# Bringing a car biought in Mexico as a tourist to the US



## mbalaev (Dec 25, 2020)

Hola! I’m in Mexico for several months as a tourist and want to purchase a car and then drive it to the US. I’ve done some research and I understand that as a tourist I can purchase and drive if the plates are valid, but can’t register the car in my name.

Since I will have the factura and the sales contract, US CBP should be okay processing the import documents (the car will be EPA exempt due to age). 

My question is: will Mexican immigration in Tijuana let me drive the car to the US if it is not registered to me?

There also seems to be the odd ONAPPAFA (ANAPPAFA?) registration that I seem to be able to get as a tourist, but can I drive with that registration through the Mexican immigration in Tijuana?

Has anyone done any of that before?

Gracias and Merry Christmas!


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You could be asking for trouble, in my opinion. Both countries require insurance coverage, and you may be asked, "Is this your car?", at the border; especially by USA agents. Mexico may ask the same question, especially of a tourist, if you manage to try to return. That said, I doubt that you can register the car in any Mexican state without a permanent visa, since you are just a tourist. You could easily lose that car in any number of ways; some of which might involve jail time.....or worse.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

Forget Onapafa plates- you can get away with them in some places, but you'll be stopped in others. They aren't really an official registration and come from an organization of Mexican campesinos.
Why would you want to do such a convoluted thing as buy a car in Mexico that you can't register in your name and import it to the US? Also, many Mexican vehicles do not have the same safety requirements and features as US or Canadian cars and it may never pass a safety inspection in the US.
And the question is not whether Mexico will let you drive it out (which has nothing to do with Immigration, but with Customs) but whether the US will let you drive it in. You would have to import it. Have you checked on the costs? And how would you import a car that's not registered to you?


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