Taking a car to mexico?

Question

How old does a car have to be for it be able to leagalize in mexico??

My grandparents (they live in mexico) are buyin a car here in the united states. How old does it have to be to be able to leagalize it in mexico?

Answer 1

I'm not sure, but i can help a little. You need a passport and you need to get permission from the Mexican embassy i think. (some building, i don't remember which one)    and it's going to be around 200 bucks to get permission.    Or you can just drive over there without permission. the worse that can happen is you get pulled over and pay the cops about 40 pesos(4 dollars) for every cop there. It is a bribe but the mexican police are corrupt and even ask you if you are willing to pay them.     I have done this numerous times with piece of c**p junkers and have only been pulled over twice, one at a checkpoint. (paid 16 bucks) and another time because i ran a stop sign  (paid 12 bucks). No cop will pull you over just because of your plates. Mexico is full of c**p cars and poor people who also can't afford to do this.

When in Rome, do what Romans do.

Answer 2

You Can bring any year and any car you wish as long as you pay the "Importation Tax"

This is normally done at the border at the office of "Fiscal" or Banjercito.

Answer 3

I live in Mexico and I have a Mexican friend who just did this.  he said that at the border there are many car "brokers".  They have the proper paper work to register the car temporarily to bring it into Mexico.  Then When your parents arrive home they need to go to the Palacio Municipal  to ask what office to register it in locally.  He said it was very easy.  The only cars that can be brought in this year are 1998 cars.  He said he was told that a law is being worked on to make that different in  the next year or two but for now, only 1998 cars can be brought in.

Answer 4

There are actually a couple of questions here. Having done this a few times, I hope I can answer you properly.

First, do they want to legalize the car, or merely bring it in and use it (indefinitely)?

Second, what is their immigrant/visitor status?

Whether they are tourists (ie. up to 6 months at a time), they can bring in any year of car they want. All they have to do is pay the permit at the border and post a "guarantee" that they will take the car back out -- usually around $300, but varies by year and type of vehicle. It also can depend on where they are going -- there is a "Sonora Only" permit as well as a permit for the whole country. Make sure when leaving Mexico that you cancel the permit or you will forfeit the guarantee.

Beyond that, if they have a long term visa - FM3 or FM2, they can bring in a car NOT FOR RESALE, for basically as long as they continue to renew their visa.

Legalizing a car is a different matter. Legalizing means to obtain Mexican plates -- only important if you want to sell the car to a Mexican. The rules are varied and change constantly. The best route is to talk to the immigration authorities and NOT the "agents" at the border who will tell you whatever you want to hear. Their business is to sell titles or plates, legal or not.

As an aside... there are a host of laws around this... for example a Mexican cannot technically drive a foreign-plated vehicle, although you see it all the time. The nasty twist is that the owner, not the driver, is responsible.

Answer 5

New laws restrict it to a 1998 vehicle. Not a 1997, not a 1999. It must be exactly 10 years old. Then they must legalize it at the border. There are no exceptions.