence that their sharing of a database with INM is 'all consuming'. Time will tell. 

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Bad idea you will pay higher insurance premiums with less coverage. Sell your car back home and buy one here lots of good second hand cars at good prices available but make sure its a car built in Mexico to get better insurance coverage and easy access to spare parts when needed. Importing is a hassle not as easy as it used to be, not worth the hassle.

Depending your financial situation now you even can get rentals of new cars for a specified time period.

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