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Lee
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3597
Registered: 10-2-2006
Location: High in the Colorado Rockies
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Just do it!
| Quote: | | Quote: | Originally posted by tsgarcia69
Lee and gnukid:
You've been reading the same questions so many times that you just responded without really reading Bryan's post carefully. Had you taken the time to
read Bryan's post a little closer, you would have seen that his girlfriend is taking a job in San Diego. Mexican law is not really the issue here,
California law is. |
How the F do you know what I read? Don't need a lecture if you haven't researched this subject yourself.
| Quote: | Originally posted by phoenix2121
So my car being legal in Mexico isn't a concern, if what I've read is true (about them not caring about expired plates as long as you have US plates).
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So, tell me again how this comment ISN'T about MX law? Whatever you two have been reading, and BELIEVING, is wrong. Read Oxxo's post again
since you don't believe me.
Personally, I don't care where your vehicle is registered. There's no way around it -- you'll pay to have a US car in Baja -- one way or another.
Just do it -- be legal.
[quote oxxo]But realize that CA will require CA registration on your car, once you have been working in San Diego, I think it is 6 months.
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It's 90 days from start of employment in CA.
US Marines: providing enemies of America an opportunity to die for their country since 1775.
What I say before any important decision.
F*ck it.
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Woooosh
Banned
Posts: 5240
Registered: 1-28-2007
Location: Rosarito Beach
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Mood: Luminescent Waves at Rosarito Beach
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After reading the above responses are you sure you want to move to where these people live... And these are the smart ones in the neighborhood!
Here's my un-needed advice on he car...
Do it clean and do it legal if you are using it for regular cross border trips. Since your wife will work in CA, it will need to be
registered/insured there by law. It can be done in Mexico once you have the right Visa, but it's thousands of dollars versus hundreds in CA. I know-
you'd think Mexican plates would be easier and cheaper. Nope.
I had my motorcycle registered to a UPS Store address (pricey at $30/month) in San Diego with no problems. It also provides the necessary physical
address for on-line shopping at the same time.
If you lease or owe money on the car- the lienholder in 99% of the contracts won't allow you to move it out of the country, so you'd have to register
it in CA and say it was garaged in CA half the time.
Insure it in CA and then get an annual Mexican liability-only policy. You are going to park it in your locked garage at night. If you don't have a
garage- don't bring it. It's hard to keep a catalytic converter on a car parked on the street these days.
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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gnukid
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4411
Registered: 7-2-2006
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Just to be a stickler:
If you are from the State of Illinois and you move to Baja for semi-permanent residence and travel to work in San Diego in a shared vehicle, you are
legally allowed to maintain your legal address as Illinois and your residence and mailing address as Baja. The BF is valid with Illinois plates and
the GF is valid sharing the vehicle in SD because she is only traveling there to work not to live. She is not a resident of California. Her home state
is Illinois and her residence is Baja.
If she replied oh I live in SD now, that would trigger the "oh how long have you lived here" period of time requiring her to get a new license and
plates, smog, taxes etc... Of course this event is going to be lingering on the horizon but she has time and plenty of it in this case which warrants
reduced costs etc...
My suggestion is based on the fact that new things tend to change, so go slowly, if after time things look permanent then you will want to purchase a
California hoochy car and become permanent, blond, uptight etc... In this case, one would maintain the Illinois license as primary and Illinois plates
and reg until a later date or demand requires change. Personally I would get a Mexico license, Ca License and Illinois license for most flexibility
depending on your circumstance and let the car thing wait a bit.
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wornout
Senior Nomad
Posts: 595
Registered: 10-24-2004
Location: San Felipe, Baja California
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Mood: No Bad Days
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| Quote: | Originally posted by tsgarcia69
Bryan: California requires a physical address, which would be your girlfriend's work address. But, they also allow you to give them an alternative
mailing address which can be a PO Box. That way any DMV mail would come to your PO Box, not your girlfriends work.
They do this because there are still places in small towns and out in the country which have a physical address, but no mail delivery, only to the
nearest local post office. |
Not True (about the California Physical Address) I have lived in San Felipe, Baja, for 10 years. For the first 5, I registered my car with a mail
place address and bought 1 day insurance (Imperial County does NOT have smog testing or requirement). Then one time I went in to the DMV and said,
'Can I be honest here?' The reply was 'Yes'. I explained that the car NEVER comes to California or the old country. She said where is it? I said,
San Felipe. She typed in El Dorado Ranch, San Felipe, Baja, CA. Then took 5 dollars off the registration (County tax) because the car was NOT in a
California county. This went on for 3 years until California quit taking 1 day insurance policies. The new insurance law went in to effect last
year. So, on to South Dakota I went. :-)
This Space Available, E-Mail Me If Interested.
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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Mood: Full Time Residents
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i did that too to avoid smog...
the law changed last year...
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wornout
Senior Nomad
Posts: 595
Registered: 10-24-2004
Location: San Felipe, Baja California
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Bad Days
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bob and Susan
i did that too to avoid smog...
the law changed last year... |
I know the insurance law changed, but I didn't know the smog changed. At any rate, South Dakota is the place of choice now but I am sure that will
change before we ever see a national registration for snow birds.
This Space Available, E-Mail Me If Interested.
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phoenix2121
Junior Nomad
Posts: 85
Registered: 8-16-2008
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I'm more confused than when I started. The UPS Store address sounds like the best bet if it is actually counted as a physical address. But I don't
want to break the law or anything if it's illegal.
Doesn't anyone live in the baja that makes the commute to San Diego? What do you guys do?
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn\'t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
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palmeto99
Banned
Posts: 292
Registered: 7-15-2008
Location: loreto,BCS and East Coast USA (Spartanburg, SC)
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Mood: Trying to bring the worlds people together one post at a time.
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I drive up once a month to Point Loma` and get my mail and packages at a private mailbox company.. Its` a long day drive.
The advice I am about to give you is worth what you are paying for it.
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MrBillM
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 21656
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Out and About
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Mood: It's a Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Day
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Whatever happened to....?
The proposed rule to require that any vehicle (Mex or U.S.) crossing the Border more than three times monthly show proof of California Smog Emissions
compliance ?
It was a couple of years back that San Diego was arguing that their failure to meet Air Quality standards was due to the high number of persons in
Non-California registered vehicles crossing the border on a daily work commute.
As far as I'm aware, the proposed plan never went anywhere, but it would seem likely to come up again.
Quien Sabe ?
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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Mood: Full Time Residents
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i crossed 3 times recently and no mention of that...
they DO ask why i cross ALL the time
only one time was i sent to secondary
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k-rico
Super Nomad
Posts: 2079
Registered: 7-10-2008
Location: Playas de Tijuana
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| Quote: | Originally posted by phoenix2121
I'm more confused than when I started. The UPS Store address sounds like the best bet if it is actually counted as a physical address. But I don't
want to break the law or anything if it's illegal.
Doesn't anyone live in the baja that makes the commute to San Diego? What do you guys do? |
There's no easy solution, especially when you add in US car insurance (don't tell them you live in Mexico). I use a friend's house address in San
Diego for DMV and insurance purposes. I do stay there occasionally. I was using a PMB address but switched to try to keep a step ahead of the
authorities. I know, it's not right, but............
I also buy Mexican car insurance from a travel club (minimum liability only). It's for tourists, which I'm not, so that's a ruse too.
A real residential US address is the best. A private mail box (PMB) at a UPS store is second best. I also have one of those within walking distance of
the border in San Ysidro that I use for all other mail.
Get the UPS PMB first, then try to find a real US residential address to use. When you switch to the PMB address do not use PMB xxx for DMV purposes.
I used #xxx instead and it worked for the two years I used it for DMV and insurance. I figured using "PMB" in the address might tip them off.
Good luck, governments and insurance companies make it real hard to keep your feet on both sides of the border.
Also, IMHO, commuting daily across the border is going to be a real grind, even with a Sentri pass, which is a huge can of worms I bet for an American
with no US address, but I don't know.
I would not live in Mexico and commute to the US on a daily basis. Fortunately the Internet allows me to telecommute.
[Edited on 8-19-2008 by k-rico]
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oxxo
Banned
Posts: 2347
Registered: 5-17-2006
Location: Wherever I am, I'm there
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Mood: If I was feeling any better, I'd be twins!
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| Quote: | Originally posted by phoenix2121
I'm more confused than when I started. The UPS Store address sounds like the best bet if it is actually counted as a physical address. But I don't
want to break the law or anything if it's illegal.
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I don't think a post box, either PMB or USPS is a legal address as far as establising CA residency to register a car. I hate to make ths complicated,
but you may want to check with a CA attorney.
| Quote: | | Doesn't anyone live in the baja that makes the commute to San Diego? What do you guys do? |
Some legal Mexican nationals commute from Mexico to CA on a daily or weekly basis to work. If they have a Mexican plated car, they hope they don't
get caught. But a Mexican plated car in CA is a magnate for the Border Patrol and eventually they get caught for not having a properly registered
car.
Other legal Mexican nationals commute to work in CA with a CA plated car and purchase the CA insurance and have the car smogged every two years. They
use a relative's or friend's address in CA as their "residence."
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CaboHenry
Junior Nomad
Posts: 27
Registered: 12-2-2008
Location: LAX,CA / CSL,BCS
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Mood: Tranquilo
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OK Guys..... don't get mad at me for entering this forum to ask what could be a silly question. Please point me to the proper forum if one exist.
What is the easiest way to get a currently CA plated car (not expired and insured) a Mex plate (BCS)? It's a '97 and it spends all its time in BCS. I
prefer not to drive it back up to TJ and deal with an importer. The Mexican residents in my area tell me this can all be handled down south (La Paz?).
Where can I get proper info? Any websites?
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Katiejay99
Nomad
Posts: 429
Registered: 9-3-2008
Location: Todos Santos
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Mood: it is what it is
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You can have it done in La Paz. I'll u2u the info to you.
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Phil S
Super Nomad
Posts: 1205
Registered: 10-28-2003
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Mood: After 34 years. Still in love w/ my wife
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k-rico. A red light flashed when I read about your statement regarding a travel club providing you with insurance as a tourist!!!!!!! but you
aren't.
have you had the policy read by an attorney as to it's legality in event of an accident in Mexico where you 'reside' as a full time resident??
Wouldn't surprise me if there was a 'weasel' provision that would exclude payment if you were 'full time resident' of Mexico. Because rates are based
on probablility factors. I presume that you are buying insurance this way because it is 'cheaper'. Cheaper sometimes has strings attached to it in
cases of automobile insurance. Just food for though!!
[Edited on 1-13-2009 by Phil S]
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oxxo
Banned
Posts: 2347
Registered: 5-17-2006
Location: Wherever I am, I'm there
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Mood: If I was feeling any better, I'd be twins!
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Phil S
A red light flashed when I read about your statement regarding a travel club providing you with insurance as a tourist!!!!!!! but you aren't.
have you had the policy read by an attorney as to it's legality in event of an accident in Mexico where you 'reside' as a full time resident??
Wouldn't surprise me if there was a 'weasle' provision that would exclude payment if you were 'full time resident' of Mexico. |
I checked with Vagabundos del Mar about this very question. The office in San Diego told me that their insurance is void if the insured vehicle
spends over 180 days in Mexico.
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Fatboy
Senior Nomad
Posts: 805
Registered: 6-28-2005
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A lot of replies here so some of this may be said...
1. You do NOT have to register your car in California just because you work here.
2. Once you do meet the residence requirements for California you have 20 days to get the vehicle legal.
Here is part of Ca. Vehicle Code...
6700.2. (a) Notwithstanding Section 4000.4, subdivision (a) of Section 6700, or Section 6702, a nonresident daily commuter may operate a motor
vehicle on the highways of this state only if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The motor vehicle is a passenger vehicle or a commercial vehicle of less than 8,001 pounds unladen weight with not more than two axles of the type
commonly referred to as a pickup truck.
(2) The motor vehicle is used regularly to transport passengers on the highways of this state principally between, and to and from, the place of
residence in a contiguous state and the place of employment in this state by the owner of the motor vehicle and for no other business purpose.
(3) The motor vehicle is not used in the course of a business within this state, including the transportation of property other than incidental
personal property between, and to or from, the place of residence in a contiguous state and the place of employment of the motor vehicle owner in this
state.
(4) Nothing in paragraphs (2) and (3) prohibits a nonresident daily commuter operating a motor vehicle that displays currently valid external vehicle
identification indicia and who possess a corresponding identification card issued pursuant to Section 6700.25 from using that vehicle for other lawful
purposes.
(b) The exception to registration of a motor vehicle under the conditions specified in this section does not supersede any other exception to
registration under other conditions provided by law.
(c) This section does not apply to a resident of a foreign country.
Of course that last line is the kicker for you. There is another section of the vehicle that touches on the Foreign issue some more.
So if you are a TRUE resident of Mexico...Now if your residence is still in the states also...?
Take some time reading the California Vehicle Code(yeah, lot's of fun!!!)
Either way good luck!
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