BajaNomad

Buying a car in Baja?

Cardon Man - 2-19-2008 at 09:48 AM

A guy I know has a vehicle for sale but it's not imported and has Canadian plates. Is it possible for me to buy it and either register it in Mexico or in my home state of Washington? Any thoughts, advice, experiences from fellow nomads appreciated.

tp - 2-19-2008 at 01:10 PM

You can buy whatever you want. That's one thing.
Importing is another story.
Permanent or temporarily is the first question.
Import is done on a regular base @ the border. Takes about 3 to 5 days depending on make and model and year and if you can show the car.
You got to have a PEXIM (Permission exporting / importing)
Importing inside Baja is also possible but more difficult and only where there is an aduana office..
Go and see mexican aduana, they tell you what it takes.
tp

Osprey - 2-19-2008 at 02:36 PM

Now is not a good time to import. In Cabo San Lucas and elsewhere now there are roadblocks to check for stolen/unregistered/expired registered cars -- they are looking for dope/arms/terrorist stuff and more. Real importation (the legal way) will be risky and will cost about $1,000 U.S. For a lot less than that you can get one to satisfy the plates people, get the plates but the federales are now keeping records and could catch a fraud with the new stickers/doctored import papers. Beware if you find "a deal". You could get the plates, later lose the car.

bajaguy - 2-19-2008 at 02:43 PM

If you do a search on this board you can find some posts where Nomads were registering/titleing vehicles LEGALLY in South Dakota (I think) and very reasonable in price.

tp - 2-19-2008 at 08:10 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Osprey
Now is not a good time to import. In Cabo San Lucas and elsewhere now there are roadblocks to check for stolen/unregistered/expired registered cars -- they are looking for dope/arms/terrorist stuff and more. Real importation (the legal way) will be risky and will cost about $1,000 U.S. For a lot less than that you can get one to satisfy the plates people, get the plates but the federales are now keeping records and could catch a fraud with the new stickers/doctored import papers. Beware if you find "a deal". You could get the plates, later lose the car.


That is not quite correct how you say it, Osprey. Importation is NOT risky if done correctly. And it does not cost $1,000.
It first of all depends on the year of manufactoring of the car.
Out of my gutts: it is $300 for a year 2000 car. Older is cheaper, newer more.
Again as already said, go to Aduana and ask. They are friendly and helpfull. Speak Spanish or get a friend to help you. Mexican authorities are far more friendly than US authorities. You will see!
And, hey, loose the car?? That's BS! Other than the car is stolen you have nothing to fear.
Those Panda Roadblocks North of Cabo are no harm to you if your car is o.k. And remember: As a US citizen w/ US drivers lisc. and a US lisc.plate on the car you can drive as long as you want wherever you want in Baja. No Panda can change that. Everything else is incorrect.

car importation - Aduana

Mulegena - 2-19-2008 at 09:21 PM

sorry, what is Aduana and where is/are office/s located, please?

longlegsinlapaz - 2-19-2008 at 09:59 PM

Uhhhhh....Panda = black & whites...State versus City Police, is my guess!

tp - 2-19-2008 at 10:25 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by longlegsinlapaz
Uhhhhh....Panda = black & whites...State versus City Police, is my guess!


Correct. PFP (Policia Federal Preventif) is called Pandas as of black and white cars.
I have to add that the roadblock north of CaboSanLucas was mostly done by military guys w/ Pandas aside. You got to know that Pandas have no authority inside city limits.

Aduana, also correct, is the Mexican Customs.
A main office is located in La Paz @ the Malecon.
Very friendly people there will give you in writing what it takes to import a car.
Or just punch in your search machine "Aduana Mexicana"
everything else is explained clearly. Importation of cars easy to find even if you don't speak Spanish. But understanding the process, you got to have knowledge of the Spanish language.