# How To Import A Car with A Residente Temporal Visa



## Caribbean Cat (May 2, 2013)

Good afternoon,
I am seeking cost information to import a vehicle as a Resident Temporal who does not have intentions of taking the vehicle out of Mexico again. 

I am finding a lot of information on how to import a vehicle as a tourist who has intentions of returning to the states with their vehicle, but I am not finding any information as to how a person who has intentions of moving their vehicle into Mexico for good does it.

I understand that as of right now, the vehicle is tied to your immigration status and that as long as your immigration status is current, your vehicle is current and I understand the list of paper work that will be required but my specific question is:

When approaching the border as a Resident Temporal, how much will it cost to bring in the vehicle? Also, I do not mean to "Mexicanize" it with Mexican plates, but just to get it into the country. However, might that be what would be required now at the border if you do not plan to take the vehicle back out?

I appreciate anyone's input, thank you so much!


----------



## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

A Residente Temporal may temporarily import a car, but agrees to remove it from Mexico. Permanent importation is not a viable option. You would be better to sell the car in the USA and buy a replacement in Mexico. Your Residente Temporal will run out at the end of 4 years, causing you to change to Residente Permanente and being prohibited from owning or driving a foreign plated car, or else leaving Mexico, letting the RT expire, paying a fine and starting a new RT application.
I know this is not specific to your question, but your question does not quite make sense under the rules as we know them. Any tourist or RT may only temporarily import their vehicle. Permanent importation is not practical for an individual, is fraught with scams and can result in jail and confiscation of the vehicle. Only NAFTA vehicles of specific ages, which vary, are even considered and the cost can be as much, or more, than the value of the car. It just is not a good option.
For temporary importation, there is a fee of around $60 USD, plus a $200-$400 deposit which depends upon the age of the car.


----------



## Caribbean Cat (May 2, 2013)

*How To Import A Car with a Residente Temporal Visa*

Thank you so much for that thoughtful reply. 

So you are saying that anyone looking to move to Mexico on a Residente Temporal Visa should do so without bringing their car with them if they have no plans of ever taking their car back out because it does not make fiscal sense to "Mexicanize" their vehicle which is the only way to permanently import a car.

So the best advice to give to foreigners wondering if they should bring their cars with them is that they should not do it. The best advice is to fly in and buy a car here. 

Is that correct? I appreciate you being direct and to the point, it really helps!


----------



## mexikatz (Mar 16, 2013)

RVGRINGO said:


> Permanent importation is not practical for an individual, is fraught with scams and can result in jail and confiscation of the vehicle.


Sounds like you drank the kool-aid.

We just nationalized our car and while it was a little pricey we look forward to the next 100K miles on our cream puff


----------



## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Mexicatz may well have done it, but had to have had the correct age, NAFTA car and have been willing to spend the cash to do so. In those circumstances, for one already here, it may have been practical and even affordable. Too many have lost money on scams recently and they are hard to detect beforehand.

For new folks coming down: You can certainly bring the vehicle, but should be prepared to remove it as your INM status approaches the 4th year, or sooner. That is obligatory. Otherwise, buy in Mexico. I stand by these recommendations in light of the new and rather unsettled INM rules and their effect on the Aduana automobile importation situation, which is still a crap shoot in some areas and for which new, coordinated rules have not yet been published. Answers from either INM or Aduana are inconsistent at best. In light of all that, I see no other viable recommendations.


----------



## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Check to see if your importation was legal

Check BOTH by pedimento AND VIN number, if the VIN shows no results you have a fake or canceled pedimento.

_A pedimento is the legal document to import or export from Mexico._

http://www.aduanas.sat.gob.mx/soianet/oia_consultarap_cep.aspx


----------



## mexikatz (Mar 16, 2013)

sparks said:


> Check to see if your importation was legal
> 
> Check BOTH by pedimento AND VIN number, if the VIN shows no results you have a fake or canceled pedimento.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the link. I had used it before but had not searched by VIN. I was concerned yesterday when there was no information found for our VIN - even lost a little sleep. We have been waiting for our tags for over 2 months now have been told our data has not been entered yet. Your post had me jump to the concllusion that it might never be entered.

Apparently that is not the case. There is a true backlog at hacienda (?). They are short handed, working chronologically on imported vehicles and are just now working on those brought in in February - ours was March. The gentleman who controls the issuance of tags in our state has nearly 100 other people in exactly the same situcation as us.

Nothing wrong with our paperwork. Just relax and wait our turn.


----------



## Caribbean Cat (May 2, 2013)

*Whether or not to Import a Car to Mexico on a Residente Temporal Visa*

I believe you need to weigh the costs of spending money on the import duty tax, the emissions test and the custom broker fee with the cost of just buying a used car. It's not only the money to consider but your time and energy on the whole process. 

Thank you so much for all this helpful advice! I am sure there are a lot of people trying to decide if they should drive into Mexico or not.


----------



## Vallartense (Apr 1, 2013)

I agree whole heartedly with RVGringo. Having personally experienced legality issues with a foreign plated car in Mexico under temporary visas (both No Inmigrante and Residente Temporal), if I had it to do over, I would have bought in Mexico.


----------



## mexikatz (Mar 16, 2013)

sparks said:


> Check to see if your importation was legal
> 
> Check BOTH by pedimento AND VIN number, if the VIN shows no results you have a fake or canceled pedimento.
> 
> ...


To follow up - we _finally_ got our plates today (four hours of lines). Our paperwork was severely scrutinized and not a single person (Hacienda, SAT and the plate people) had any problem with any of it.

Our VIN is still not in that database pointed to via the link.


----------

