Importing a car

[Francis]

I am thinking of bringing my car by sea.

Should I keep my license plates or get new ones in Mexico?

How do the Mexico authorities verify if foreign plates are still valid?

I would insure locally in Mexico, is that possible on foreign plates?

[Babaloo]

Originally Posted by Francis

I am thinking of bringing my car by sea.

Should I keep my license plates or get new ones in Mexico?

How do the Mexico authorities verify if foreign plates are still valid?

I would insure locally in Mexico, is that possible on foreign plates?

You are shipping your car from where? I would think that would be very expensive.
I am keeping my PA plates and it doesn't seem to be a problem.
My plates aren't current and the policia don't seem to have an issue and I have been stopped more than once.
I buy my Mexican auto insurance in the States from Lewis and Lewis

[Michele]

I am thinking of bringing my car by sea. Had I known this was possible we wouldn't have bought the panga.

Should I keep my license plates or get new ones in Mexico? You must keep your US plates. It is VERY difficult to re-plate a car here....requiring the greasing of many pockets.

How do the Mexico authorities verify if foreign plates are still valid? They can't and don't care. It's a beautiful thing. My buddy John has Texas plates that expired in 1991.

I would insure locally in Mexico, is that possible on foreign plates?No problem at all.

[Francis]

Originally Posted by Babaloo

You are shipping your car from where? I would think that would be very expensive

It's not so bad, I have other stuff to bring so adding a car is only about $2000 extra.

Thanks for the insurance tip, I will contact them. A quick look shows it's 3x cheaper than what I'm paying!

[Babaloo]

Originally Posted by Francis

It's not so bad, I have other stuff to bring so adding a car is only about $2000 extra.

Thanks for the insurance tip, I will contact them. A quick look shows it's 3x cheaper than what I'm paying!

hehe - only
i guess it's all relative
$2000 extra is a lot to me

[jamnkats]

Originally Posted by Francis

It's not so bad, I have other stuff to bring so adding a car is only about $2000 extra.

Thanks for the insurance tip, I will contact them. A quick look shows it's 3x cheaper than what I'm paying!

Are you using Lineas? Coming into Progresso? If so, they'll take care of all the importation procedures. Progresso will have Aduana there and will issue your TIP. It is good (depending on who you talk to) for the entire state of QRoo (or within 20km of the border - the border being the Sea or Belize), all of MExico if you have an FM3 or 6 months if you have an FMT. There is question whether or not your auto insurance will cover any accident if your TIP is not current, so check that also. ING is reported to have already verified that a TIP issued under an FM3 will suffice regardless of the date it was issued. Other insurances might use this as an excuse not to honor a claim.

There is a FAQ at the MExico and South America forum at RV.Net : RV.Net - The Leading RV Community, Club, RV Travel and Information Source for Recreational Vehicle Camping which has recommended insurance companies. I actually found Lewis and Lewis to be expensive.

[Francis]

I don't know the shipping company yet, I'm just getting quotes from a broker. I also don't know where they dock.

I assume Aduana is a customs broker?
What's a TIP?

[Babaloo]

Originally Posted by Francis

I assume Aduana is a customs broker?
What's a TIP?

yeah
sometimes Jamnkats speaks in code

[Libby]

Originally Posted by Babaloo

yeah
sometimes Jamnkats speaks in code

Ya mean Spanish?

Actually, to my knowledge, Aduana is the customs department of the Mexican government. A customs broker would be a private entity that coordinates or advises on the import/export of goods.

We use Sanborn's for our car insurance. The rates are good, but thankfully, we've never tested their service.

[mayaplayagrandma]

Originally Posted by Michele

I am thinking of bringing my car by sea. Had I known this was possible we wouldn't have bought the panga.

Should I keep my license plates or get new ones in Mexico? You must keep your US plates. It is VERY difficult to re-plate a car here....requiring the greasing of many pockets.

How do the Mexico authorities verify if foreign plates are still valid? They can't and don't care. It's a beautiful thing. My buddy John has Texas plates that expired in 1991.

I would insure locally in Mexico, is that possible on foreign plates?No problem at all.

Hi Michelle, I didnt realize that we could actually get auto insurance here in Playa. We currently have Lewis and Lewis. I just havent heard of anyone using someone like ING here -that has foreign plates-is it because its more expensive?

[jamnkats]

Originally Posted by Francis

I don't know the shipping company yet, I'm just getting quotes from a broker. I also don't know where they dock.

I assume Aduana is a customs broker?
What's a TIP?

Sorry about that. Aduana is Mexican customs and they will be processing your auto when it comes into port.

A TIP is a temporary import permit (PIT is the acronym in Spanish or simply permisa) that your car requires when it crosses the border - MAYBE. If you import into Progreso (one or two Ss?) you will definitely need one as Yucatan is not a border state. I don't know if Lineas lands in Punta Sam, but if you can import there you won't need a TIP unless you travel outside QRoo (though it is somewhat vague exactly what the border is considered and exactly where you are legally allowed to be in QRoo without a TIP). For the doubt, I would simply plan on getting one. Sonora and BCN states have done a very good job of describing the exact area that they require a TIP but QRoo hasn't done that. Yet.

[surfnmom]

Originally Posted by Francis

It's not so bad, I have other stuff to bring so adding a car is only about $2000 extra.

Thanks for the insurance tip, I will contact them. A quick look shows it's 3x cheaper than what I'm paying!

Just be sure you are clear on how your car gets put in the crate. We looked into that for my car so that I could just fly with the kids. We thought we could just pack it all in that car and ship it down.....has to be crated EMPTY. Soooo, we decided to drive. That was going to be much cheaper than the empty car and our stuff in a crate.

[Francis]

Yes that's true. However the shipping company can fill the rest of the space in the container with boxes (they put up a wall in front of the car and pile up the boxes). There isn't much space left in a 20' container but it should work for us since we only have about 20 boxes.