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My truck died

MitchMan - 2-24-2010 at 05:37 PM

What do I do with a US plated vehicle that completely broke down and is inoperable in La Paz? It's not drivable, it permanently dead.

This California US plated 1984 Chevy Blazer that I keep at my place in La Paz needs to be disposed of. In January 2010 it finally died and needs to be junked. Won't start and it was ready to fall apart anyway, so it did.

Since I can't take it back to the USA, does anyone know what I have to do to junk it in La Pa, BCS? What I heard in a "by the way" fashion was to take the US California plates off the vehicle and turn these plates back to the California DMV and tell them the car is "gone". Does any one know if that's all it takes? What do I have to do to junk the car legally in La Paz? Anybody know?

Thanks in advance.

[Edited on 2-25-2010 by MitchMan]

monoloco - 2-24-2010 at 05:56 PM

Take the plates off and sell it for 100 pesos. Someone will want it for parts.

Bob and Susan - 2-24-2010 at 06:23 PM

thats all it takes

take the plates and the "pink slip" to the dmv and "junk it"

give it away

alafrontera - 2-24-2010 at 06:31 PM

Not sure what your concern is, do you think CADMV will care?

My point is that if you just stop renewing the registration it simply isn't operable on US roadways, other than that who will care?

BajaWarrior - 2-24-2010 at 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by alafrontera
Not sure what your concern is, do you think CADMV will care?

My point is that if you just stop renewing the registration it simply isn't operable on US roadways, other than that who will care?

That takes 5 years to fall off of DMV records. The vehicle could (or it's VIN) end up involved in an accident still in MitchMan's name and he remain liable for it.

Pop the VIN. while your at it and make sure it sells for parts and surrender the plates and Title.

shari - 2-24-2010 at 06:46 PM

these days people make more selling a junk car for scrap...the scrap metal guys pay way more than 100 pesos.

alafrontera - 2-24-2010 at 06:50 PM

Ahh... okay then. I was assuming it was beyond repair but now I see the problem.

Note to self: go out and find the 3-4 vehicles I've abandoned over the years and make sure they are not in use

Let's see... two in Florida, one in St Thomas... oh and the one I left at the ex wife's (formerly my) house :mad:

monoloco - 2-24-2010 at 06:52 PM

I thought that once you sell a car and sign over the pink slip to someone it's no longer your responsibility. How do you have any control whether or not they go to the DMV and put it in their name.

monoloco - 2-24-2010 at 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shari
these days people make more selling a junk car for scrap...the scrap metal guys pay way more than 100 pesos.

You are probably right, they sure are charging a pretty penny these days when you buy it back in the form of rebar, wire etc.

longlegsinlapaz - 2-24-2010 at 07:19 PM

Ahem....obviously everyone is forgetting the "technicality" that it is NOT LEGAL to SELL a non-imported vehicle to a Mexican citizen. Why no go to transito & ask the legal authorities if you can legally scrap a US licensed vehicle to a jonke....or HOW can you legally dispose of it in La Paz....without taking it back to the US & without putting either yourself nor a Mexican national in jeopardy. Also, don't forget that the VIN # appears in more places that just the dashboard!

desertcpl - 2-24-2010 at 07:21 PM

go to DMV web site ,, I always when selling my cars,, I register the sell immediately

amirravon - 2-24-2010 at 07:25 PM

one man junk is another man's gold

monoloco - 2-24-2010 at 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by longlegsinlapaz
Ahem....obviously everyone is forgetting the "technicality" that it is NOT LEGAL to SELL a non-imported vehicle to a Mexican citizen. Why no go to transito & ask the legal authorities if you can legally scrap a US licensed vehicle to a jonke....or HOW can you legally dispose of it in La Paz....without taking it back to the US & without putting either yourself nor a Mexican national in jeopardy. Also, don't forget that the VIN # appears in more places that just the dashboard!

It is technically illegal, but have you ever heard of anyone getting in trouble for it?

mulegemichael - 2-24-2010 at 08:09 PM

yank the plates and walk away from it...ya think someone will run your vin# with all the thousands and thousands of abandoned rigs in this country?..i think not....whatta ya gonna do?: tow it back north?....i don't think so..go have a cold one

DENNIS - 2-24-2010 at 08:21 PM

Just leave it in front of Jesse's restaurant. He'll take care of it for you. :lol:

Maybe he'll drag it up on the sidewalk and make a planter out of it.

mulegemichael - 2-24-2010 at 08:24 PM

the geraniums are going crazy right now

KurtG - 2-24-2010 at 08:25 PM

You can go online at the DMV website and do a release of liability report. All you have to do is say "sold out of state" or fill in the name and city of the Mexican purchaser. If you don't do a release of liability California will keep billing you for the registration fees. If you have the Ca. pink slip the release of liability form is attached to it (the part with everything in red.) You can mail that to DMV but easier to do it on line. This just creates a record at DMV that the car is no longer in your possesion. I've done this with cars and motorcycles that I scrapped here in California and a couple of others that were sold out of state.

BajaWarrior - 2-24-2010 at 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by monoloco
I thought that once you sell a car and sign over the pink slip to someone it's no longer your responsibility. How do you have any control whether or not they go to the DMV and put it in their name.

Attached to the Title is the "Notice of Release of Liability" to clear your name from the Title. Detach and fill out Seller and Buyer info and mail to the DMV.

AmoPescar - 2-24-2010 at 09:45 PM

Just haul it out on a road somewhere and walk away...

and by the end of the third day it will be completely stripped and you won't ever have to worry about it again.

BUT...send the DMV the paperwork too!

Miguelamo :light:

Bob and Susan - 2-25-2010 at 06:47 AM

dont do that because someone else has to deal with it later...

its like littering BIG TIME

we had to get permission to bury a car some left out by the road a couple of years ago...what a pain

there are lots of junk yards even here in mulege (across from the pemex)

dont sell it...thats illegal

just give it to them

junk it at the ca dmv and thats it... youre done

Pick Slip

TMW - 2-25-2010 at 08:30 AM

Quote:

There is also a form that comes with the title that you are suppose to fill out and sent to the DMV stating when you sold or gave it away and to whom. If you don't have the form then write the VIN number and license number on a piece of paper along with your name and who you sold or gave it to and send that to the CA DMV. If you don't you are still responsible for the vehicle should something happen. In any event it would save you from the hassle of proving you were not responsible. By the way keep a copy for yourself.

DENNIS - 2-25-2010 at 08:42 AM

After seeing all the helpful suggestions for disposing of a vehicle, does anybody but me get the feeling that governments run your life?

Phil S - 2-25-2010 at 08:52 AM

Dennis. Something we can agree on.

DENNIS - 2-25-2010 at 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Phil S
Dennis. Something we can agree on.

It's about time. :lol:

durrelllrobert - 2-25-2010 at 09:13 AM

When we registered our cars/ trucks in South Dakota, what did we do with the CA plates?

DENNIS - 2-25-2010 at 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by durrelllrobert
When we registered our cars/ trucks in South Dakota, what did we do with the CA plates?

Nothing. I still have mine. I'm waiting for another "do or die" order from any one of the participating governments..... Baja, South Dakota, California, USA, MEX.
They're all lining up to get us. :lol:

bajaguy - 2-25-2010 at 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaWarrior
..................Pop the VIN.........

Not a good idea.....what about the other 8 or 9 locations on the vehicle that have the VIN???? :?:

Take it to a Yonke....oy Yankee

MitchMan - 2-25-2010 at 01:44 PM

Thanks for the responses.

I think that I have a somewhat better sense of what to do now. I am going to take it to a yonke in Baja and let them have it. I am going to take the California plates off and return them to the DMV together with the pink slip and fill out the DMV form for non-responsibility.

I hope that it is fully legal in Baja Mexico to junk a US plated vehicle there, given that it is not driveable. If so, what is the procedure to accomplish that pursuant to Mexican law and local procedure? That's really the real question here.

irenemm - 2-25-2010 at 01:49 PM

if you give the yonke the vehicle give him the pink slip too. so he can show it is not stolen and turned in for insurance.

DENNIS - 2-25-2010 at 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by irenemm
if you give the yonke the vehicle give him the pink slip too. so he can show it is not stolen and turned in for insurance.

Never. The pink slip is the most valuable part of that vehicle. Keep it so it can't be fitted to another vehicle.

comitan - 2-25-2010 at 02:13 PM

Just call Montana Auto Parts, he'll tell you what to do. Speaks English

. (Will) 612 1246527

irenemm - 2-25-2010 at 02:19 PM

the pink shows the parts you sell off the truck that is not stolen. check with the federal police too. they speak english and they can tell you what to do.
i got parts for my 88 bronco and it shows the vin of the vehicle it came from. and i keep the paper work in the folder for that reason to show i do not have stlden parts

longlegsinlapaz - 2-25-2010 at 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Morgaine7

I think it's an aduana (customs) issue, since it's a foreign-plated car. To be legal in Mexico, that's probably where to start. But I'll bet junkyard owners will know the rules. There are many "yonkes" on the Las Planes highway (continuation of Colosio after Forjadores heading toward the mountains). Just ride out there with someone and ask them. They may offer to buy it. Sell Lencho the door first, though!

Mechanics may also be able to advise you.

Kate

Quote:

Originally posted by MitchMan
Thanks for the responses.

I think that I have a somewhat better sense of what to do now. I am going to take it to a yonke in Baja and let them have it. I am going to take the California plates off and return them to the DMV together with the pink slip and fill out the DMV form for non-responsibility.

I hope that it is fully legal in Baja Mexico to junk a US plated vehicle there, given that it is not driveable. If so, what is the procedure to accomplish that pursuant to Mexican law and local procedure? That's really the real question here.

LOSARIPES - 2-25-2010 at 03:26 PM

Write "Sold to Mexico"on the title and mail it to the DMV. There is no liability that way. They don't care and you will not be responsibly for registration from there on.
Call (or talk to) the guys at any "Yonke" and they come over and take it for free.

TMW - 2-25-2010 at 07:33 PM

The DMV doesn't give a rats behind about the title other than knowing that you sold or gave it away and to whom. That's how they clear their records. Who ever you sold it to needs the title to stay legal when they part out the parts. If a Mexican Federal cops calls CA DMV and says we have a car vin # ****** and believe it's stolen, the CA DMV can check and say it was last own by **** and our records show he sold it to Jose Cruz on 2/25/2010 for $25.

MitchMan - 2-25-2010 at 08:33 PM

Wow, I wonder if, in fact, the Mexican cops would actually place a call to the California DMV. If they have actually ever done that, that is a concept that blows the mind. Especially given that the car will not have any plates to identify it to California. But. that doesn't mean that the cops wouldn't call, I suppose.

That scares me a bit. I need to find out the legal process to retire (junk) it in Baja. I hesitate asking the people that work at a yonke for details of the process. I have trouble getting good, solid, accurate, current, and reliable legal advice from my Mexican attorney on anything. I have learned that I usually have to corroborate every thing he tells me with an additional source before I can rely on it.

[Edited on 2-26-2010 by MitchMan]

BLAZER !!!!!!!!!!!

Norm - 2-26-2010 at 08:20 AM

YES I WILL TAKE YOUR BLAZER, WE HAVE A GOOD ONE & NEED A FEW PARTS FOR OURS .WE ARE OUT NEAR THE AIRPORT !! LET ME KNOW !!

DENNIS - 2-26-2010 at 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Norm
YES I WILL TAKE YOUR BLAZER, WE HAVE A GOOD ONE & NEED A FEW PARTS FOR OURS .WE ARE OUT NEAR THE AIRPORT !! LET ME KNOW !!

You had better check with the five involved governments to make sure it's alright with them. You may be required to submit a loyalty oath or something like that to qualify. :lol:

Norm - 2-26-2010 at 12:40 PM

THANKS BUDDY WE HAVE BEEN HERE FOR 30++= YEARS & THEY TOLD US

GET IT DUN !!!!!

Bob and Susan - 2-26-2010 at 01:09 PM

"The pink slip is the most valuable part of that vehicle"

sorry charlie...i mean dennis

the "pink slip" is just a paper...its really nothing now days

everything is "in the computer"

you dont need it to "junk" it

DENNIS - 2-26-2010 at 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob and Susan
"The pink slip is the most valuable part of that vehicle"

All I meant by that is, don't give it up to anybody.

Bob and Susan - 2-26-2010 at 01:23 PM

give it up...its ONLY a paper and is EASILY replaced ($15)

its like a passport...its only a paper

or a license...its only plastic

the real value...is it real and in place

MitchMan - 2-26-2010 at 03:09 PM

Hi Bob and Susan, I agree with your assessment.

Official paper documents are presumed by law to be highly regarded "evidence". For instance, ownership of real estate is evidenced by a title document. The title document will hold up in court under most circumstances, unless there is quality proof of its lack of veracity or validity. That's the way it is with legal documents, they are considered "good" proof, but actual real facts and circumstances that actually show the actual "truth" are considered superior. That goes for any so called legal documents such as title documents, birth certificates, etc.

The point is, is that what is shown in court to be real and actual is what untimately prevails in a court of law. Legal documents can be good proof, but if there is other qualifying proof (that holds up under legal examination) that evidences something other than the representations of a document, then that other qualifying proof will prevail over the document. Again, that goes for any so called legal documents such as title documents, birth certificates, etc.

That said, in the absence of other proof, the pink slip to my car is a very valuable document and the highest form of proof I have, and I don't agree with surrendering that document to anyone in Mexico.

My real problem is finding out the proper way to junk this California plated vehicle in Baja so that I am free of liability under any and all circumstances pursuant to Mexican law. That's the question that I have to get definitevely answered at this point.

[Edited on 2-26-2010 by MitchMan]

woody with a view - 2-26-2010 at 07:16 PM

Quote:

My real problem is finding out the proper way to junk this California plated vehicle in Baja so that I am free of liability under any and all circumstances pursuant to Mexican law.

ghost-ride it off the highest cliff you can find. that outta take care of all your worries.

postholedigger - 3-2-2010 at 11:56 PM

I work in the car business. You need to get the signature of whoever you sell it to, on the release of liability slip attached to the top of the certificate of title. Fill this form out and send or deliver it to the DMV (plates usually stay with the car. Not necessary to surrender the plates to the DMV as in the NE states). Failure to do this can result in the finger pointing back to you if the car turns up later on in the legal system. Filling out the release of liability leaves a paper trail at the DMV that will point any further inquiries about the car to the purchaser, and away from you.

MitchMan - 3-3-2010 at 12:42 PM

Thanks Postholedigger. Since I have to dispose of the vehicle in Baja, I don't think that I will leave the California license plates with the car. In fact, DMV told me to bring the plates back to them together with the completed release of liability form. I noted that on that form, there is only a line for the new owner's name and address, but not a signature line. The new owner's signature is not required.

But, again, the real question that I have is with the legal procedure IN BAJA and with regard to existing Mexican legal requirements. I can't believe that this is first time that an American will be disposing a California plated car in the Baja. I know that it has happened many times before. I just want to know the exact legal procedure. Anyone?

vandenberg - 3-3-2010 at 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody in ob
ghost-ride it off the highest cliff you can find. that outta take care of all your worries.

Just make sure you get out first. :biggrin:

vandenberg - 3-3-2010 at 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by vandenberg

Quote:

Originally posted by woody in ob
ghost-ride it off the highest cliff you can find. that outta take care of all your worries.

Just make sure you get out first. :biggrin:

Come to think of it, if you stay put that would really take care of your worries.

TMW - 3-3-2010 at 07:15 PM

Stop by an auto insurance office or the police department or Federal highway patrol office and see what they say. If you speak spanish the Federales will talk to you in legal terms that they won't in english.

MitchMan - 3-17-2010 at 09:53 AM

Update!

Will at Montana Yonke won't take the car because it is CA plated. He said his Yonke yard gets checked electronically (by some gov't guy with a "reader" device) every three months for NON Mexican plated cars. He said that CA DMV gave the Mexican gov't the list of all Calif registered vin #s and that the reader can dedect on CA plated car instantly, and that is illegal for Will to have that in his yard.

Apparently, the only thing that I can do with my car is to make sure that I junk it for parts only. If a Mexican citizen gets my truck and fixes it and uses it on the road, he and I will be in big trouble, so I've been told.

That's all fine and dandy, except How on earth do I make sure that someone won't fix the car and use it? Apparently, there are no specific legal steps that I can take in order to free myself of ALL liability if I junk it for parts but someone fixes and uses the car on the road instead.

I guess the lesson here is if you bring a US pated car to Baja, make sure that you keep it in good enough condition to get it back to the states to junk it.

bajaguy - 3-17-2010 at 09:54 AM

Rent a Cat D-8 from somebody and give it a decent burial

Debra - 3-17-2010 at 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajaguy
Rent a Cat D-8 from somebody and give it a decent burial

Please don't......Huge no-no, litter problem.

Seems the best thing to releave yourself of this problem is to mail in the bottom portion of you "pink" slip don't know about Ca. but in Wa. when you sell a car or give it away there is a bottom portion that you mail to the DMV getting you off the hook for liaibilty......I would also worry that some genius Mexican wil get that baby back on the road and then you would be screwed.

bajaguy - 3-17-2010 at 04:40 PM

Debra....wouldn't be litter if it was put in a hole about 6 feet deep then covered up

DENNIS - 3-17-2010 at 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Debra
mail in the bottom portion of you "pink" slip don't know about Ca. but in Wa. when you sell a car or give it away there is a bottom portion that you mail to the DMV getting you off the hook for liaibilty

Same in Ca.