Year of Vehicle you can bring into Mexico on a FM3?

Question

I was under the impression that you can bring in any year vehicle on your FM3. When I went to the Mex. Consulate this morning I spoke with the one and only person working in the vehicle importation office and she stated that it didn't matter and that it had to be a 1998 (In the case of a pickup it can be from 93-98) I beginning to think I'm not getting correct answers from the consulate. Any insight on this would be appreciated?

Answer 1

Greetings from Cancun!

The FM3 is for you and must be registered in the City/State you will be residing in and this MUST be done within 90-days no matter what your FM3 actually says inside. There is a fine associated with late filings.

As long as your car in registered to you and you register it in Mexico (which is done when you enter the country) there isn't a problem. Registration costs are based on the make/model/year. Remember you MUST purchase Mexican auto insurance.

Legally, you will not be able to sell/trade your US vehicle in Mexico.

Depending on the state you will be living in the laws are different...so when you actually settle down somewhere check on the local registration laws. Here in Quintana Roo you are supposed to register your vehicle every year (we paid $50p) and it took all of 30-seconds (after we found the building).

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

You can bring any vehicle in with a Tourist visa or an FM3.  The 1998 restriction is if you want to nationalize it in Mexico and put Mexican plates on it.

There is NO reason to nationalize a car in Mexico for most extranjeros

Answer 3

Here`s the deal: The person you call is not telling you lies, the problem is that she may have thought that what you meant was to legalize a car.....NAFTA allows buying cars in the U.S. and bring them to Mexico, legalizing them here, thousands of trucks (cherokee, blazer, suburban, venture, voyager, etc.etc)are bought in the U.S. and legalize here but they have to be models not newer than 1998 (10 years) to be validated, this is because the car companies in Mexico don´t want to lose customers for new cars and that will discourage a lot of people who want to buy a car, but not that old, usually this models are sold in the northern states of Mexico, in Mexico city nobody buys those cars because as a merchandising offer and as a policy of this particular city if you don´t have a car that is 1998 or newer you banned one day to use it during the week. NOW that if what you want is to visit Mexico with your car and drive wherever you please, and then drive back home,you can bring your car, it doesen´t matter what year or model is it. Greetings =)

Answer 4

OK, this is by no means definitive but my impression is that you can bring in any vehicle as long as you pay duty on it.

I had heard that if a vehicle is 10 years old or more than there is no duty. I'm not sure if that is true or not. It may be that after 10 years the value of most cars is so low that the duty is not significant.

Answer 5

You Can bring any vehicle you wish as long as it is registered as your vehicle and is stamped on your FM3

It goes with the territory. It is your vehicle and with you until you leave with it or die with it in Mexico.

If you are talking about legalizing it the only reason for doing that would be to sell it.

They will not worry about expired plates or expired drivers licence in Mexico as long as you have an FM3 or FM2

SHE MUST HAVE THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO LEGALIZE IT AND THAT IS ANOTHER QUESTION