BajaNomad

Import of a Car into Baja

Fernweh - 5-17-2013 at 05:38 AM

I like to get some info about importing a car into Baja.
The vehicle in question is located already in La Paz right now and I'm hoping to find a somebody, who can do the import without bringing the vehicle back to TJ or Tecate.
I did have a contact info from an ad in the Gringo Gazette some time ago, but lost it .
Any help or info would be very much appreciated.

SFandH - 5-17-2013 at 06:06 AM

click here for a google search

Pescador - 5-17-2013 at 06:48 AM

You might want to consider doing what half of Baja is now doing and go to South Dakota license plates. It is sure a lot less trouble and hassle than doing an actual import. You contact Clay County, South Dakota, they give you the amount, you fill out an application and submit with the title. You get back plates and a South Dakota title and can renew plates online very easily. We laugh and wave at all of out Brothers and Sisters from South Dakota as we drive up and down the highways of Baja.

Fernweh - 5-17-2013 at 06:58 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Pescador
You might want to consider doing what half of Baja is now doing and go to South Dakota license plates. It is sure a lot less trouble and hassle than doing an actual import. You contact Clay County, South Dakota, they give you the amount, you fill out an application and submit with the title. You get back plates and a South Dakota title and can renew plates online very easily. We laugh and wave at all of out Brothers and Sisters from South Dakota as we drive up and down the highways of Baja.


Thank you Pescador,

that car sports already the SD plates for a long time....
I like to sell it to a Mexican national, so it needs to be an imported car.

Google Search? Is that another Nomad? Believe me, before getting abused here, I did that GS already, no good results:yes:

SFandH - 5-17-2013 at 07:20 AM

I wasn't trying to be a wise guy. I thought the search resulted in much good info. For example:

http://www.bajainsider.com/baja-business/importingregisterin...

"Effective January 1, 2009 there have been significant changes to the import fees assessed on cars being imported into Mexico. Tarrif increases from 300-500% were put into effect for cars being imported for sale. This has profoundly affected the hundreds of used car dealers throughout Baja, who purchase cars in the US and bring them to Mexico for resale. Depending on the car this can add thousands of pesos to the purchase price of a used or new car. This new tarrif does not affect personal vehicals being imported. it may however raise the resale value of your already imported car, due to the rise in the price asked by dealers.

If you are going to spend a majority of your time in Mexico and are going to be bringing a vehicle into Baja it may be to your benefit to import the vehicle, get Mexican plates, Mexican insurance and a Mexican driver license. Technically, just as in the U.S. if the vehicle remains in the country more than 30 days, you are required to license it in Mexico. This is universally under-enforced, so should not be a reason to import and license the car. You can then also legally sell the car in Mexico.

I checked with the Tranisto folks when going through this process myself. If you have a Mexican license you can not legally operate a US registered vehicle, whether it is registered to you or not. If you have a US license you are only allowed to operate a Mexican plated vehicle registered to a car rental company.

The later is not regularly enforced. If you hold a FM2 immigration document any vehicle registered to you should be plated in Mexico and you should hold a Mexican driver license. This is not required of FM3 or tourist card visitors, as only FM2 is considered a ‘permanent resident’.

Getting a Mexican Drivers License
The process for a driver license is pretty simple and took me less than 1 hour. Transito (Transit Police) is located in La Paz at the corner of Mexico and Oaxaca, one block west of Jalisco. They have assistants positioned at the entrances. Walking in the door and looking confused was all that it took to have a sorta-English speaking assistant walk me through the process.
Ok, so what paperwork do you need to bring with you? With a current foreign license you do not need to take a written examination. This is important, as if you do not have a valid license you must take a written exam and, unlike the US, it only comes in one flavor – espanol. You also need a coprabante. A coprabante is a water or electric bill, less than two months old, mailed to the address you wish to register to. It must match the address on your immigration documents or, if you are a citizen, your voter card. You must therefore, also present your current immigration papers. Two photocopies of these three documents (if you have done any business with the Mexican government you will find this is standard) are required. You can get them done very reasonably on the spot in a separate line. Cost of the license is $432 pesos and is valid for 3 years.

Importing Your Vehicle
The first step in registering your vehicle in Mexico if it is of foreign origin is the importation. Importation is based on 23% of the wholesale value of the vehicle to be imported. The car must be at least five years old and not more than 20 years old. The former is to protect the Mexican car dealers and the later to prevent all of the US junk cars from ending up in Mexico. A handling charge for the agent handling the transaction is then in addition to the importation fee. Shop around for this one. Some agents are no more than agents for other agents and the fee will vary as much as 100%. I didn’t shop around and I got burned for what I estimate to be another $300. The car must be in the US or there is an additional fee, I was told an additional 50% of the fee. Make sure your car is empty. If it has an exterior spare tire, you might want to remove it. You deliver your car to the agent and the agent delivers it to Aduana, the tax people. You will be separated from your car from 4-10 days, depending on when you deliver it and their workload.
You are required to present the original title, your Mexican drivers license and a current US registration.

There are also agents in La Paz and Cabo San Lucas which can import the car for you on certain conditions. I was told my VIN number began with a letter, rather than a number and therefore must be imported in Tijuana. They want your car completely empty so there is no question of valuables disappearing while in their possession.

One key piece of information of which I was not informed in advance, was that you receive your imported car in a parking lot in Tijuana after the transaction. I then had to drive back across the border to pick up the items I had purchased in California before driving south. If you have a business in Mexico, provide your RFC number to the importer so the factura for the taxable amount is issued with your information on it.

The cost for importing my 2000 Honda CRV was a tax amount of $6800 pesos or $511USD. The agent fees were double, $350 to the processing agent and $350 to the agent’s agent. With a little time to shop around this can be trimmed significantly. You should receive a new two page green Mexican ‘title’ and a factura indicating the import fee paid. In transit, you post a copy of the green title in the interior upper left corner of the rear window. This is valid for 15 days.

Getting Mexican License Plates
This was a little more time consuming than the drivers license. Again, you need the originals and two copies of both sides of your Mexican drivers license, the import fee factura, the green title and a coprabante.

Again, there was a helpful person at Transito to walk me through the process. First were the fees for the La Paz district. This amounted to $390 pesos. As I understood it, this is based again, on the net value of the vehicle. For this you receive a sexy little 2”x3” sticker for your interior upper right windshield.

Then the vehicle must be inspected to see that the VIN number being registered matches the paperwork. They also check your Mexican license to be sure you don’t have any outstanding infractions, wants or warrants.

Then you go pay for the ‘placas’ or license plates. This came to $754 pesos. You then present this small mountain of paperwork to the final window, where they hand you a small plastic card with a claim number and ask you to return, in my case, one hour. In your absence all this information is entered into the system and when you return your temporary plates and another little sticker for the upper right of your windshield. I was told to return the end of January for my permanent plates. You are advised to make copies of the temp plates and laminate them or post them inside the windows, front and rear.

The whole process took about 3.5hrs and cost $1144 pesos or about $85. Your vehicle is now registered in Baja. It is NOT nationalized and if you wish to drive to the mainland you are required to pay additional fees which can be for a short term trip or for the year. The car is now legal in Baja, you can sell it and the fees you paid may be recoupable in the resale value of the car. It will also help you avoid the infraction know as DWG – Driving While Gringo!"

Udo - 5-17-2013 at 07:33 AM

That is the most comprehensive titling information I have ever seen here on Nomads, SFandH!

Thanks for taking the time to write it out.

Fernweh - 5-17-2013 at 07:33 AM

Thank you SFandH,

I had found and read that before.

There are also agents in La Paz and Cabo San Lucas which can import the car for you on certain conditions.

That is the actual info I'm looking for, as I'm in the US right now and the car lives in La Paz

SFandH - 5-17-2013 at 08:00 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fernweh


There are also agents in La Paz and Cabo San Lucas which can import the car for you on certain conditions.

That is the actual info I'm looking for, as I'm in the US right now and the car lives in La Paz


Contact these guys. If they don't handle vehicles they probably know somebody who does.

http://www.loscabosguide.com/columbiaexport/index.html

Wally - 5-17-2013 at 08:40 AM

http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=67114

MitchMan - 5-17-2013 at 09:31 AM

SFandH,
Are you absolutely and positively certain that a Residente Permanente IN BAJA is permitted to drive only a vehicle registered to said Residente Permanente that is plated in Mexico?

Every time I have read anything officially related to the subject of Mexican requirements for driving and owning vehicles in Mexico is ALWAYS prefaced by citing an express exclusion of application to the Baja because all of Baja is "Prohibited Property" and that such rules therefore do not, I repeat, do not apply to Baja.

I know that Mexico for the past three years has changed its immigration laws every year, but the abovementioned prefacing exclusion for BAJA is always and still included in the literature pertaining to even the most recent visa changes and its application to the issue of using vehicles in Mexico.

If you know of specific currently applicable official pronouncements that expressly and unequivocally and unambiguously set aside the exclusion of applicability to Baja, please provide a reference or citation to such official documentation.

This is crucial and pivotal.

SFandH - 5-17-2013 at 09:51 AM

I did not write what I posted. It was a copy and paste from the page displayed by the provided link. I personally have no knowledge about the import process; however, I am interested in any topic involved with making a move to Mexico.

Mulegena - 5-17-2013 at 09:51 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fernweh
...that car sports already the SD plates for a long time....
I like to sell it to a Mexican national, so it needs to be an imported car.


I don't think you need to import the car in order to sell it.

Just sign off the pink slip and report the sale to the state DMV, make a bill of sale signed and dated by you and the buyer - keep a copy, of course, give the signed-off pink slip to the new owner after he pays you.

The buyer can register the car in Baja or nationalize it; their choice and responsibility.

rts551 - 5-17-2013 at 09:58 AM

Be aware that some pickup trucks those greater than (I believe it is 8000) GVW are considered commercial vehicles and are therefore much more to import. in other words most 3/4 ton above pickups.

Wally - 5-17-2013 at 11:22 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Mulegena
Quote:
Originally posted by Fernweh
...that car sports already the SD plates for a long time....
I like to sell it to a Mexican national, so it needs to be an imported car.


I don't think you need to import the car in order to sell it.



It is not "legal" to sell a non-Mexico plated car in Mexico. That said, people do it.

Mulegena - 5-17-2013 at 06:43 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Wally
Quote:
Originally posted by Mulegena
Quote:
Originally posted by Fernweh
...that car sports already the SD plates for a long time....
I like to sell it to a Mexican national, so it needs to be an imported car.


I don't think you need to import the car in order to sell it.



It is not "legal" to sell a non-Mexico plated car in Mexico. That said, people do it.


I was only partially quoted here, and so my initial statement appears out of its intended context, so let me explain further, please.

Here's my first statement in full, "I don't think you need to import the car in order to sell it. Just sign off the pink slip and report the sale to the state DMV, make a bill of sale signed and dated by you and the buyer - keep a copy, of course, give the signed-off pink slip to the new owner after he pays you. The buyer can register the car in Baja or nationalize it; their choice and responsibility."

That is what I was referencing, and is my understanding as I've viewed it in practice:

Here in Baja Sur foreign-plated cars are routinely bought and sold. It is the responsibility of the new owner to register his/her purchase with a proper authority or face confiscation of their car and fines.

To this end the new owner has three legal choices: 1) import the car into Mexico. 2) Register the car in another country (i.e. the USA), or 3) register the car in Baja with the Onapafa agency.

Examples: If the new owner is a US citizen they may wish to register the car in the USA. A new owner also might wish to have Mexican plates and so would want to import the car into Mexico. If the new owner only wants to drive the car in Baja Norte or Sur they could register it with the Onapafa Agency.

If the new owner is a Mexican citizen they probably will not want to register the car in the US, so that leaves them with only two legal choices, Onapafa or importation.

With an Onapafa sticker on the car a driver with a legal Mexican drivers' license can own and operate a vehicle, but only in Baja Norte and Sur. Its much less expensive to register with Onapafa, but it restricts the operation of the car to the peninsula region only.

The other choice is full-importation in which the new owner imports the car, it is nationalized and can be driven anywhere in the Republic of Mexico and out of the country as well. This has complications and costs a lot of money.

There is a third, and illegal, choice, and this practice is what I believe Wally was referencing when he quoted me out of context. This would be for the new buyer to pay his hard-earned peso for a used car but do nothing-- not import the car nor register with Onapafa. This turns the car into what is known as a "chocolate". Here in Baja these cars are impounded by the police and the owner fined. Therefore, this isn't a viable option.

In practice most Mexican nationals who live in Baja choose to register a foreign-plated car with Onapafa rather than import the vehicle. Few buy a car then take the risk of losing it to the police. Its my understanding as I've seen in practice that legalizing a newly-sold foreign-plated vehicle is the responsibility of the buyer, not the seller.

DENNIS - 5-17-2013 at 06:58 PM

Quote:
Quote:
Originally posted by Wally


It is not "legal" to sell a non-Mexico plated car in Mexico. That said, people do it.


I'll bet I've done it twenty times. Of course, things are a bit looser up here than down there.

rts551 - 5-17-2013 at 07:02 PM

Some people question the legality of ONAPPAFA (and ANAPROMEX if they still exist). I don't think the federal government recognizes them.

DENNIS - 5-17-2013 at 07:10 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rts551
Some people question the legality of ONAPPAFA (and ANAPROMEX if they still exist). I don't think the federal government recognizes them.


ANAPROMEX is back in business, and you're right, Ralph. The window sticker isn't good everywhere.
I gave my Nissan truck to my worker and he recently registered with Anapromex, but he won't drive it into Ensenada. He says the federal road police are the worst of the lot for mordida.
I'm going to front him the Pesos to import it and get rid of the South Dakota plates.



.

[Edited on 5-18-2013 by DENNIS]

Bob and Susan - 5-18-2013 at 04:56 AM

re: Onapafa Agency...it's not an agency

it's a political protest group protesting against importation rules

the cars using onapafa are still illegal (not "chocolate")
if you get a fine the group goes "to bat" for you in court

only citizens can use this political group
non-citizens can't get involved in politics

importation as to be done at the border...i'm pretty sure that hasn't changed
if someone is doing it in the south...they are skirting "the real law"

Mulegena - 5-18-2013 at 05:27 AM

Thanks, Bob and Susan

Really good to know these details.

Bob and Susan - 5-18-2013 at 06:40 AM

if i could use Onapafa i would in a second...

the "dream" of the Onapafa people is that the government will "light'n up" on the importation rules and "grandfather" all the Onapafa cars...
then the people will only have to buy regular plates and not suffer the pains or additional cost of importation

it could happen...

comitan - 5-18-2013 at 09:52 AM

Bob it hasn't happened in the last 16 years they have been trying at least that long.

Bob and Susan - 5-18-2013 at 10:10 AM

it could happen...after all...

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