Got charged nothing to enter Mexico

[esville]

In contrast to the thread below i got charged nothing.
Coming from Guatemala on a Honda CG125, i said my bike wasn{t worth $400 and probably wouldn{t make it to The States so i was a bit loathe to pay it. They waved me through. Does this mean i can park it at the airport in Mexico City and fly out with no comeback?

[MikeMike]

What it means is that if you get stopped by any cop who is nosing around and you don't have a TVIP, you will lose the bike and be walking. But only if you are stopped and someone decides to ask for your documentation.
Whatever you do, be sure not to get involved in an accident.
You can park it wherever you want because there is no record of the bike entering the country.
Which begs the quesiton? Did you enter legally or did they just wave you through, too?
In which case you will have to explain the whole deal at the airport before you fly out. You are processed on entry and exit in Mexico. Make sure you are legal, if not you will be fined and could be delayed.

[esville]

Thanks alot Mike.
I entered legally (passport stamped) but it appears the bike didn´t.
So i´ve just got to stay out of trouble and park it at the airport.
Thanks again.
Ian

[MikeMike]

By parking it at the airport, are you just going to abandon it?
If you are, leave the key in it with a little dayglo orange or high viz yellow cord attached and it will disappear before you board your plane.
Or reach the ticketing counter. LOL!

[esville]

Unless i can sell it, store it. or donate it to someone worthy in the next week. It will just be parked at the airport.
Have becomer rather attached to it - but not enough to pay the shipping back to the UK.

[markharf]

This thread keeps bobbing to the surface, and each time I see it I wonder: are you saying they didn't check in your bike at all, or that they didn't actually take money from you? The border guards never take your money--it's the banjercito which does that part. Some places they're right next to each other, some places they're miles and miles apart in different towns. You can easily blow right by the banjercito, but I assume in such cases they figure it out sooner or later. That implies the question of what they'd do. Forbidding re-entry would be one possibility, but there are others.

Just idle curiosity.

FWIW, I had soldiers at a roadblock check my bike import papers once (out of dozens of roadblocks). This was not at one of those giant barricades with machine guns behind sandbags, guard towers and all the rest--it was on a little highway high in the mountains north of D.F. Probably they were angling for mordida. Mileage varies.

Mark

[MikeMike]

Originally Posted by markharf

Probably they were angling for mordida. Mileage varies.

I doubt very much they were looking for a bribe. Mexican armed forces don't usually do that, in fact, they face very stiff penalties and loss of their career plans in the military, the consequences for them are severe. They were doing their job is what they were doing.

[Foflappy]

In five weeks of riding around Mexico I have been stopped at over 20 military checkpoints at only two of them did they ask to search my stuff and only one wanted to see my passport. At EVERY stop they did check my TVIP sticker on the windshield of my bike. So...I hope if you get stopped its no problem if you don't have the sticker. The only people to ask for my papers were the customs checkpoint guy just south of the border with the USA. I did pass through another customs checkpoint near Chetumal but its near the Belize border so I figured it was for that.

[garrydymond]

If you want to leave/donate/store it at my place you are welcome. We can also put you up in Mexico City and show you around.

Garry

[esville]

Mark
After i baulked at the 450 dollar fee they just decided to ignore the fact i was on a bike and told me to be careful and that bringing the bike in was my responsibility. Basically,no paperwork done on bike.
I got stopped about 10 kms into Mexico. I showed them all my documents and they had a quick look in my panniers and they were happy for me to continue - no mention of a TVIP. Haven´t been stopped since..
That`s a fantastically generous offer, Garry. I`ll p.m you and see if we can work out some `bike for bed`` deal.

[Vixonella]

Hi esville, Garry

I'm hoping to come to Central America (exact destination flexible but Mexico City would work) in mid- to late-July and would be looking for a bike - is this one available by any chance?

Thanks very much