BajaNomad

UPDATE: menaje de casa...worth the effort for small load??

rhintransit - 3-25-2013 at 06:38 PM

okay, having changed my status now to Permanent, am thinking I might be qualified to do a mena"j"e de cas"a" ( (the autocorrect keeps trying to change that to something else) ... am not sure if it's worth it. ???
situation, am now in USA. have maybe a week or two to complete all requirements, if I go this route. am in Phoenix, I assume I would go to the consular office here, right?
I have a small amount of used household 'stuff' to bring down. maybe a pickup load piled high or pickup and small trailer. it's all used, four old but decorative chests, some flat files, an old drafting table in pieces, an office chair, a very used dining room table and four chairs. four or five boxes of used kitchenware/plates/etc. value, who knows? it's primarily sentimental stuff to me and I doubt would raise the eyebrows of some customs guy, but who knows. I could maybe do an inventory, maybe come up with 500 or so at garage sale prices, maybe they might argue higher but definitely no more than 1000 with a straight face.
so that's what, 17% of 1000 at worst, less than 200 bucks.
I've been told that the mena"j"ede casa requires a customs broker. that would add time, and expense. probably more than 200 bucks worth?
am sure there are opinions and experiences out there...what is your experience? I can do my own guessing, how about 1st or 2nd hand experiences?

[Edited on 4-12-2013 by rhintransit]

DENNIS - 3-25-2013 at 06:49 PM

Just cross your fingers and drive through. Just tell them you're very poor and this is all you have. [at that point, you begin to sob...and sob]
They won't charge you anything.....maybe. Not much anyway.

LaTijereta - 3-25-2013 at 07:18 PM

When you head back..Just cross at Tecate "early am", and should not be a problem.. But if you get the red light..
You should have a simple manafest with the value +/- of the items, and if Adunda wants to tax you..it is very simple at Tecate..
:cool:

Hook - 3-25-2013 at 07:30 PM

They're gonna stop you with all that back there. Even if you get the green, I bet they will. It's happened to me.

It's used stuff, right? Just declare. They're gonna stop you.

Ferget the mensaje or whatever its called. Over here, that forces you to use an importer. Just declare.

From there, take LaTijereta's advice. And pay it, if you must. It's not that much money. Value it at garage sale prices. Hopefully, none of it looks that new.

[Edited on 3-26-2013 by Hook]

willardguy - 3-25-2013 at 08:43 PM

I'd put your trust in davidE's advice. dont drink and import housewares!:lol:




Si Menaje

No Tome

O

You're going to lose money big time. The multa for the infraccion now is well over 200 dollars. Many municipios will send the vehicle to a corralón until the multa is paid in cash. Goodbye, radio, battery, spare tire, and contents of vehicle and trunk.

Just A Head's Up...

[Edited on 3-26-2013 by willardguy]

BajaWarrior - 3-26-2013 at 04:46 AM

Make a list of of your items along the price of each item and go through the Declaration lane. Pay the roughly 17% and your outa there.

We did it twice this year, once through Tecate and once through Mexicali East.

schwlind - 3-26-2013 at 05:37 AM

We hauled a 8 x 12 u-haul trailer from FL to San Diego, then a friend that lives in Baja met us there with his huge truck... we transfered all the contents to his truck and headed south... Crossed at San Ysidro.. both we and our friend got a green, but as was posted previously, our friend was told to go to the inspection area. The agent there spoke some English, and was very polite. I then wrote down for him as much as I could remember that was in the truck, told him it was all old used furniture for our house, gave him an estimate of what it was worth and we ended up paying about $40 US... at first the agent said the duty was around $60 us, but he reduced it to $40. At the time he said that if we had been occupants in the truck we could have each used the $300 duty free per FM holder, but we weren't in his truck. This was several years ago and things may have changed dramatically, but that was our experience. Be polite and respectful and they'll generally try to be helpful.

nbacc - 3-26-2013 at 07:48 AM

Just declare......prepare to pay something. Ours was all used and off Craig's list and we had no idea what it all was worth (house hold stuff...a trailer full), Be nice, haggle a bit, let them look if the want and again be polite and again be prepared to pay something. Nancy

zoesterone - 3-26-2013 at 07:57 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by rhintransit
okay, having changed my status now to Permanent, am thinking I might be qualified to do a mena"j"e de cas"a" ( (the autocorrect keeps trying to change that to something else) ... am not sure if it's worth it. ???
situation, am now in USA. have maybe a week or two to complete all requirements, if I go this route. am in Phoenix, I assume I would go to the consular office here, right?
I have a small amount of used household 'stuff' to bring down. maybe a pickup load piled high or pickup and small trailer. it's all used, four old but decorative chests, some flat files, an old drafting table in pieces, an office chair, a very used dining room table and four chairs. four or five boxes of used kitchenware/plates/etc. value, who knows? it's primarily sentimental stuff to me and I doubt would raise the eyebrows of some customs guy, but who knows. I could maybe do an inventory, maybe come up with 500 or so at garage sale prices, maybe they might argue higher but definitely no more than 1000 with a straight face.
so that's what, 17% of 1000 at worst, less than 200 bucks.
I've been told that the mena"j"ede casa requires a customs broker. that would add time, and expense. probably more than 200 bucks worth?
am sure there are opinions and experiences out there...what is your experience? I can do my own guessing, how about 1st or 2nd hand experiences?


It seems it is always a crapshoot. I had friends that moved to Mx, did a very extensive list with serial numbers, etc. and they were never asked or had good examined. They did this twice with a utility trailer. I am hearing that it is MUCH easier to cross with a load of any sort through Otay or others rather than San Ysidro. You might consider that.

DENNIS - 3-26-2013 at 09:08 AM

Awww....c'mon, Roberta....where's your spirit of adventure? The border crossing is one of the few places on earth that ignorance is a rewardable virtue. Just drive in and say, "I didn't have any idea. Actually, I was trying to find the dump. Can you help me?"

I think the new rules apply

durrelllrobert - 3-26-2013 at 10:39 AM

If you now have a Residence Permanente card and want you go to the trouble:
Specific Issues for Applying at Your Mexican Consulate for Shipping Household Goods into Mexico

~ Do we need a license/permit or similar form from the Mexican embassy before we ship the goods? If yes: How do we go about this?

~ Official Embassy Reply:
Concerning (importing) your household goods, indeed you require a permit from the Embassy so that your goods can be (imported) tax free from customs into Mexico. The requirements to obtain such permit are:
– Packing list (three copies), containing a detailed description of all items, the address in Mexico where they will be delivered and your former address and duly signed in original.

If the importation is (permanent):
- Copy of your valid passport and immigration card; (hence, you should obtain the visa before the permit)
- Place where you will live in Mexico (including address);
- Proof of payment of the fee.

Bob and Susan - 3-26-2013 at 12:37 PM

Roberta...just import it...no lists

go to otay mesa

let the border people value it...you are too close to the stuff

Loretana - 3-26-2013 at 01:00 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bob and Susan
Roberta...just import it...no lists

go to otay mesa

let the border people value it...you are too close to the stuff


I absolutely agree with Bob & Susan, Roberta.
Go to Otay Mesa, and just deal with the Aduana officers. You DO NOT want to get involved with the importation agency guys there. They will come out and try to handle your load, just ignore them.

Make a small list of what you have and hand it to the Mexican Aduana folks.

I dealt with the young woman in charge there in October. I had a small trailer full of household goods, and had no problems. I paid $137.00 US for all my stuff including a brand new 40" Samsung Smart TV and DVD player.

Good luck. (and congratulations on your new status!)

nbacc - 3-26-2013 at 02:41 PM

We went through Mexicali...........no problems either

rhintransit - 4-11-2013 at 05:20 PM

UPDATE:
the 'stuff' is here in Loreto. a dear friend loaded everything into his pickup truck bed. we kept going higher and higher, all we needed was grannie in her rocker on top.
loaded like the Beverly Hillbillies, we drove the truck and my equally loaded car to Tecate. pulled up into the customs/declare parking, hopped out and eventually an officer wandered up, looking skyward. I said I needed help, I didn't know if I needed to declare anything or not. he smiled, asked if I had a list of what I had, I passed him a Google translate list more or less complete down to the boxes of tea and used sheets in the drawers of the chests. which he perused while my friend joked about women and their 'stuff.' after scanning the list, he smiled again, and waved us on. two green lights and we were on our way.
a lot of worry about nothing...

DENNIS - 4-11-2013 at 05:32 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rhintransit
a lot of worry about nothing...



You're gonna have to learn to trust me. :biggrin: