Leaving a car in mexico for 2.5 months
 

Next summer I plan to drive through to central America and then return home for the following summer. I would want to fly home and leave my car somewhere either in Mexico or Guatemala. Can I fly out of Mexico and leave it there assuming I will have sufficient time on my temporary import certificate? I would like to avoid using a bonded warehouse. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Your time frames are confusing.
The temp import permit for Mexico is only valid for 180 days, so you would have to be back in Mexico within 6 months after getting the permit so that you could then take the bike out of the country and then re-enter to get a new temp .Imp.permit.
Wouldn't it be simpler just to ride it back to the states and start fresh next year?
Of course what is required is one thing and what you choose to do may differ. If you do manage to store it for the time out in sombody's garage , you still need to rush to a border with the bike to exit Mex before expiry.
Thing to do is ask the Mex and GT authorities what options you have in order to have your fragmented trips and still conform to their laws.
Anybody have experience with this sort of logistics?

Sorry if that was confusing. Ok, here is what I want to do. I will be in Guatemala with the car in late May. Around June 1st I want to enter Mexico and leave the car there at a friend's house. I then want to fly home from Guadalajara. I will return in mid-August to Guadalajara. I obviously then will pick up the car and I want to ride it back down to Guatemala, eventually making it to South America. What I am confused about is whether or not the people at the airport will look at my passport and see that I have a car in the country and tell me I can't leave.

I need to come back for the summer to work and I would much rather fly than drive. I can fly for free (log story) which saves money over driving, not to mention Guadalajara to Chicago and back is not exactly like driving around the block :)

Thanks for your help.

-Jake

Guatemala and Honduras will stamp your passport for entrance and exit with a temp-permit vehicle, but Mexico does not.

The Mexican temp permit agreement says:

"In accordance with the regulations governing Mexican Customs Law, I truthfully declare that I will withdraw the vehicle described...from Mexico within the time allotted for this purpose, and I will not commit acts or omissions by using it illegally."

(There follows two paragraphs describing who may obtain a temp vehicle permit)

"I understand that it is forbidden to: *Sell the vehicle *Use the vehicle to transport cargo, or any other activity that will result in a profit, monetary or otherwise, directly related to the use of the vehicle *Overstay the permit granted by the Mexican authorities to use the vehicle within Mexican territory *Use the vehicle by anyone not authorized to do so.

It is compulsory for the importer to present the vehicle to the Banjercito (bank office at the border) authorities in order to register its return to its origen (sic). In not doing so, the importer will not be able to request another temporary vehicle import permit."

(Followed by a paragraph about the penalties)

So I would say that as long as you take the vehicle out of the country before the permit expires, and no one else is using the vehicle, there is no problem with you leaving Mexico by other means and then returning. The permit will be recorded on the customs computer, which is data-accessible by the other customs offices, so it is critical that you take the vehicle out of Mexico and cancel the permit at Banjercito before the permit expires.

The other option, if you are not sure you will make it back in time, would be to park the car at a "no mans zone" between the Guatemalan and Mexican customs offices. In this way, your Guatemalan temp permit would be cleared, but you would not need a Mexican temp permit until you return to enter Mexico with your vehicle (or in your case, get a new Guatemalan permit to reenter Guatemala). There is a gated & guarded lot at the Talisman border crossing between Chiapas and Guatemala. I do not know what they charge for long term storage, maybe $85 U.S./month? But get it in writing and make sure the person is the proper authority (get names and signatures) or the price will change when you get back. I would recommend a car cover, if only for the sun and dust. Then you could take a bus to your friends in Mexico.

I've done this a few times without a problem. There is no connection between Banjercito and your Passport, and if there is, they don't look for it or don't care. Just be sure to hand in your tourist permit when you leave Mexico. I've left my bike in Mexico twice, both times expiring the permits and never had a problem leaving or had to pay a fine. Once was entering Guatemala from Cuahuatemoc, the other time exiting from... damn, i forgot the name, but the crossing east of Nogales.

Leaving motorcycle while flying home
 

I appreciate the information given on leaving a vehicle in Mexico. I am planning to head south from Canada in the next few weeks, eventually to end up in TDF. I would like to break the trip with two or three flights home for a week or two. Do you know if the law regarding this in Mexico is similar to that of other CA and SA countries, or, do you know which countries may be more receptive to having a vehicle left for a short period than others?
Peter

indi 500
 

Hey Peter. Looks like there will be two of us leaving ohio Oct 1. email me. knickpool@aol.com tom