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Phil184
Newbie
Posts: 17
Registered: 5-5-2017
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Truck-car registration
So if you buy a truck that is already in Baja and you plan on keeping it in Baja and it has lets say California title and plates how does that work.
To maintain the registration you would have to bring it into California every other year for a smog check. Can you change the reg. to Mexican? How
would you do that?
What if you, as a US citizen buy a truck in Baja with Baja registration, how does that work?
Thanks a bunch
Phil
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Cancamo
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Legally vehicles are under the same requirements of your immigration status, in other words, they are required to leave when you leave, if you are on
a tourist visa, otherwise they are in the Republic illegally.
Enforcement outside of Mainland Mexico, (B. Cal.), is almost non-existent to this point, although tags often are closely scrutinized on foreign plates
by traffic cops.
What some folks do is change title and registration to another state that doesn't require annual smogcheck, proof of insurance, etc.. ie: S.Dakota,
(any County, go online, easy and cheap). All done online and by mail.
Also there is Anapromex and Anaprofa, two Mexican companies that have a pending class-action with the supreme court challenging car import laws. So
far, so good with their plates as long as you don't enter Federal Property, ie: airport, ferry terminal, where Federal Highway police are present, as
well as I believe, mainland Mexico. Also cheap. They have offices all over and the way the wheels of justice turn hear, no impending judgement in
sight.
Not cheap is importing which is most efficiently done at the border with a broker and is limited to vehicles no less than 5 years and no more than
ten years old.
Buying a BC or national plated vehicle is easy, just need to check to see if it is stolen or salvaged from NOB. Lots of auctioned salvaged and
wreck vehicles here.
So yes, you would need to return to Cal for smog, insurance, etc....but there are a few options commonly used.
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BajaBlanca
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Location: La Bocana, BCS
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It used to be that you could not import any car that was newer than 5 years.
Now the vehicle must be newer than 5 years old.
Husband says everything got turned upside down.
Since we are now Mexican citizens, anapromex has been a simple, inexpensive process. Who knew they were political ? Not me. You learn something
new every day.
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gnukid
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One more correction:
California only requires smog in some counties, many do not require smog check. So you may be able to transfer the vehicle as a sale without returning
it to California and without smog if the new address is smog exempt. You can check the DMV book or search for counties / or zip codes that are smog
exempt. DMV will also mail the new info to the new address which can be in Baja California or BCS but not border towns like Tecate or TJ. Some DMV
people do not know the rules and may question, so you need to read the book yourself and be insistent or bring a copy of the book. BC/BCS is exempt
from Mexico restrictions. Actually there is a new form specifically for BC/BCS vehicle registration and smog exemption. You can also use DMV smog
exemption declaration form if the vehicle is registered to a smog requiring county or required for sale with the written statement that the vehicle is
at your house in BC/BCS and its too far or a burden to return and note the address (more complicated).Though as long as the new address is valid and
smog exempt it will go easily. Actually in the system are two address fields one for garage and one for mailing though not everyone knows this, you
can access it yourself in the DMV online system. An issue is that BCS zip codes which are legal to register the vehicle sometime come up as duplicate
with other states in the USA and the letters BCS are three letters and the state field in the system is two letter but it can override. AAA is
California is very easy and professional place to work with. Also, you need a CA DL for CA plated vehicle. CA DL must be done at a DMV (not AAA) and
then they mail the DL later. Also be aware that the sale price will require sales tax. Gisted vehicles at 0 have no sales tax. And 0 $ transactions
between family members are exempt from smog and sales tax.
[Edited on 5-6-2017 by gnukid]
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AKgringo
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A correction on your correction!
My legal permanent address and DL are in Alaska. I have CA plated vehicles registered to me with a CA street address.
I also have AK plated vehicles at the CA address, and since I have the AK DL, it has not been a problem.
My experience at the CA DMV also varies from yours. For anything other than a straight renewal, AK is much simpler, and with CA getting set to add
even more fees, it is much cheaper!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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Cancamo
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A friend who had car lot in BCS got all his vehicles NOB at auctions, mostly insurance jobs, many salvaged, many involved in a wreck to some degree.
Mexicali is full of car lots with imported cars, many bought at the same auctions.
Body shops are plentiful and cheap and I don't think any safety check is involved like NOB. Maybe an individual cannot import a salvage vehicle, but a
licensed importer can, or the laws have changed.
As far as keeping a California plated vehicle insured in California year round even though it is SOB, sounds kinda silly considering you would want to
be insured here as well.
Didn't know Anapromex/Anaprofa was limited to nationals.
There is a type of Mexican registration for classic vehicles if it is old enough. A friend was able to attain it locally without a trip to the border
on an old Cadillac I gave him. Wasn't expensive either.
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gnukid
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Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  | A correction on your correction!
My legal permanent address and DL are in Alaska. I have CA plated vehicles registered to me with a CA street address.
I also have AK plated vehicles at the CA address, and since I have the AK DL, it has not been a problem.
My experience at the CA DMV also varies from yours. For anything other than a straight renewal, AK is much simpler, and with CA getting set to add
even more fees, it is much cheaper! |
True, a person may transit with the vehicle plates and dl mismatched. But if you establish a residence in CA for more than some period, I believe 10
days, then you should get the plates and DL to match. So, in CA if the police ask you where you live and you say I moved here 30 days ago and the DL
and plates are not up to date then you get a fix it ticket. Of course, Mexican police can not initiate this action though they can pretend they can.
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gnukid
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| Quote: Originally posted by Cancamo |
A friend who had car lot in BCS got all his vehicles NOB at auctions, mostly insurance jobs, many salvaged, many involved in a wreck to some degree.
Mexicali is full of car lots with imported cars, many bought at the same auctions.
Body shops are plentiful and cheap and I don't think any safety check is involved like NOB. Maybe an individual cannot import a salvage vehicle, but a
licensed importer can, or the laws have changed.
As far as keeping a California plated vehicle insured in California year round even though it is SOB, sounds kinda silly considering you would want to
be insured here as well.
Didn't know Anapromex/Anaprofa was limited to nationals.
There is a type of Mexican registration for classic vehicles if it is old enough. A friend was able to attain it locally without a trip to the border
on an old Cadillac I gave him. Wasn't expensive either.
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CA DMV will accept BC/BCS mexican insurance as proof of insurance at the DMV though those are not electronically verified so you need to show written
proof every year prior to expiration. Many people have multiple car policies so having a BC/BCS vehicle added to the policy does not increase the
cost. Yes, they have two polices one for BC/BCS and one for USA. Liability DL mexico policies are about $150/yr.
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imlost
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The simple solution is to register your car in South Dakota. You don't have to be a resident to register your vehicle there, and you can do it all
over the phone & through mail. Simple, easy, cheap. They mail you the plates, and you don't have to be concerned about DEQ/smog - they don't
require it in SD. When you visit BCS, you'll see thousands of vehicles with SD plates.
[Edited on 5-6-2017 by imlost]
[Edited on 5-6-2017 by imlost]
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gnukid
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There are also other reasons for declaration of smog exemption for transfer or registration. You need to read the fine print but in general if the car
is located somewhere where it may more likely encounter various fuel quality or it is an undue burden to bring the vehicle to a smog station. You can
imagine there are CA plated vehicles all over the world as secondary cars for CA residents who are traveling or have a second home and in most cases
those cars are exempt and there is a form for this.
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gnukid
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| Quote: Originally posted by Bob and Susan | geezzz lots of info here...
ONLY insurance companies that electronicly report to the California dmv can insure a car for registration
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DMV will accept demonstrable written insurance for regions outside of CA as evidence of insurance, they also accept a $ bond which are not
electronically verifiable when the vehicle will not return and a written statement is included that the vehicle will not return during this period and
when it does it will have valid CA insurance, however, this written acceptance of insurance often is lost from the DMV system during electronic
verification checks causing a flag so its not a method that is reliable, and will cause headaches like canceled registration, therefore, most CA
drivers in Baja have two polices one in CA and one in BC/BCS to reduce problems.
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willyAirstream
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| Quote: |
Cancamo There is a type of Mexican registration for classic vehicles if it is old enough. A friend was able to attain it locally without a trip to
the border on an old Cadillac I gave him. Wasn't expensive either. |
Do you know the process for a classic car registration? Or where to start the process? ThX
btw, Onappafa will issue plates if you are a PR. I have them on the Willys.
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willyAirstream
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BoBsusan
Cancamo mentioned otherwise. Just trying to clarify as I have heard from others that the were exemptions for classic cars.
I have been stopped and the plates have not been a problem, maybe I was lucky.
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gnukid
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ley para importaciones de vehĂculos clásicos 30 anos o mas viejo
http://www.sat.gob.mx/aduanas/vehiculos/importaciones_autosu...
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willyAirstream
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will do.
Thanks Paul
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Phil184
Newbie
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Well thank you all very much for lots of good info. I still and probably will always have a California address in a smog test county. So it seems like
the easiest thing to do is buy and keep a truck registered in California and see if I can put off a smug check until if and when the truck returns to
California. I have a boat in La Paz and am in the process of buying a property near by so want to have a truck down there.
Thanks again.
Phil
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gnukid
Ultra Nomad
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| Quote: Originally posted by Phil184 | Well thank you all very much for lots of good info. I still and probably will always have a California address in a smog test county. So it seems like
the easiest thing to do is buy and keep a truck registered in California and see if I can put off a smug check until if and when the truck returns to
California. I have a boat in La Paz and am in the process of buying a property near by so want to have a truck down there.
Thanks again.
Phil
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Phil, All you need is an address in BC/BCS (except TJ, Tecate) and you are not required to return the vehicle for smog and you will also lower the reg
fees. Perhaps you misunderstand, the majority of geographical California has no smog check and all citizens who have vehicles in other geographies are
also not required to return for smog and pay extra CA hi way fees. The primary issue is the annual registration date is associated to the plate and
can not be changed. Can you return the vehicle just prior in the 60 day reg window to do the reg renewal date with vehicle up north every year? Do you
feel obligated to return to your home county to pay the smog and us hi way reg fees for a vehicle that isn't usually there? Are you aware that
variation in fuel will harm the CO2 sensor / catalytic converter and it may need to be replaced often at a high cost to pass smog? To me the added
costs of driving back and forth plus smog and hi way fees just to reg are high and the increase on risk are unnecessary. It's cheaper to fly RT home
if needed. There are more costs and risks to returning for smog but i'll leave it there for now.
[Edited on 5-10-2017 by gnukid]
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Phil184
Newbie
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Thanks gnukid, let me say again what I see as the best option for me at this time based on all the info given.
I will maintain a California address, if that matters.
I will have a new BCS address also.
I don't speak or read Spanish yet and don't have a Mexican drivers License. So my understanding is I can't register a vehicle in Mexico like if say I
was to buy a Mexican plated vehicle. Can't register without a Mexican drivers Lic. right?
So it seems the thing to do is buy a California plated vehicle (or some other state) and not bring it back to California and that means I don't have
to have a smog test. Isn't this correct?
I don't feel obligated to give California any thing that I don't have to but I do want to have a legally registered vehicle in Mexico.
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gnukid
Ultra Nomad
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Zactley
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danaeb
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Location: San Diego; El Centenario
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| Quote: Originally posted by Phil184 |
So it seems the thing to do is buy a California plated vehicle (or some other state) and not bring it back to California and that means I don't have
to have a smog test. Isn't this correct?
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If you decide to buy a CA-plated car, here's the CA DMV form to fill out for smog exemption. It has to be submitted annually. I do mine through AAA
in San Diego.
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/connect/407b2792-be32-47cf...
[Edited on 5-11-2017 by danaeb]
Experience enables you to recognize a mistake every time you repeat it.
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