# Best Way to Buy a Car In Mexcio



## ATLCastro (Aug 10, 2011)

We are moving to Tulum on the Yucatan and will be needing to buy a car. Any particular things we need to know or watch out for? My husband is Mexican, but hasn't lived in Mexico since 1990 so I'm sure things have changed quite a bit.


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## dwwhiteside (Apr 17, 2013)

We purchased a used Ford Focus here a couple of years ago. For the most part, I would say that buying a car in Mexico is pretty much like buying one in the U.S.; with most all of the same precautions. We (my wife and I) bought the car from a reputable new car dealership. We visited a few of the used car only lots in the area and generally got the same "vibe" one gets at a used car lot in the U.S. 

So, we found a car that met our requirements at a Nissan dealership, made an offer that the dealership accepted and bought the car. About the only thing I found different between buying a car in the U.S. is the amount of patience required here. 

In the U.S., generally speaking, whenever I purchased a used car I have been able to drive it home that day. That was not my experience here. It took nearly two hours for the dealership to complete the paperwork on our purchase. Now, part of that was due my being a ****** and making my first major purchase here in Mexico and part of that was, lets call it the questionable computer skills of the guy filling in the forms. But, it took a really long time to get all the paperwork done and we were not even financing the car. It was a cash purchase.

And then, we still could not take the car home that day. It was another two or three days before we could actually drive the car off the lot. Basically, we had to wait until all the paperwork got filed and the title was done and in my name. This, too, may have been somewhat delayed because it was the first time I owned a car in Mexico. But, I have been told by others that this is actually somewhat typical.

So, other than having to wait a few days between signing on the dotted line and driving the car home, the experience was very similar to buying a car in the U.S.


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

We bought a new car in Mexico earlier this year. It was a very different experience than in the US. There was no negotiating at all. The prices are fixed throughout the country. We did manage to get free premium floor mats and an English language owner's manual.

We live about an hour and a half from the dealership. When the car arrived the salesman did bring it to us here, where we completed the paperwork. He took the bus back (I gave him 500 pesos for his troubles).

The dealership did have one 2016 model car which one of their employees had run into a wall with. The damage was minimal but they were willing to negotiate on that car (repaired). We passed.

Edit : the price for the car DID change as we shopped because of the dollar/peso...


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## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

ATLCastro said:


> We are moving to Tulum on the Yucatan and will be needing to buy a car. Any particular things we need to know or watch out for? My husband is Mexican, but hasn't lived in Mexico since 1990 so I'm sure things have changed quite a bit.


A new or used vehicle? Looks like gatos and dw have solid advise for each, respectively. I've only bought one used vehicle, a pick-up that was a _chocolate_, i.e. imported from NOB but already legalized. Wouldn't recommend purchasing anything with U.S. plates, more hassle than it's worth to nationalize it. If you're buying used, especially a chocolate which are very common, you might run the VIN with carfax or equivalent to see what history it has. I understand there's at least an outfit that will do this for cars originally sold in Mexico


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## El Blanco Sol (Feb 5, 2012)

ATLCastro said:


> We are moving to Tulum on the Yucatan and will be needing to buy a car. Any particular things we need to know or watch out for? My husband is Mexican, but hasn't lived in Mexico since 1990 so I'm sure things have changed quite a bit.


My wife and I looked for a used car for months via private sellers. What a scam. If you know nothing about cars stay clear of private sales. I know cars and what to look for and found nothing with the private sellers but bad cars with the potential of multiple problems down the road. Maintaining a car properly doesn't appear to be the rule of thumb in Mexico. A simple title search usually reveals mucho about these cars (i.e. mutiple owners, accidents, etc.). Finally, it was suggested to me to go to a dealer. We trolled on-line and found what we were looking for in Monterey. The dealer was great. The head mechanic reviewed the car with us and personally guaranteed the car was up to spec. We negociated the price down as we were paying cash and car had been on the lot for 6 months. We also received a 90 day guarantee. We got a great car at a very reasonable price and have never looked back. I recommend a reputable dealer. Good luck!


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## Howler (Apr 22, 2013)

These are great posts... any way to make this thread a sticky for future reference?


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

I did think of something else - aside from being a nice guy (and my distaste in driving in Mexico City) the salesman drove to our house using dealer's plates - which allowed us to register the car in our state as new.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

We have purchased both new and used cars in Guadalajara with absolutely no issues at all. In both cases, each car was delivered to Chapala with plates and registration in our name completed, in 3 days. Both were purchased from a Nissan dealership. The new car was at listed price, but with a few extra goodies, while we did negotiate successfully for a lower than listed price on the used car; but not all that much.


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## ATLCastro (Aug 10, 2011)

Thanks everyone! Great tips and info.


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## El Blanco Sol (Feb 5, 2012)

Gatos said:


> (and my distaste in driving in Mexico City)


Worst drivers in the world...except maybe in India! lol


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

El Blanco Sol said:


> Worst drivers in the world...except maybe in India! lol


Actually - my worst experience driving was in the Dominican Republic (although Guadalajara is a close second). In DR they pay absolutely no attention to painted lane lines, A three lane highway easily turns into a five lane road.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

The worst traffic I've seen was in Bangkok, Thailand.

In Bangkok for starters they drive on the left. And the lane markers are of course just suggestions. In the downtown they have made several of the major streets one way, so they are about 5 lanes wide. During rush hour they become gridlocked and turn into 7-wide parking lots. Motorcycles and scooters weave through traffic to get to the head of the line at the traffic lights. When the light turns, they all take off together like a motocross in a huge cloud of greasy black smoke, unless the cross traffic has blocked the intersection completely. 

But these major roads that are one-way also have a single lane going the other way that is for buses only. Now a cynic might suspect that the buses-only restriction would not be universally honored, and they'd be right, but nevertheless they'd be surprised, because the cars that drive in the bus lanes are only doing so in the wrong direction. 

Impatient drivers (which at times can be any Thai) pull out over the double yellow line to race down the block in the otherwise-empty bus lane in the wrong direction (which is actually the right direction for most of rest of the world), in order to get around the gridlocked traffic. This works until they meet a bus head-on. That, being expected by both sides, does not result in a collision, only a standoff. The wrong-way car tries to merge back into their drive-on-the-left parking lot, but that's impossible, at least without a lot of honking, and a wait through at least one light cycle, so the bus is blocked and other buses pile up behind it.

So when waiting for a bus in Bangkok in rush hour that is supposed to come every 5 minutes, nothing comes for twenty minutes, then four buses come at once right behind each other.


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## LMtortugas (Aug 23, 2013)

perropedorro said:


> A new or used vehicle? If you're buying used, especially a chocolate which are very common, you might run the VIN with carfax or equivalent to see what history it has.


Good point. The problem shopping for a used vehicle in Mexico is the lack of record & disclosure; one might be inspecting a quality used vehicle (Mexico/U.S. origin) or salvage junk. A lot of used vehicles in Mexico or from the U.S - legal or otherwise- but Carfax and AutoCheck do not discriminate according to status. AutoCheck is available in Spanish. Requiring a current emissions certificate might seem trivial but a non-pass can signal problems far costlier than a new muffler. Also, any vehicle in Mexico previously documented by CBP as an export, including chocolates, has been vetted for ID authenticity which would disclose a branded title.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Gatos said:


> Actually - my worst experience driving was in the Dominican Republic (although Guadalajara is a close second). In DR they pay absolutely no attention to painted lane lines, A three lane highway easily turns into a five lane road.


Haiti is even worse.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

eastwind said:


> The worst traffic I've seen was in Bangkok, Thailand.


But I gotta admit, I haven't been to Mexico City, Guadalajara, Dominican Republic, Haiti or India. So your mileage may vary, so to speak.


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