# Setting up our house in Mexico



## exqqqme (Mar 17, 2008)

This is my first post, and I am sure, it will not be my last...

My wife and I own a house in Mexico where we intend to retire in 7 years or so. Until then we will continue to travel there several times a year for vacations.

My wife has dual citizenship as she was originally born in Mexico and aquired her US citizenship 7 or 8 years ago.

We want to bring a car with US plates down to mexico to keep at our house until we retire. 

My question is, what is the best way to do this? 

I understand that with an FM3 visa I can bring a car to Mexico and leave it there for ??? some amount of time. 
If this is true, can I apply for a FM3 visa now, or do I have to actually wait until I retire?
That is enough for now, I have lots of questions that I will post later...
Thanks!


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

*FM3 and your car.*

With an FM3, you may leave the country without your car and there is no limit on the number of trips, etc. However, you should be aware that renewal of the FM3 is an annual event and that you must be in Mexico to do it at the same time each year. Here in Chapala, where immigration agents visit weekly, it takes about a month. It can be done faster in Guadalajara (in Spanish).


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## exqqqme (Mar 17, 2008)

*Other options?*

Thanks for the quick reply.

Renewing my FM3 each year would be a problem if it takes more than a week and I have to do it in Mexico...

Perhaps you know the answer to this: Since my wife is a Mexican National with dual citizenship, can she bring a car with US plates to mexico and leave it there indefinately? (I am assuming that she will not need a FM3 visa since she has dual citizenship).

I understand that Mexico just changed their laws regarding importing cars. Now they can only be 10 years old. None any older or newer will be allowed. so this is not really an option for us as the truck we want to leave down there is 11 years old...

Thanks again!


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

*The truck*

Yes, the changes are happening and they are very confusing. I suspect that they will remain confused for years and that each 'oficial' will have his own interpretation.
I think, but am not sure, that your wife can bring a vehicle to Mexico under entirely different guidelines than expats. You had better ask her to contact 'Aduana' for the latest details. She may be out of luck if the 10 year rule applies, as I think it will.
So, as you can see, this reply doesn't offer any solid answers and I'm not sure there will be any until these new rules 'shake out.'


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## bournemouth (May 15, 2007)

A friend in the Lake Chapala area, who is a dual citizen, was denied the right to bring in a vehicle and was additionally denied the right to an FM3 on her US passport. As a Mexican returning to Mexico, she could not bring in a vehicle. Check carefully on this one.


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## Rodrigo84 (Mar 5, 2008)

They recently changed the law to permit nationalization of vehicles only from the year 1998, no less, no more, see Mexican law panics South Texas car dealers - Autos - MSNBC.com

My cousin used to know somebody here who was a dual Mex/USA citizen and brought a car down under a temporary import permit from California, but I am not sure as to how they went about doing that in that manner.

You can bring your car in under a tourist visa then (hopefully within 6 months) get your FM3. You don't need to get the vehicle permit updated, because it now runs with your FM3, not the dates mentioned on the permit. This part of Article 106, Article 106


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## exqqqme (Mar 17, 2008)

*It is so complicated!*

Thanks everyone for the help...

I can see that this will take a lot of research, I was hopeing that my wife's dual citizenship would be an asset when it came to moving down there... I hope it does not prove to be otherwise...


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## AmyLee (Oct 12, 2007)

You may also want to keep in mind that in order to bring in your household goods, such as furniture etc., without having to pay a tariff, it has to be done with-in 3 months (I believe) from the time you get your FM3.


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## exqqqme (Mar 17, 2008)

*I guess I will have to wait...*

Thanks for the tip...

It looks like my only choices, for now, are:


Buy a crappy car in Mexico that is already registered there (If I can't do it, my wife should be able to do it).

Sell my 1997 truck, buy a 1998 truck and have my wife import it into Mexico as a Mexican citizen, and register it there...

Does anyone see a problem with either of these options?

I would really like to find a way to work this out...

Thanks!


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## Rodrigo84 (Mar 5, 2008)

Nationalizing the truck isn't ordering a whopper, that's for sure, but it is doable and there are people along the border that can do this.

My American cousin, once he got his FM3, was able to buy a car here and register it in his name.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

If you import a US registered vehicle, you will have to keep that registration active in the US and that is getting more and more difficult. Should you drive it back to the US, you will have to get the sticker removed and buy a new one on your return. Eventually, you will have to remove it from Mexico, even if it is no longer running. Nationalizing, if successful, will cost $500 USD or more from what I hear; usually more.
If you buy a Mexican plated vehicle, you can cross the border freely and can maintain the registration very easily. Insurance will cost a bit more.
I have both US and Mexican plated vehicles and it is much, much simpler with the Mexican car.


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## exqqqme (Mar 17, 2008)

*Good to know*

Thanks RVGRINGO,

I hear that North (or South???) Dakota will allow you to register and maintain your plates via the mail, and many expats in Mexico have their vehicles registered there... 
I like the idea of importing my vehicle and plating it in Mexico. That will probably be the best option for a vehicle that I bring down now. However, the vehicle That I want to bring to Mexico when I retire in 7 years, will be older than 10 years by that time. So... I will probably have to keep it registered in the states (unless the import age limitations change again by then).


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

It is South Dakota, but only one county and definitely not online through the state sites. When the time comes, ask for an update to see if it is still a viable option. Things are changing fast with homeland insecurity gumming up the works for expats and those who are full time RVers. We need a new state in the USA; the 'State of Retirement' with rules that make sense.


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

unless there is any specific reason that makes you want to keep your american truck, i would say that with the current prices of mexican vehicles and the high tax you have to pay to import an american vehicle, it really makes much more sense to just sell your american car before you come to mexico and buy a mexican car here. The hassle of bringing your own is not worth it honestly. Just buy one here instead. You can find the same brands of cars and pretty similar models and same quality (actually lots of GM trucks sold in the US are manufactured in Northern Mexico).


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

*Looking ahead seven years.....*

Just as the permanent importation of used NAFTA produced vehicles has been cut back from a 15 year window to a one year window, we may expect the permanent importation of used vehicles to come to an end soon. Mexico has a healthy vehicle manufacturing industry. As has been mentioned above, GM, Chrysler, Mercedes, Honda, Nissan, VW, etc. all have very modern (more modern than in the USA) plants here in Mexico and, yes, a very large number of "American Cars" are actually made in Mexico. In some cases, like the PT Cruiser, it is all of them.
So, in seven years time, who knows what the rules will be? As a 'tourist' living in Mexico, I am sure that you will still be able to temporarily import your car or just drive it in. However, you may still be prohibited from selling it in Mexico and you may still face the problem of keeping it registered in the USA.


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## Mayfirst (Apr 10, 2008)

*Importing a car*

I have just purchased a house in Mexico. My next door neighbours just purchased as well. He is a Mexican citizen and she is American. He has lived in the US since he was a child and has never applied for citizenship. Anyway, they drove a Washington State plated car down and had absolutely no problem leaving the car there when they flew home. This happened just this past March.
It seems to me that if the car is in your wife's name there should be no reason why it cannot stay there.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

*Cars*

It has nothing to do with the name of the importer. It has everything to do with the immigration status of the temporary importer of a US or Canadian plated car. In this case, if the wife has an FM3 it is perfectly legal to leave the car behind in Mexico when you fly out. If she did it on an FMT, she would 'have no trouble flying out' but she will have broken the law and violated the bond she signed when she imported the car. If the car is stolen, burned or driven by someone else (especially a Mexican), it will be subject to confiscation in her absence and she would be unlikely to ever see it again. She would be unable to import another vehicle and might be prevented from re-entering Mexico. Bad things can pile up fast. It seems that she may have assumed that if she did something wrong, she would be told. Not so! Ignorance of the law..........You know the rest of the story.


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## Mayfirst (Apr 10, 2008)

In the case I mentioned, the importer was a *Mexican citizen*, just as the OP said his wife is. There was no law broken as he is allowed to import two vehicles a year. He received this information directly from the Mexican consulate in Seattle.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

OK, I was thinking of the case of a Mexican with an American wife; not your friend, who is in another category.


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## Mayfirst (Apr 10, 2008)

I must be missing something. My friend is a Mexican citizen (and a legal American resident) with an American wife. He has a vehicle registered in his name with Washington state plates that he was permitted to import and leave in Mexico when he returned to the US. 

I read that the original poster was American with a Mexican wife and he wanted to know if it was possible for them to leave a vehicle in Mexico. If my friend, the Mexican citizen, could leave a vehicle (actually two according to what he was told) it was my thought that the OP couple could do the same as long as the vehicle is registered in the wife's (Mexican citizen) name. In that case the poster is an American citizen but his wife is Mexican. I don't understand the difference!


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

exqqqme said:


> This is my first post, and I am sure, it will not be my last...
> 
> My wife and I own a house in Mexico where we intend to retire in 7 years or so. Until then we will continue to travel there several times a year for vacations.
> 
> ...


The poster (the male US native) asked if he could bring a car in on an FM3. He can, but he will have to be in Mexico for renewals each year at the same time.
A dual citizen (Mexico/USA) may not have an FM3 or any other tourist visa. In the USA, they are American; in Mexico, they are Mexican and will need to carry both passports.

So, Mexicans may import under whatever the ever-changing law is at the moment. Expats may only import temporarily and may only leave a car behind when they depart for a short time. Their vehicles must eventually be taken out of Mexico, dead or alive, and may never be sold in Mexico.

An expat may not temporarily import more than one vehicle unless it is the tow vehicle behind a motorhome. In that instance, as with cargo trailers, they come in as a unit and must leave as a unit.


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