I am selling my 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Its a V8, 200K miles, runs great, and the AC blows cold. It has Texas plates. Its been a great car for Cancun...don't have to stay home when it rains!! For sure, its a workhorse. I am told these last forever! Selling it for 30,000 Pesos OBO...PM me for more specific info and contact info.
Because its got Texas plates does that mean only an American can buy it? Can I nationalize it and put Q.Roo plates on it? Any photos? Regards Mat
Mat, For sure it can be nationalized, although I am not sure of the process. I will get a picture posted today... Thanks, Kris
I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but it is better to know upfront rather than later the way we did when buying a vehicle. While many think that it's OK to buy a US or Canadian vehicle in Mexico and know that it is/has been done, it is illegal to do so and if caught, the car can be impounded and cause you many problems. This includes other foreigners as well as Mexicans. Any foreign car brought into Mexico is tied to the original foreign owner's 'permit', FMM or FM3 only and is good for the duration of the permit only so cannot be legally sold to another. There is a lot of info about Nationalizing a foreign vehicle in Mexico on the Net but basically it can only be done in the year that the vehicle turns 10 years old and it isn't cheap to do either! The other thing about trying to 'register/plate' a Nationalized vehicle is that only someone with an FM2 or a 'real' Mexican can register it! FM3? Nada. We learned after we had purchased a Nationalized vehicle back in 2008 that the law had changed to the above but wasn't enforced until the fall of 2008 and nothing had been posted about it before we bought the car. Big surprise when we went to register it!!!! I'd suggest that anyone considering buying a foreign plated vehicle do some serious research or be ready to live with the consequences of possibly having it impounded by Aduana after the fact. ETA: Some excerpts from Mexican Customs: Who can temporarily import a vehicle? [FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]• Foreigners with immigrant migratory status or non-immigrants, except refugees and political refugees. [/FONT] [/FONT] How long does the permit last? [FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]• [/FONT][/FONT]Foreigners[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]: The same as the migratory status.[/FONT][/FONT] Important [FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Before leaving Mexico [/FONT][/FONT]it is obligatory [FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]that you return with your vehicle to any of the modules of Banjercito located in the border customs of the national territory, to obtain [/FONT][/FONT]the cancellation ticket [FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]and to register the [/FONT][/FONT]return[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]. This will avoid having misfortunes in your next visit. If you leave a deposit as a guarantee, do not forget to ask for the return with the original cancellation document. [/FONT][/FONT] Do not sell, give or leave your vehicle in Mexico because it is illegal. [FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Read carefully your permission of temporary import of vehicles and [/FONT][/FONT]place the hologram in a visible place. [FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Source: http://tinyurl.com/6dqsv99[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial] [/FONT]
@ CaNcun Mole: Thanks for all the info . As everybody knows around here, this is "the perfect world situation"; but the REALITY is that there are a lot of do's and don'ts that don't mean anything, ... A few examples: When we have a president like Greg Sanchez that committed NUMEROUS illegal acts, crime groups forcing many businesses to close, killings and too many other things to list ... We pretty much know that everything that Cancun Mole is exposing is flexible or bendable. Everyone here knows what the laws are in regards to selling foreign vehicles...I know them, my Mexican husband knows them...we all know them. Unfortunately, law here doesn't mean much. My car is for sale. If anyone is interested, let me know. I will PM pics, but will not post publicly. Please let me know if any of you have any questions.
I personallly would not do anything that might cause you problems, fines, taxes, trámites, mordidas or mental anguish later on. And I certainly wouldn't buy anything from someone who recommends skirting the laws no matter what their or my opinion of those laws are or any related ad hominem arguments. "It's ok, everybody does it" doesn't cut it and can be expensive later on bother financially and emotionally. You wanna drive around in a vehicle that MIGHT be stopped and taken away at any time? Caveat emptor!
I don't mean to argue with my good friend, Cancun Mole, but I have a very good friend here to did the following about 2-3 weeks ago. He had/has a car in his own name here that IS a FOREIGN car, i.e. US registered with US plates. He shipped a 2nd vehicle here by Hyde Shipping from Port Everglades, FL. He knew that he could NOT have but one car type vehicle here in his name. After the car arrived at Pto Morelos, but before he went to pick it up, he transfered the incoming car to another person. Together they went to Banjercito, he signed the title over to the other person, obtained the Permiso from Banjercito and headed to PM to get the car. The new owner went inside the Aduana compound, got the car from Hyde, and then "cleared Aduana". Down and dirty. Zero problems. He was there in case there were any issues but was not permitted inside the compound as he was no longer the owner of the car. So that car is now legal in Mexico, and as what Cun Mole says tied to the Migratory Status of the foreignor, which I believe in this case is an FM2. According to my friend, the whole thing was smooth and without issues, attempts of extortion or anything else. The shipper, Banjercito and Aduana all were efficient, polite and helpful. What I do NOT know is how the title gets changed as far as the state in which it is registered in the US. What I BELIEVE however, is that is does not matter until and unless the car returns to the US if ever. Presumably, it would be necessary to transfer it immediately or even before returning to the states, again, if ever. In my case, I renew the FL registration every year as I don't want any potential problems. My US insurance is cancelled, by me, since the car is not in the states and the policy is not valid in Mexico anyway. I maintain Mexican auto insurance of course. I think that Kris in Cancun can sell this car simply enough to another foreignor providing seller and buyer go through the steps my friend did. I have advised Kris of this in more detail and provided contact info with the permission of my friend. Off the board of course. Now, selling to a Mexican and nationalizing it is a whole other deal.
TJ, Thanks so much for the information. I will reply to your email. This is great information! You are a super positive guy and I appreciate it!! Take care, Kris
Hi Kris, Thanks for the info on the car you sent me by email. Funny that I have seen that car often as you know. I hope you sell it quickly and easily as I suspect you may. It would be an excellent 2nd car for a family or a good inexpensive one for someone not wanting to spend a lot of $$. I have a Jeep in FL that is a great car. My friend Cheap Ted (not to be confused with Cheap Tom) bought a high milage Cherokee years ago and it is still going strong at well over 200k miles. Jeeps are wondeful for the long run. You can drive them till they drop. Yours doesn't even have grey hair yet. Good luck amiga,
