jcom
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Bringing a USA Vehicle into Baja permanently
Apologies if this has already been answered below. I've read that in order to legally bring a USA vehicle into Baja (or anywhere in Mexico), with the
intention that it will be your primary/personal vehicle, it must be at least 5 years old. Is this true? If this is the case, is it best to register
it in Mexico so as to not have to return to the USA annually for emmissions & safety inspections? My wife and I are potentially moving to the
East Cape so I need to know if I should start looking now for a 2010 or older truck. Thanks in advance.
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dasubergeek
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In order to import it with fronterizo (orange in BCN, orange bottom in BCS) plates, it must have been manufactured in the U.S. or Canada or Mexico
(VIN number starts with 1 through 5, no letters allowed), and its model year must be five to ten years old.
In order to import it with nacional (blue in BCN, white bottom in BCS) plates, same VIN restriction, but must be eight or nine model years old.
Both cost money; nacional costs a heck of a lot more. If you get placas fronterizas you will have to "import" your car in order to drive past Empalme,
Sonora, just as if it were U.S. plated.
I don't know the rules for BCS but there is an inspection program now in BCN, though whether it's actually in vigor is a good question since they keep
changing their minds. Eventually there will be inspections in Baja Norte, though.
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jcom
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Sorry for my ignorance, but what is the significance and/or difference between fronterizo and nacional? I would definitely not be buying a truck
older than 5 - 7 model years, so I guess my only option would be fronterizo??
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dasubergeek
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Fronterizo cars can travel within the "free trade zone". This is the entire Baja peninsula, the northwestern part of Sonora down to Empalme, and
within about 20 km of the US border in the rest of the country. In order to travel further into Mexico, they have to be temporarily imported just like
U.S. and Canadian-plated cars, with a hologram sticker and a deposit being held against their departure from the country.
Nacional cars can travel anywhere within the Republic of Mexico.
Both can visit the United States without interference from the Mexican authorities.
Also, if you're planning on wandering the country, make sure you look up the "Hoy No Circula" rules for Mexico City and suburban areas within the Arco
Norte. Certain days you can't drive in that area, based on the last digit of your license plate.
Out of curiosity, why don't you buy a truck when you get there if you want placas nacionales?
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jcom
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| Quote: | Originally posted by dasubergeek
Out of curiosity, why don't you buy a truck when you get there if you want placas nacionales? |
Thanks for the clarification. I would love to simply buy a truck in BCS. However, if we move down, there are a significant number of items we'd want
to transport to the new house that would require a large truck and, potentially, a trailer. I'd prefer to do to drive down only once, for starters.
Otherwise, I'd have to dump the items off and, eventually, be forced to drive back up to either California (my folks place), or Utah (my current
residence) and try to sell it. I currently have a small SUV that wouldn't cut the mustard. I assume others have run into the same problem and could
at their $0.02?? as to a solution.
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dasubergeek
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Depending on what you're transporting, you might need to use an importer anyway.
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gnukid
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It's not required to import or do anything special to keep your car in baja temporarily or permanently, you can simply keep the usa paperwork up to
date with registrations in fact the CA DMV will send the paperwork to your foreign residence and you can use mx insurance to comply with CA DMV
insurance requirements, also CA DMV cars in baja sur are exempt from smog check.
Many many thousands of US residents keep their foreign plated vehicle in baja permanently, its completely legal as kong as you have a residence
address in USA and you are otherwise legal with DL, visa ins etc. Keep track of when the reg and DL expires and plan to reapply 60 days in advance by
mail to renew and get the new registration to you by pony express or us mail. Update the vehicle registration to the baja address but keep the DL with
the USA address.
You have options: keep the car us plated, import the car MX National or Baja.
Plan ahead.
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bigmike58
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Over-Paying California and going thru that hassle every year is the last thing you should do. Save yourself time and money and register your vehicles
in South Dakota- $25.00 and no smog BS. You can do it thru the mail. Do a search on BN for instructions.
Don't' buy a 2008 or newer diesel. You will be replacing gummed up smog sensors.
Shouldn\'t one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check or Sec.8 housing?
........... I had to pass one to earn it for them!
\"I\'ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go?\"
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elizabeth
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| Quote: | Originally posted by gnukid
also CA DMV cars in baja sur are exempt from smog check.
Plan ahead. |
Don't know where you got that information...that's not what I got from a telephone call and a personal visit to DMV in CA. My truck which was
registered in California was due for smogging this year. When I talked to CA DMV, I was told that I could get an exemption for the smog if I was out
of state, but that Nevada and Mexico were the exceptions! No exemption if I kept the truck in Mexico. So...I nationalized it, and don't need to worry
about it anymore!
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dasubergeek
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bigmike58 is right -- if you are planning to live in the East Cape and keep the truck there, SoDak is the way to go. If you're planning on driving it
back and forth, though, California has a thing about cars that stay in CA not bearing CA plates.
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bajaguy
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Uh, not quite accurate
| Quote: | Originally posted by elizabeth
Don't know where you got that information...that's not what I got from a telephone call and a personal visit to DMV in CA. My truck which was
registered in California was due for smogging this year. When I talked to CA DMV, I was told that I could get an exemption for the smog if I was out
of state, but that Nevada and Mexico were the exceptions! No exemption if I kept the truck in Mexico. So...I nationalized it, and don't need to worry
about it anymore! |
Actual Residence in a Non-Biennial Area
When a residence is physically located in a non-biennial area, but the mailing address (zip code) assigned to the residence by the post office is in a
biennial area, a smog certification is not required for renewal.
The application must include a Statement of Facts (REG 256), completed by the owner, stating his/her residence is in a non-biennial area.
Vehicles Located outside California
A smog certification is not required when a vehicle is located outside of California.
The registered owner must complete a Statement of Facts (REG 256) or submit a letter explaining that the vehicle is located out of state.
The exemption for vehicles located outside of California does not apply if the residence or mailing address of the registered owner/lessee.....OR....
the address where the vehicle is garaged is in any of the following cities:
Nevada:
Carson City
Centerville
Crystal Bay
Gardnerville
Genoa
Glenbrook
Incline Village
Minden
Reno
Sparks
Stateline
Stewart
Washoe City
Verdi
Zephyr Cove
Mexico:
Tecate
Tijuana
Tijuana Baja CA
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/reg_hdbk/ch10/ch10_7.htm
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gnukid
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| Quote: | Originally posted by elizabeth
| Quote: | Originally posted by gnukid
also CA DMV cars in baja sur are exempt from smog check.
Plan ahead. |
Don't know where you got that information...that's not what I got from a telephone call and a personal visit to DMV in CA. My truck which was
registered in California was due for smogging this year. When I talked to CA DMV, I was told that I could get an exemption for the smog if I was out
of state, but that Nevada and Mexico were the exceptions! No exemption if I kept the truck in Mexico. So...I nationalized it, and don't need to worry
about it anymore! |
I've documented this here - Do a search.
Most DMV workers do not know the law nor are willing to read it.
Baja is not Mexico Mainland. In fact many if not most counties of CA are exempt from smog except the main ones. And most of Baja is exempt (for CA
residents) except the border towns. If your vehicle registration address is your home in Baja in an exempt area you won't be asked. If your US home is
a smog required area then you must use form 256 smog exemption and state the vehicle address.
The DMV can look up the law and read that the region of Baja and baja Sur is exempt. I think it's chp 11.
The confusion comes into play since BCS is three letters and DMV forms allow for two letter states, and the zip codes of Baja are often duplicative of
US towns? But it's still valid.
Understand that there are 100,000 CA vehicles in Baja registered to CA and they are smog exempt.
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gnukid
Ultra Nomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bigmike58
Over-Paying California and going thru that hassle every year is the last thing you should do. Save yourself time and money and register your vehicles
in South Dakota- $25.00 and no smog BS. You can do it thru the mail. Do a search on BN for instructions.
Don't' buy a 2008 or newer diesel. You will be replacing gummed up smog sensors. |
If your CA DMV reg car is registered at your home in Baja you do not pay the hi way taxes etc. so the cost is lower. go figure! Generally for old cars
the amount is about $50-75/yr
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bajalearner
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| Quote: | Originally posted by dasubergeek
In order to import it its model year must be five to ten years old.
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What if a person imports a car less than ten years old and a few years later, the car becomes 10 or more years old? Does he have to take that car
out of MX?
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jcom
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Good feedback guys, but there certainly seems to be differing opinions. I'm leaning toward an '08 - '10 gasoline truck after reading about diesel
regen issues and the above mentioned smog sensor issues. The South Dakota thing is interesting. I'll likely be registering any truck I get here in
Utah...I'll have to look into what their laws are regarding foreign emmissions/smog. We keep several Utah registered cars at our place in San Diego,
but every couple of years, they require smog checks. Hopefully Utah has an exemption like SD. So if your car is registered in SD, do you just use a
forwarding address for correspondence from SD DMV, or can it all be done online. Will they mail the tags to Mexico, or do you need to have them
forward to a U.S. address (assuming you'll obviously never be in SD), then from there, they can be forwarded to your Baja residence?
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elizabeth
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Location: Loreto, BCS
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Bajaguy...good reminder to always check the actual regulation! I didn't because it wasn't that important to me...just one of the options...and the bad
info I got just made me act sooner to nationalize!
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dasubergeek
Senior Nomad
Posts: 694
Registered: 8-17-2013
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajalearner
| Quote: | Originally posted by dasubergeek
In order to import it its model year must be five to ten years old.
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What if a person imports a car less than ten years old and a few years later, the car becomes 10 or more years old? Does he have to take that car
out of MX? |
No. Once it's imported, it's imported for good. They just don't want to be the recipient of every junker in the U.S. (> 10 years), and they don't
want you to go to the U.S. and buy a car for cheaper, thus hurting Mexican car dealerships (< 5 years).
jcom: There are dozens of threads about South Dakota registrations here. Do a search in the search box. There are services that do it for you, too. No
smog, no presence, no nothing, SD counties want the revenue.
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