BajaNomad

Do you EVER have to get a car permit in Baja?

BajaBad - 4-23-2008 at 07:33 AM

I spent an hour searching through archives... lots of good threads but cannot find an answer to what is most likely a simple question (for someone else!).

I know Baja is a Free TZ - and you do not have to get a permit (and post bond) like on the mainland... but ..... is this only for a six-month stay with a tourist visa?? If you live in Baja and have an FM-2 or FM-3 do you have to register your car (where?) and get a permit or not???

Do you have to get a Mexican drivers license after six-months, or never??

Haven't owned a car in Baja - can ya tell. :yes:
Any info much appreciated!
BajaBad
www.vivalabaja.com

DENNIS - 4-23-2008 at 07:42 AM

No car permits or posted bonds, as you know them on the mainland, in Baja.
Living in Baja with an FM3/2, you can still have a stateside registered car with current registration in which case you need a stateside drivers license. You will only need a Mexican license if you drive a Mexico plated car.

BajaBad - 4-23-2008 at 08:04 AM

Is clear now - just need to be sure had the correct info! Thanks a ton Dennis :bounce:


Is there any reason someone would want to 'register' or license their U.S. auto in Baja? If they do, is it an import process that basically turns the car into a 'mexican' auto that can not then go back across the border into the U.S.? Someone I knew did this for some reason (yes, very vague and sorry but it has been awhile!), maybe to just dissolve all U.S. assets, etc, and use only their Mexican driver's license, etc.?

bajaguy - 4-23-2008 at 08:38 AM

BajaBad..... just a little info for your web site and blog......

it's "Baja", not...... "the Baja"

BajaBad - 4-23-2008 at 08:53 AM

You are correct - I use it casually, not meaning to offend. I clarify clearly in book - but appreciate the feedback... :saint: wish when I had originally posted about the title (yikes, don't want to go there again) somone had mentioned Viva Baja (other site by a nomad with a lot of good info, trip reports etc.)- would ha ve probably changed my title to something different but no matter now.

lizard lips - 4-23-2008 at 09:22 AM

Don't worry about Bajaguy. He gets really cranky in his old age!

Hook - 4-23-2008 at 10:24 AM

What's so all fired bad about referring to it as the Baja? It's a slang term. No one is using it on a map or in a dictionary.

Is calling the Sierra Nevada "the Sierras" also so wrong? The Rockies? The City?

It's almost a term of endearment to me that touches on it's rough nature; almost an adjective instead of just a noun. Part Baja, part bajada.

bajalou - 4-23-2008 at 10:38 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaBad
Is clear now - just need to be sure had the correct info! Thanks a ton Dennis :bounce:


Is there any reason someone would want to 'register' or license their U.S. auto in Baja? If they do, is it an import process that basically turns the car into a 'mexican' auto that can not then go back across the border into the U.S.? Someone I knew did this for some reason (yes, very vague and sorry but it has been awhile!), maybe to just dissolve all U.S. assets, etc, and use only their Mexican driver's license, etc.?


Mexican plated cars regularly cross into the USA.

Hook - 4-23-2008 at 10:44 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaBad
Is clear now - just need to be sure had the correct info! Thanks a ton Dennis :bounce:


Is there any reason someone would want to 'register' or license their U.S. auto in Baja? If they do, is it an import process that basically turns the car into a 'mexican' auto that can not then go back across the border into the U.S.? Someone I knew did this for some reason (yes, very vague and sorry but it has been awhile!), maybe to just dissolve all U.S. assets, etc, and use only their Mexican driver's license, etc.?


I think the Americans who do import their cars either have no plans on ever returning OR, more commonly, they are trying to rid themselves of needing to keep US insurance, US smog regulations, US driver's licensing, etc.

sylens - 4-23-2008 at 11:32 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Hook
What's so all fired bad about referring to it as the Baja? It's a slang term. No one is using it on a map or in a dictionary.

Is calling the Sierra Nevada "the Sierras" also so wrong? The Rockies? The City?

It's almost a term of endearment to me that touches on it's rough nature; almost an adjective instead of just a noun. Part Baja, part bajada.


this has all been hashed out before, but at the risk of adding to the redundancy, i'll reiterate the problem some of us have with the phrase, which sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard to some who are bilingual.:P:P (bilingual)

the sierras, the city, the rockies, are all fine, because "the" precedes nouns. baja, in contrast, is an adjective that is modifying california. you wouldn't (translating) call it "the lower," would you?:?:

that would be similar to shortening west virginia to "the west" or north carolina to "the north." :no:

just as "frisco" does not bother some and drives others nuts, "the baja" is fine for some and anathema to others.:barf:

ain't you glad you asked:lol::lol::lol::lol:

Hook - 4-23-2008 at 11:51 AM

Well, no one ever said slang had to make sense............it's ability to communicate quickly or colorfully is usually the reason it's created.

DENNIS - 4-23-2008 at 12:00 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by sylens
at the risk of adding to the redundancy, i'll reiterate


A reiterated redundancy would of course be repeatedly redundant.

sylens - 4-23-2008 at 02:31 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Quote:
Originally posted by sylens
at the risk of adding to the redundancy, i'll reiterate


A reiterated redundancy would of course be repeatedly redundant.


and, if i may say, reduntantly repeated:lol:

Hook - 4-23-2008 at 02:50 PM

And if it hadnt been redundantly repeated, I would never have seen the original argument against The Baja............which does have some semantic merit.

And for that I thank you, Yes, I thank you. Thank you.