Sincerely
Daniel McCool

I seriously doubt that you will have any problem importing your USA plated car. The best thing to do is check with an immigration lawyer or one of the immigration services for a more definitive answer. http://www.ajijiclaw.com may have an answer for you.

I’m prepared to export my USA plated car once I become a Mexican citizen as I do know that as a Mexican Citizen you may not own a USA plated car in Mexico.

With an FM2 it’s very important to get an exit stamp in your FM2 booklet and an entry stamp when entering Mexico. This allows the authorities to count the days. If I understand the law as to the number of permitted days out of Mexico it’s 180 days during the 5 year period your status is valid as an FM2 visa holder. That averages out to 36 days a year. So, this should not be a serious burden for anyone
serious enough about living here to go for the FM2 status.

You may want to check http://www.ajijiclaw.com for more or better information.

Hope this helps. Sid

Not sure about Mazanillo snce it’s not an International border you can drive across. I think there may be complications there.

If Mago in Chapala (Immigration Specialist) or AjjicLaw.com in Ajijic can’t help I think I head for a land border and and stop at the car permit location and act like I was just entering Mexico. I suspect this would be cheaper than confessing and being subject to a large fine.

Perhaps someone else will have a better idea. You might try asking on the Chapala.com web board too.

Lety us know how it turns out. We wish you the best. Sid

I suppose there is no way, is there, of getting this sticker on-line now that I am already in Mexico. Thanks Sid for being the Good Samaritan. Sincerely, John C.

OK, Now about buying a car. I’m sure there are those who think it better to buy a car here in Mexico like all the Mexican car dealers.

If you plan to use an FM3 as your immigration doc. then there’s no reason you should not buy a car in the USA and drive it back here to Lake Chapala. Cars are less expensive in the USA by I think around 20 to 25% the last time I checked.

There are on line services for US cars that you can check the title change and find out about reported wrecks etc. that as far as I know are not avialble in Mexico. As long as your FM3 is good your car import sticker will be good. There’s other rules about temporary importing of vehicles, but this repsonse is primarily about the best place to buy a car.

Favor brands like Fords that are popular in Mexico. I drive Ford Explorers. A truck with a car body. There are 7 Ford dealers for parts in Guad. Once in a while the Mexican version is a little different and you may have to imprt parts from the USA.

The mechanics here will be familiar with the more popular brands here and more mechanics will be able to work on the popular brands.

Nissan is a popular brand in Mexico for example. Look at how many Nissan Taxis there are here.

Older Mexican plated cars have a small yearly tax while new Mexican plated cars have this tax plus a very large tax.

If you opt for a Mexican plated car take a look at S and S motors owned by Spenser Shulman and wife (Canadians) They’re good trustworthy folks.

If they don’t have what your looking for you can find used cars along the various highways like the Libramiento just past the new shopping center under constuction. (They have red reflector triangles on top.) Have a trusted Mexican mechanic give anything you consider a good going over BEFORE you make your offer.

In Guadalajara there’s a giant car sale lot (like a flea market for cars) every Sunday just before the divided highway from Chapala turns into a blvd as you enter the core of Guad.

It’s huge. You should be able to see it. Make a U turn and it will then be on your right as you’re headed back South toward Chapala.

Again BUYER BEWARE. Take a mechanic unless you feel qualified to go it alone.

You will notice a lot of cars and trucks with no license plates. These are usually vehicle which have been imported from the USA (usually legally) but have not yet been registed in the Mexican State of the new owner. If you buy one of these you’ll have to register it and pay the new license fee for your shiny new Jalisco plate.

S and S Automotive looks better all the time.

Unless you plan on using an FM2 aand or at some point becoming a Mexican Citizen I would strongly consider a trip to the USA to buy my older, but excellent codition drive train car. You will get scratches, nicks etc. from a variety of sources here so new cars don;t make sense to me. I have a 94 Explorer, a 97 Explorer and a 02 Explorer. Only the 92 was bought in Mexico from a trusted source. The 97 has been NAtionalized and reborn as a Mexican plated vehicle and the 2002 will likely be driven to the USA and sold in 2010.

If you buy a US or Canadian plated car here from a North American seller you both will have to go to the border and check it out of Mexico, register it in your name and then re enter Mexico using your name as the importer. S and S keeps looking better unless you’re willing to make the trip to the USA and back.

Remember the rule is one gringo per one US or Canadian plated car at a time in Mexico.

There’s more, but this is enough I think to get you started. Hope this helps. Siempre tu amigo, Sid

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