# Bringing a Mexican Car Into the USA



## DiverSailor123 (Sep 17, 2016)

I have seen Mexican Plated Cars as Far North as Ludington Michigan and as Far South as Port of Tampa Fla. Hummm but Mexicans were always driving them.. Seeing as there are some pretty knowledgeable members here.. What would be my greatest or only chance of Getting all the way from The Mexican Texas Border to Naples Fla. and BACK as a ****** driving a Mexican Plated Pick Up.. WHY? Because I don't want to deal with the issues of an American plated Truck in Mexico and I want to bring my sailboat down .. Boats can get a continuing/rotating 10 year permit last I checked.. :fingerscrossed:


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

DiverSailor123 said:


> I have seen Mexican Plated Cars as Far North as Ludington Michigan and as Far South as Port of Tampa Fla. Hummm but Mexicans were always driving them.. Seeing as there are some pretty knowledgeable members here.. What would be my greatest or only chance of Getting all the way from The Mexican Texas Border to Naples Fla. and BACK as a ****** driving a Mexican Plated Pick Up.. WHY? Because I don't want to deal with the issues of an American plated Truck in Mexico and I want to bring my sailboat down .. Boats can get a continuing/rotating 10 year permit last I checked.. :fingerscrossed:


There are no restrictions on bringing Mexican plated vehicles into the US. I have done it twice, once a Mexican plated rental, and once a Mexican plated motorcycle. If your residence is in a US state, I am not sure what would happen if you are stopped. However, if your residence is Mexico, it should be no problem.


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## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

DiverSailor123 said:


> I have seen Mexican Plated Cars as Far North as Ludington Michigan and as Far South as Port of Tampa Fla. Hummm but Mexicans were always driving them.


Interesting. Did you pull them over and ask to see their passport to make sure they're Mexican? After having lived in L.A. I can't really tell from the looks of a person what their citizenship is, even more confusing if you've ever seen Mexican telenovelas, the actors mostly being Caucasian. Anyway, I've entered the U.S. with a Mexican plated vehicle 5 times now, drove it everywhere from Texas to Oregon and have never had a problem, other than once being directed to secondary inspection because the border officer couldn't figure out if it had expired registration. The tag is on the windshield and that's not even in his purview, he was probably just curious. BTW, the vehicle is registered in my wife's name, and given that in Mexico nobody can ever change their legal name, even a married woman, there's no obvious connection to me, but it hasn't been an issue. I figure the plate is in the system and now gets passed through.


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## DiverSailor123 (Sep 17, 2016)

Hahahaha how did I know they were Mexicans? The ones in Ludington worked at the Local Cannery and spoke Spanish most the time and the Ones at Port of Tampa were mostly from the area surrounding Merida and I meet them when the Scotia Prince suddenly shut down and tried to keep everyones money hahhaaha . They all did , I assume what we did .. We Drove from the Port of Tampa to Merida where we continued on to Playa del Carmen and caught the car ferry and ended that half of our adventure on the island of Cozumel.. I have been told repeatedly that those "Mexican" actors are mostly from Venezuela  



perropedorro said:


> Interesting. Did you pull them over and ask to see their passport to make sure they're Mexican? After having lived in L.A. I can't really tell from the looks of a person what their citizenship is, even more confusing if you've ever seen Mexican telenovelas, the actors mostly being Caucasian. Anyway, I've entered the U.S. with a Mexican plated vehicle 5 times now, drove it everywhere from Texas to Oregon and have never had a problem, other than once being directed to secondary inspection because the border officer couldn't figure out if it had expired registration. The tag is on the windshield and that's not even in his purview, he was probably just curious. BTW, the vehicle is registered in my wife's name, and given that in Mexico nobody can ever change their legal name, even a married woman, there's no obvious connection to me, but it hasn't been an issue. I figure the plate is in the system and now gets passed through.


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## Bodega (Apr 20, 2016)

We live in Querétaro and frequently take our Mexican plated vehicle into Texas and Louisiana. We are always asked at the border if the vehicle belongs to us, but have never been asked to show proof. One thing that does require a little attention to detail is your Mexican insurance policy. Most will protect you while driving stateside, but, since many of those Texas, and other states, highway patrol officers do not read Spanish, you will need to print, in English, the section of your policy that shows you are covered there. The requirement is that you have to present "proof of insurance" when asked to do so.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

Border agents don´t concern themselves with vehicle registration only ask if you are the owner and sometimes how long you have owned the car suppossedly if they find something in the car you are the one responsible. They leave checking for expired registration, drivers licenses and auto insurance up to the police in the US once they do their job which is checking your immigration status and legal entry into the US and outstanding warrants and checking you are not breaking customs laws. This is the way I understand it has always been and still is.


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## DiverSailor123 (Sep 17, 2016)

Thank You One and All : ) This affords me an additional Option for bringing down my sailboat. I just don't like the idea of using my US registered Truck and at some point needing to get it out of the Country.. Belize being at least 6hrs away and Texas being much much farther..


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