Mexico Vehicle Permit
 

I was wondering, when you cross into Mexico from the US of Baja, you need to obtain a 6mo. vehicle permit and provide a credit card number. Does the same apply when you enter from C.America? Do you require the same permits and a credit card, or a substancial deposit. I know a few of you have crossed recently, any info would be appreciated.

Same system.

Maarten


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- www.maartensworld.com -

You do need a credit card so they can deduct the import tax on the spot, no cash accepted.But even if you have a valid credit card it can happen that their computers balk and will not recognise it as valid. This happened to me in Jan '05 at the customs entry port, Garrita km53, on Mex 57 at Allende ,Coahuila Not having a second credit card to fall back to I had to pay a cash deposit of US $300, and voila, the permit was mine. So, if you have no credit card just make sure you have enough cash on you. The bond costs between $200 US and $400US depending on the age of the vehicle. When you leave Mexico for the last time present the bond receipt at the Banjercito as you process your vehicle out and the full deposit will be handed back to you promptly.Viva Mexico.

[This message has been edited by Sjoerd Bakker (edited 29 December 2005).]

It is not clear from your post what your plans are. If you are initially entering Mexico from the U.S., you will get your temporary vehicle permit then. If you leave Mexico via Belize or Guatemala and plan to return to Mexico before your permit expires, you will keep your permit and it will still be good when you return to Mexico. If you are not returning to Mexico before the permit expires, cancel your permit at Mexican customs when you leave.

This same procedure, unfortunately, does not necessarily follow for the countries in Central America. When you leave Honduras, you must surrender your Honduran permit, and get a new one when you return, even if it is only a few days later (or even the same day). This hurts because the permit costs $30 U.S. In Guatemala they have usually let me keep and return on my original permit if I tell customs that I am returning in a few days. But on my last trip this past October, they made me surrender the permit when I left (El Florido border, and then get a new one when I returned. At least the Guatemalan permit is only $5 U.S.

The short storey is i have a good friend in
zacatecas and i plan on leaving the bike in Mexico until Dec/06 so i can continue my travelles. We are trying to find a way of keeping the bike past the permit date. Apparently, leaving and re-entering from the south is not an option unless he does it for me before the permit expires. I wonder what will happen if i just leave the bike and enter Guatamala next year December? I´ve already cancelled the credit card i used for the permit due to a comprimise of security, so the authorities wouldnot be able to charge it anyways. Does anyone here have direct experience on this?
...Maybe another idea, my friend takes the bike to Aguas Calientes and gets another permit after the previous one expires?

You will need to turn in the permit paperwork, regardless, and the bike must be there.

I´m aware that you have to cancell the permit when you leave the country. At the boarder they tear off the inside of the sticker you place on the windshield and check the serial number to the bike to make sure it matches. My question is what will the authorities do when, and if they realise the bike has been in the country longer than permitted. Afterall, the bike IS leaving the country and was not sold, which is what they are trying to prevent in the first place.

The question is not so much what will the authorities do than what is their legal right to do. As a visitor it is your respoibility to make sure that you have these temp.import papers and sticker , and cancel or renew/extend them before the expiry date. If you let them lapse before you reach the border the authorities there have the right to impose a fine , or other measures. However, they may be lenient and considerate if you are polite and explain your situation, and as in your case , have the bike right there as physical proof. To renew or extend your permit and sticker you can either go to a border customs garrita , cancel the old one and pay for a new one , or take up contact with their headquarters (Hacienda, see info on your papars ), and see if they can arrange it while you are staying in Mexico,or visit one of their regional offices.

I guess i´ll find out next december when i come back and enter Guatamala. In the meantime my friend will try to renew the permit in Aguas Caliente. He says that this city searves as a central office for all Mexico. If he can´t, well, i guess thats what the adventure is all about!

Solution to your problem: If you are crossing north into the U.S. with an expired permit, don't stop at the border. Just keep going. You will then stop at any Mexican consulate in the U.S. and clear the bike there. The Mexican consulate can't very well take your bike in the U.S. if that is your fear upon clearing on the border. I had a 2 year expiration on a Triumph which I cleared in the consulate in Houston. No fine and speedy service. They do require to physically check the bike's vin # and they remove the sticker. The bike was on a consignment sale at a dealership in Houston and I had to "Borrow" it to take it down to the consulate. Their consulates are authorized "Banjercito" reps and can do all the processing. You will receive a "Certificado de Retorno" and will be entered in their database. Make sure to keep the certificate if you ever intend on returning to Mexico with another vehicle. Same Same on the "Otra Lado". If you are in C.A., find the Mexican consulate in the particular capital city you are in and the same process applies. There are Mexican citizens that live south that require such services. If they fine you down their, pay it. It won't be much. You more than likely won't be fined and will be "clean" from their database. When you get to the southern Mexican border, you will be reissued a new permit to enter with the vehicle. To find the locations of consulates in the U.S., Search "Mexican consultes U.S.". Most major cites in the U.S. have one and you can find one near your route home. Another web which is very handy is "Sanborn Insurance" which sells Mexican insurance. Its site has a wealth of dos and don'ts. I do advise you upon finishing your trip that you do clear your bike to avoid problems if a future trip to Mexico is in the cards.

Thanx Smitty, thats some great info!