I've been doing some research on bringing a car into Mexico and getting rid of a car/truck in Mexico and it led me to these forums. In May, my wife and I are planning a road trip from the US to Cancun. From there, we plan to fly back. We're doing it for the sheer adventure of it, and yes, we're well aware it would be cheaper and easier to just fly to Cancun. When we're done, we're going to fly back. We won't have a need for the car/truck when we're done, so we'd just like to get rid of it. We're comfortable just giving it away, we're just not sure how or if we could do it. Now, I'd be comfortable just leaving it on the street with the keys in it, but there's probably a better option. Plus, I'm slightly concerned when we fly out at the airport that they'd realize we'd left a car, not to mention it just seems like a bad thing to do. (Losing the bond I'm ok with.) If it's too much hassle to do this in Mexico, is it easier in Belize or Guatemala? Finally, if someone would like us to shuttle a vehicle for them from somewhere in the western US to Cancun, that could be an option too.
If you are talking about leaving a US registered car here, it will be illegal for anyone to drive it. Foreign plated cars are only allowed to be driven by, or with authorized drivers in the car with any other driver. Authorized drivers are the owner of record, his or her spouse, children, siblings or parents. You cannot legally give it away to a Mexican as it will be seized when the first cop sees it being driven (with its foreign plate) by a Mexican. They could get away with it if they put stolen plates on it, but that is a time bomb. Technically, your Temporary Import Permit will expire when you leave the country. If your tourist visa (not really a visa) is for 180 days, your Permit will be for 180 days. 90 if 90, etc. You could sell it, or give it, to another foreigner, at the border with any other country, which are USA, Belize and Guatemala. I can probably/possibly help you get rid of it, with a bit of notice when you are ready to go. I have had two foreign plated cars here and just sold my 2nd one. (1st one totaled by Hurricane Wilma). I have been here 9+ years and on this forum for more than that. Keep in touch,
T.J. - It was actually your posts and recent experience that led me to post here. We're pretty serious about this and we've done this kind of thing before, just not in Mexico. Transferring the title on a foreign plated car does seem to be a bit difficult, but we'll have some time to arrange this. Another option is to continue on to Belize or Guatemala if its easier to sell a foreign plated vehicle there. Lastly, the reason we're embarking on this little adventure is because we have a wedding to attend at Moon Palace. We don't plan on staying at the resort and we did find a home on VRBO for rent that's nearby. However, if you know anyone else that has a vacation home for rent nearby we'd be interested in a personal referral.
What kind of car are you giving away here? Maybe its worth it for me to fly to cancun and drive it back lol
dikfore - we're going to make sure whatever we get will be able to make it to Mexico with hopefully no breakdowns and little maintenance required. That likely means you could drive it back. I can also guarantee you'll likely lose money (gas, maintenance, fees) on the adventure just like we will.. but that's part of the fun.
Interested but would need to look more into it. I typically stay on just the tourist visa and with the new change in laws probably wont be considering the FM3 or whatever they call it now
FM3s are now pretty much Temporary Resident Permits. Residente Temporal is what the cards say. My status is Residente Permanente and I don't have to renew or pay any fees again ever. The annual renewal is worse than paying the fees, even doing it myself. The new laws almost seem like the Gov't wants less temporary residents, making it harder to get them and has made becoming a Perm Res more easy, presumably to get more of them.
are there any charities in Cancun that take cars as donations? Even if it can only be scrapped maybe it can help raise a bit of money for a good cause.
Vinn Ill be more than glad to take care of your car, my girlfriend is american so she can drive it here no prob, also if youmlike some money for it we can talk about that too regards Gabriel
The problem remains that if it is a foreign plated car, it can only be legally driven by "authorized drivers" those being the owner of record, his or her spouse, children, siblings and parents. If caught the car can be impounded on the spot and most likely will never be seen again. There could be repercussions for the person driving it illegally but I don't know what they are. The solution remains pretty simple, IMHO. The owner and the recipient drive to the Belize border, and get the vehicle permitted in the recipients name. That would be your girlfriend, or me if he takes my offer of earlier in this thread. It costs about $50 US for the permit and a $300 US deposit. It is really better just to forfeit the deposit as renewal, should you choose to renew it, can be done in Pto Juarez. To maintain the deposit you have to renew annually at the border. That's about $1,000 mxn round trip for gas and possibly a hotel, plus wear and tear on the car. I did this trip to do essentially the same deal, in October, on a raining the whole way day. You could do this in a 12 hour day if you don't stop. We did a couple of things and it was 15 hours. Just sayin'
