Selling a Foreign Plated Car - The Experience

Discussion in 'Living in Cancun' started by T.J., Oct 28, 2013.

  1. T.J.

    T.J. I can choose my own title Registered Member

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    To summarize in advance, it went smoothly and included a 15 hour round trip to the Belize border.

    Left Cancun at 6:30 am on Saturday with the buyer and his wife. Dropped her at a friend's place in Chetumal. Waved our INM cards at the border crossing and got waived thru. Did not have to fill out the FM whatever form one usually does when leaving Mexico. Parked and went in Banjercito, with my Permiso window sticker and the hard copy and Passport. Got my receipt in about 5 minutes. She never asked to see my INM card. I was concerned that technically the permiso was no longer valid, now that I have Res Perm status. It obviously was not a concern as no one asked for a bribe or a fine or threatened to seize the car.

    THEN we told the lady that he was going to buy the car and did we really need to drive into Belize, but that we were in fact going to the Zona Libre anyway. She asked for the title and all of his info. Went back to the car and got our folders. She came and took a pix of the VIN off the door plate. In a few more minutes the deal was complete. Signed the title in her presence. He needed original and copy of - Driver's license, INM card and Passport. She made a copy of the signed title and he got the original.

    This whole thing could have been done at any Banjercito office but, for some reason, it must be at a border. He had to pay a $300 USD deposit and $48.84 USD for the new permiso. We know that the Permiso is valid so long as the owner's INM status is valid so it has more or less a rolling expiration date.

    BUT, if he wants his deposit back, he must drive to Belize, turn in the old one and get a new one and pay the then current fee, every single year, at least one day before it expires. We need to verify that this CANNOT be done here but she said "a la frontera". Unless one is going to Chetumal anyway, it does not make sense to pay $1,000 r/t for gas and a long, round trip journey to protect $300 US.

    Bad news is that it rained every single minute of this 15 hour experience. We visited the friend for an hour or so and his wife had made a wonderful picnic of Indian food. We ate at one of those basketball courts like the one on Lopez Portillo on the way to Pto Juarez. After we ate, we put all of our trash in the garbage can. Then we spent a few minutes picking up the trash left by others, some only steps away from the can. Amazing how it seems ok just to toss your trash on the ground with receptacles just steps away. We had a little left over rice and fed it to a stray dog who would not eat it. There was another doggie and we offered it to him and he ate every single bite. Trina Noakes will be proud of us.

    Of course there was a traffic stop by Federales on the way home and we got waived over for no front license plate. We had not put on the new sticker as there was residue from pulling mine off and he wanted to put the new one on a dry window. But we passed quickly after showing ID's and the Permiso.

    We arrived home at 9:30, 800 km later. Approaching PDC the drive was scary as twice we hit standing water and could have easily lost control of the car. I drove the entire way. Our trip and time together was a blessing for all of us. We thanked God for this day.

    We probably had 3 hours of time not related to the purpose of the trip. The weather pretty much kept our driving speed much slower than going on a day with good weather.
     
  2. V

    V I can choose my own title Registered Member

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    Congratulations, T.J.! Well done. Another successful, do it yourself experience, as I understand it.
     
  3. Steve

    Steve Administrator Owner

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  4. T.J.

    T.J. I can choose my own title Registered Member

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    Sort of Steve. I bought one about 3 months ago, another Ford Escape with QR plates. So I was a 2 SUV family for a while, all 1 of me.

    FYI, if you have Permanent Resident Status, which I have had for a couple of weeks, you are not perrnited to have a vehicle with foreign license plates.

    Nationalizing a vehicle 10 years or older is permitted but it is costly and must be done at the US border. Not Belize. The taxes and time required don't make it feasible. There are people in this area who say they can do it from here, with the car not needing to go to the border, but legally that cannot be done.

    Let the buyer beware. You might get away with it but someone somewhere is getting bribed. And if you try such a thing, make sure that you get a Banjercito receipt that your Permiso de Importacion Temporal is canceled through the system.

    I spent too much time talking to too many customs brokers and could get zero comfort level from anyone. One local friend, a customs broker, told me it could not be done without bribery. I believed him but kept looking for a way. In the end he was right and honest with me from day one.
     
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