BajaNomad - Car permit required for Baja?

Car permit required for Baja?

pponcy11 - 2-17-2012 at 05:36 AM

Just checking to see what you guys have to say!

I have been informed that you need a permit to drive car down the baja. I plan on leaving the car here in Cabo and the permit promises that you will NOT leave car in Mexico. Here is the link that says this... http://quepasabaja.com/?p=426 Does anyone out there have recent experiences driving their car/truck down the baja?

[Edited on 2-17-2012 by pponcy11]

[Edited on 2-17-2012 by BajaNomad]

bacquito - 2-17-2012 at 06:19 AM

Interesting, news to me!. I have traveled many parts of Mexico and never ran into this problem.
I frequently leave my car in Ensenada ( I have a house there) and nobody ever (police, Fed. etc.) asked me for an import permit.
My suggestion is keep a low profile, have Mexican insurance, passport, registration.

in the 70's . . .

Mula - 2-17-2012 at 06:30 AM

when I lived on the mainland in Mazatlan, my car was noted on my tourist visa and I had to take it out with me every 6 months.

If I needed to fly out, I had to have a special exit visa.

Then I would fly back in with a new visa, without the car note on it.

But if I were ever stopped and the car was not on my visa when checked, the car would be theirs.

But here in Baja driving back and forth, no one has ever said noted the vehicles on my visas before I got the FM2.

Maybe it has something to do with the Fronteria. And my husband drives in and flies out or visa a verse frequently from BCS. ]

DENNIS - 2-17-2012 at 07:49 AM

I think this is just more of the nonsense the police make up as an entry into your wallet.........like seat belts for your dog. Just hope it doesn't become popular among their ranks.

There is, however, a car-permit requirement on the mainland, as Mula mentions. That may be where this confusion started.

.

[Edited on 2-17-2012 by DENNIS]

oxxo - 2-17-2012 at 08:09 AM

I have been driving my car to Cabo, two to four times a year for the last several years. Sometimes the car stays in Baja six to eight months at a time. Some of my friends leave their US plated cars in Baja year round. You do not need a permit to drive your car in Baja. Rules on the Mainland are different. Drive your car down and enjoy yourself! I'm driving down again (CA plated car) tomorrow morning. The least enjoyable part of the drive is Ensenada to San Quintin. Happy to get that part over with first.

DENNIS - 2-17-2012 at 08:30 AM

If this were at all accurate, how would the authorities distinguish the day-tripper and casual tourist from those with intentions to have a prolonged stay?
They wouldn't....without alienating the tourist whom they're trying to invite back to Baja. The 50-KM regulation would dictate that every tourist to Ensenada would need a car permit.
Never happen.

mulegemichael - 2-17-2012 at 08:38 AM

we store our car in loreto all summer long at loreto storage; no questions asked...ever...been doing it for years and years.

BajaNomad - 2-17-2012 at 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by oxxo
You do not need a permit to drive your car in Baja. Rules on the Mainland are different. Drive your car down and enjoy yourself!

DENNIS - 2-17-2012 at 09:13 AM

Stories like this only tend to illustrate a common point: even the police don't know what the law is in Mexico....and if they don't, how can we be expected to know?

.

[Edited on 2-17-2012 by DENNIS]

mcfez - 2-17-2012 at 09:18 AM

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html

Vehicle Permits: Tourists wishing to travel beyond the border zone with their vehicle must obtain a temporary import permit or risk having their vehicle confiscated by Mexican customs officials. At present the only exceptions to the requirement are for vehicles traveling in the Baja Peninsula and those vehicles covered by the “Only Sonora” program in Western Sonora. This program generally covers the area west of Mexican Federal Highway 15 between the Arizona border and the Gulf of California, ending in Empalme. Foreign vehicles entering Mexico through land border crossings in Sonora do not need temporary import permits if they remain within the zone established by the program. All foreign tourists, however, must have their valid immigration documents (FMM, FM2, FM3 or FME) with them at all times while traveling through Mexico regardless of whether or not they must register their vehicles. For details on the program, visit the “ Only Sonora ” website (Spanish only).

pponcy11 - 2-17-2012 at 10:07 AM

Thanks everyone!! I appreciate the feedback!

I am actually drving north from Cabo on Tuesday and just wanted to be safe. Say hi if you see my white 98 Chevy PU and Shell with Oregon plates.

David K - 2-17-2012 at 07:11 PM

There is another issue... Sure we all know that Baja and western Sonora are in the 'free zone' not needing a car permit.

He said he plans on LEAVING the car (his property) in Mexico... and THAT is NOT PERMITTED... for TOURISTS (travelers with Tourist Card). You cannot leave personal property in Mexico at the end of your vacation. That requires a different visa... see FM-3 for details!

BajaBlanca - 2-17-2012 at 07:27 PM

welcome to BajaNomad pponcy11 adn thanks for posting that notice ... I had NO idea - for sure we had never heard of this before. Another way to make a buck for the cops who are in the know 'cause I doubt anyone would think of "importing" a vehicle - even temporarily - when visiting ....

DavidE - 2-18-2012 at 08:35 AM

BC and BCS law does specify however that the foreign registered motor vehicle must display current and valid registration. They can cite a vehicle with expired tags. This is not uncommon in La Paz, CSL, and Constitucion. PS: a couple of cops let me read the law right out of their fat black book,

mcfez - 2-18-2012 at 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
There is another issue... Sure we all know that Baja and western Sonora are in the 'free zone' not needing a car permit.

He said he plans on LEAVING the car (his property) in Mexico... and THAT is NOT PERMITTED... for TOURISTS (travelers with Tourist Card). You cannot leave personal property in Mexico at the end of your vacation. That requires a different visa... see FM-3 for details!

Opps. Txs for that correction David

David K - 2-18-2012 at 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcfez

Quote:

Opps. Txs for that correction David

Not a correction, just additional info not provided before.

Seriously, I think we all know there are Nomads who leave things like cars in Baja (even trailers and houses) who still don't have an FM-3, and go back again and again... Of course, they are no longer 'tourists on a trip', but more correctly 'part-time residents' who return to the same place (their vacation home).

[Edited on 2-19-2012 by David K]

DENNIS - 2-18-2012 at 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DavidE
BC and BCS law does specify however that the foreign registered motor vehicle must display current and valid registration. They can cite a vehicle with expired tags.

Insurance is useless with expired plates as well.

reg

captkw - 2-18-2012 at 08:01 PM

I started a few years back to take a razor blade and cut a cross in my year tag,,so when they try and steal it ,it break's off and leave most of on the plate, it was a big problem in cabo a while back,gringo's would bye them on the black market and was/is easy money for a theif,,but,,I have been to cabo 1 time in the last 10 year's,.that was last year..and I lasted 15 min. or so...had to get back to baja....FAST !! K&T :cool:

[Edited on 2-19-2012 by captkw]

Bajahowodd - 2-19-2012 at 04:54 PM

Perhaps a slight hijack here. We were in Cabo just after the first of the year, having been there last October, too. Driving down, we noticed many US plated vehicles (not that they were all being driven by US citizens) in BC. But the farther South we progressed, we encountered almost no US plated vehicles.

Spent two weeks driving all around the La Paz and Los Cabos area, and frankly, I can't recall seeing so few US or California plated vehicles in the last decade.

DENNIS - 2-19-2012 at 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
Driving down, we noticed many US plated vehicles (not that they were all being driven by US citizens) in BC. But the farther South we progressed, we encountered almost no US plated vehicles.

Spent two weeks driving all around the La Paz and Los Cabos area, and frankly, I can't recall seeing so few US or California plated vehicles in the last decade.

They're called "Chocolates." If they took them off the road here, there wouldn't be any traffic at all.

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/ensign-hickman/2011/ap...

DavidE - 2-19-2012 at 05:59 PM

Hi Dennis, and thanks for the amplification. There is yet another caveat: Extraneous motor vehicles displaying current and valid TIP registration for use in mainland Mexico need not have current extraneous license plate tags. Takes a durned sea lawyer to keep all this straight some times.