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phoenix2121
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Vehicle Registration - Catch 22
Hello everyone, my first post here.
After 4 trips to the Baja in the past year, and many trips before that, my girlfriend and I decided that we are going to take the plunge and move
south in May of next year. We're looking for places from Playas de Tijuana all the way down to Puerto Nuevo. We're excited, and freaked a bit at the
same time... but more excited than anything.
I have a question though. We planned to sell her car, and then take just mine down to Mexico. The problem is this... in our state (Illinois) you
have to get a new registration sticker yearly for your car. I know that Mexican police don't care if your plates are valid (or I've read at least),
but my girlfriend will be transferring to the San Diego branch of her office. So that means she'll be crossing the border daily.
My question. How do I keep my car legal in the US, without a US address to renew the plates? I've heard that I can't register a car in Mexico that
I've bought in the states, so that's out. Plus I'm not positive that they'd allowed Mexican plates in the states if you could (although I read that
they do, I think). And I'm sure I'll have the same concerns for insurance. I have already accepted the fact that I'll be paying for Mexican and
American insurance, but do I need a US address for the US insurance?
So, to recap... What do I do about a US address for plate renewals, and insurance?
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).
But, obviously I can't keep my Illinois address and live in Mexico, it'd be more than a bit un-affordable. So what do I do? Any states allow a PO
box as an address for vehicle registration? Can I register in Mexico somehow? I'm lost, confused, and I think I need a hug.
Oh, by the way... I'm Bryan, nice to meet all of you. I've been lurking on your forum for quite some time.
“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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Lee
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MX doesn't care -- unless you're a gringo
| 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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You'll find info on insurance and vehicles in MX thread by scrolling down posted last week about this subject.
Just my opinion: an attitude that ''illegal'' is OK in MX will come back to bite you.
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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gnukid
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This has been covered-use the the search tool to find related posts.
Your car can be from illinois but your residence in mexico, stickers can be mailed to your residence in mexico once you have one.
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tsgarcia69
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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.
Bryan, in California, a person becomes a resident of the state when he/she takes gainful employment in California. That means your girlfriend will
have to get a California driver's license. I don't have all the answers, but I am fairly certain she runs the risk of getting ticketed in California
for driving a car with expired Illinois plates, and for not having a California drivers license.
My best guess would be that you should register the car in California using her work address and get a PO Box as a mailing address. California DMV
will let you do this. There are companies in San Ysidro that provide PO boxes and forward mail to Mexico. Otherwise, she will be explaining her
expired tags to the CHP all the time.
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/howto/htvr9.htm#feesdue
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phoenix2121
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Lee - My attitude isn't that illegal is ok in Mexico, quite the contrary. I had read that it ISN'T illegal in Mexico to drive a car with EXPIRED US
PLATES. If this isn't true, then I simply got bad information. My question was actually asked so that I didn't have to have illegal plates in either
Mexico, or California. I just didn't know that you can register a PO Box in California as a legal residence for registration renewal.
gnukid - "Your car can be from illinois but your residence in mexico, stickers can be mailed to your residence in mexico once you have one. " - That's
not the issue. The issue is that Illinois wouldn't allow me to RENEW my plates once they expired without an Illinois address. I had briefly
experienced this with a temporary move to Missouri a few years ago. I tried explaining that I'd be back in Illinois in less than a month, but I still
had to register in Missouri, and then re-register in Illinois.
tsgarcia69 - Thanks for taking the time to read my question before jumping to conclusions that I hadn't already researched the topic. I've searched
the forums, a lot. Thanks for your great answer!
Thanks for the answer, I'll dive a bit deeper and perhaps call the California DMV. In Illinois you have to have a physical address to renew a
registration, so if California accepts renewals with just a PO Box, I think we're all set. Thanks to all!
“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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tsgarcia69
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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.
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phoenix2121
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I think I understand, but the bit that holds me up is the work address as the physical address. I guess she'd have to check with her job first to
make sure it's ok, but after that, wouldn't she have to prove that she lived at her physical address? Once again, I'm basing this off of Illinois law
which requires a utility bill proving your physical address. My first thought would be to use a paycheck, but these are sent from a corporate office
in Charlotte, NC and they'd have her MX address on them if anything.
Does anyone make the commute to San Diego? What do you do?
[Edited on 8-17-2008 by phoenix2121]
“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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Bob and Susan
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phoenix2121
using a business address to obtain a po box for an individual as their residence is against postal regulations
tsgarcia69 is giving you BAD legal advice
you might want to get a real lawyers advice regarding this issue
consult the the local post office or the postal inspection service if you have questions about the legality of obtaining a po box
remember you are signing a legal document when applying for a poat office box
obtaining a po box fruaduntly IS illegal
the post office has a really weird list of items to prove identity
and then....the mailman has to sign off....
there's alot of fruad out there today
the dmv has other rules
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flyfishinPam
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hi there I aplogize for not reading through this entire thread but i lived in CA for almost 10 years, 10 years ago and my friends who came in from out
of state talked about how costly it was to register their car because of lack of CA emissions standards. I think she should sell the car in IL and
buy another one in CA.
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Keri
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register it in South Dakota
and I think you don't have that problem.k
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oxxo
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| Quote: | Originally posted by phoenix2121
I had read that it ISN'T illegal in Mexico to drive a car with EXPIRED US PLATES. If this isn't true, then I simply got bad information.
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Yes, it IS illegal to drive a US plated car (of any State) without current registration in Mexico. The Mexican police DO check. I went through a
general traffic stop a while back and the police were checking for current registration for both Mexican and US plated cars. Fortunately, my
California plated car was current.
| Quote: |
Illinois wouldn't allow me to RENEW my plates once they expired without an Illinois address. In Illinois you have to have a physical address to renew
a registration, so if California accepts renewals with just a PO Box, I think we're all set.
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California requires a physical address too. Most private mail boxes (for example Kinkos or MBE) will give you a physical address. But as I recall,
you must sign an affidavit, under oath, that the physical address is your residence to get the CA auto registration. You will also have to purchase
CA auto insurance and have your car smogged every two years. It MAY be expensive to have your IL car smogged in CA. It just depends.
You're in a tough spot. Don't you have a friend or relative in IL who will let you use their address as your physcial address? 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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losfrailes
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Another solution might be to import the vehicle into Mexico. It must be at least 5 years old (latest info I have) and no more than 15 years old.
There have been some recent changes that further restrict the age of the vehicle, but if it fits, it might solve the problem.
It is not against the law for a north american to drive a mexican registered vehicle and you can get insurance coverage from Qualitas in Mexico.
However this would not provide insurance coverage while north of the border.
So the catch-22 still exists.
Best to get the vehicle registered in CA if possible, then insure with carrier of choice up north and Lewis & Lewis to get coverage with Qualitas
while south.
[Edited on 8-17-2008 by losfrailes]
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palmeto99
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| Quote: | Originally posted by losfrailes
You just have to have the last word don't you!
Why take an overall shot at the USPS employees, and even more specifically one at Bob Frambes.
He was offering good legal advice, not suggesting the use of the USPS services.
I might suggest you post something that adds to the solution for the original thread starter, instead of taking off on a tangent regarding rules of an
agency that you probably do not have too much expertise on. |
Just telling it like it is. Its not a shot at Bob but at the institution itself. For you to read anything else in it is foolish at best.
Now thats the last word
The advice I am about to give you is worth what you are paying for it.
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MrBillM
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Random Thoughts
The thing to keep in mind regarding a Physical Address in California is that the stated purpose for that requirement is that it is an address where
you may legally be served. They want to know where YOU can be found.
Driving an out-of-state vehicle while working in California can be fraught with problems depending on the local law enforcement. As stated, IF you
are employed in California, your vehicle is required to be registered in California OR (unless it's changed) be fined each time you're ticketed.
Down in Palm Springs, the local cops used to stake out the construction sites at quitting time and then nab the construction workers pulling off the
sites with out-of-state plates. At that time, you had the option of registering and then paying a fine or NOT registering and paying a penalty on top
of the fine.
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tsgarcia69
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bob and Susan
phoenix2121
using a business address to obtain a po box for an individual as their residence is against postal regulations
tsgarcia69 is giving you BAD legal advice
you might want to get a real lawyers advice regarding this issue |
Apparently, poor reading comprehension has reached epidemic levels on this message board. This is exactly what I said, verbatum:
"There are companies in San Ysidro that provide PO boxes and forward mail to Mexico."
Now, I have to ask Bob, how can you read that and then conclude that I was telling Bryan to get a USPS PO Box? Does the USPS forward mail from its
mailboxes to Mexico?
Sorry Bryan, Bob is giving you BAD advice. There are thousands of ex-pats in Baja who live there full time, who do not have a US residence, and who
have a private PO Box in San Ysidro.
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Bob and Susan
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i don't know if you know this but...
the ONLY people that can use the term "PO BOX" are renters of post office boxes in a regualr post office
those rental places are different
those boxes are refered to PMB's (private mail boxes)
and yes when you move out the postal service will forward 1st class mail to mexico...but...you MAY never see it
some things i do know...
maybe...mr garcia...
if you had written it correctly i could have understood what you were trying to say
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tehag
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Car reg
Maybe a better source of info would be: http://cadmv.org/ or http://www.dmv.ca.gov/ They may know the regs better than this board does.
Also, friends I've known have registered cars in Mexico only to find that those Mex plates attract unwanted attention from the US agents at the
border. Can be a big waste of time explaining and/or visiting secondary to explain.
[Edited on 8-17-2008 by tehag]
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Bob and Susan
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tehag
is that really that bad at the border
i wanted to import my truck soon to avoid all that registration stuff in california
when i had utah plates the police DID take a second look at me EVERY trip to upland ca
that is true
i've been watching the mexican plate cars cross alot lately
i've been up and down 3 times last month
alot of driving...and crossing
the passport really helps at the border
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gnukid
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Excuse me if I misunderstood the questions, however I believe I do.
There is no value in a california reg nor mexican reg in this case. Those are costly and highly problematic unnecessary solutions in this case.
All is well. Keep it simple. Simply change the illinois vehicles mailing address for the vehicle registration to your new baja address or a friends in
baja where the stickers can be delivered. Complete the registration changes and payments on line. No problem.
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Bob and Susan
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how would you get the stickers for the plates in baja?
paying would be easy...
does ill. have safety or smog inspections?
that might be a problem...
the dmv won't mail to mexico
registering the car in california is very costly
you have to import it to california PLUS smog
i've done this on colector cars and it costs money
IMHO
sell both cars
buy a mexican car in tj
register it there
get a mexican license
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