# Another Car Import Question



## Dylemma (Sep 21, 2016)

Hi Everyone,
I have tried reading all the posts about importing my car but I am still confused.
I have a 2010 Toyota. 
I am from Canada. 
I plan to spend 7 months a year in Mexico. (In order to keep my health insurance in Canada I must be in Canada for 5 months a year.)
I hope to get a temp resident and then after 4 years go to Perm.
Will most likely do this next year.
I read that you can import certain years of cars which I don't understand. What years can you import? 
My car will be 8 years old next year and I think from what I read it is eligible, can someone confirm that for me please.
If I bring my car in for 4 years under temp resident using a tip then after the 4 years can I import it when I become a perm.
Can I leave my car in Mexico if I fly home on a temp visa.
I don't want to sell my car because it's difficult selling a used car and I probably won't get what it's worth and I really dislike buying cars in general so I don't want to go through that in Mexico if I can avoid it.

Thanks


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You will be able to temporarily import your car as long as you are a Residente Temporal. Yes, you may come and go, with or without the car.
Before becoming Residente Permanente, you should drive your car back to Canada and sell it there. You cannot import it into the USA and it will probably be difficult and prohibitively expensive to try to import it into Mexico. Best to buy a replacement in Mexico before you drive the Canadian car out & fly back to Mexico.


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## UrbanMan (Jun 18, 2015)

If your car is a made in Japan vehicle (this is determined by its VIN), it can never be permanently imported into Mexico. It can be a TIP car, but never permanently imported.

Another point. At the end of 4 years, you can donate your TIP car to "Mexico Customs." I have not researched all the specific details, but have read in many places it can be done. 

Here is what I understand to be the facts. Its a donation, so you get nothing for your car. But it saves you the hassle of driving a long way (Canada is a long way), and prevents a possible hefty penalty for abandoning your TIP car in MX (they keep good records, its tied to your passport, so they will know). This is something I am considering doing, when the time comes.

All these details provided, it must be said, four years is a long way away, the world can change.


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## Dylemma (Sep 21, 2016)

Thanks RV
I'm just trying to plan and I want to explore all options. I don't want to miss an opportunity . For example if I could import my car when it's 8 or 9 years old then I want to make sure I have the correct info and the timing is right.

I am not trying to avoid paying what is due and I totally understand that Mexico would prefer for people who live in Mexico to purchase cars in Mexico. (jobs)

My issues is: Why sell a perfectly good car (probably at a loss) only to have to purchase another car( I hate the whole process of buying cars ) if I don't have too.

I have a couple of plans that I think may work.

Plan A is to become temp resident and import my 8 year old car which I think I can do as most websites say the car can be 8 or 9 years old but I must be a temp or perm resident. 
I know it's costly but benefits are I get to bring the car that I own and have serviced and know the history of it. I did some research and the most import fees I could find is 3k US, if I use $3k as the import fees it's still cheaper to bring my car then to purchase the same car down there. 
Plan B
I bring my car down as a temp resident for 4 years then when I become perm I take my car back to Canada where I live for 5 months a year to drive it there.
In 4 years when I take my car back, My dh brings his car down as a temp resident for 4 years.
At the end of his 4 years we take his car back to Canada and we purchase a new car in Mexico.
That will give us 8 years of having a car both in Mexico and Canada.
The negatives are that he can only stay for 6 months on a tourist visa for the first 4 years and I can't drive his car as I will be a permanent resident at that time.

If anyone can see any other negatives or has something to add please let me know, all this planning is enough to make a person crazy!!


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

For your plan B, you should check whether dh, on his tourist visa, will be able to drive your car in Mexico on a TIP. That might be prohibited either by the TIP rules or because you can't get insurance that covers him as a driver. I don't know, it's just something additional I'd worry about.

The 8 or 9 year old requirement thing is connected to permanent importation, which is the expensive process of bringing in a car that afterwards won't need a Temporary Import Permit. The car has to have a north-america VIN and meet other requirements. There are businesses that do this (for a price!) and know the rules, and can make the required modifications to the vehicles (model dependent) for you. I understand the process typically costs a few thousand US dollars per car.

Also you have plan C: bring one car on a TIP and get RT's for both of you, and at the end of 4 years drive that car back to Canada and sell either one of the two cars there then, and buy a Mexican car in Mexico. 

Also you have plan D: if the other car is at any point in the next 4 years going to be eligible for permanent importation, and worth paying for that, you could start out on Plan C and then when the other car becomes eligible for importation you import it and drive the Toyota back to Canada where it can be used until repairs become prohibitively expensive.

I don't want to jinx you by pointing it out, but 4 years is a long time, and a substantial number of drivers will have an accident in 4 years, and depending on your living situation here in Mexico (i.e. do you have secure off-street parking for your car or not) that Toyota may not be worth much in 4 years. 

Finally, the rules for permanent importation could change as NAFTA is renegotiated, now underway.


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## LMtortugas (Aug 23, 2013)

Dylemma said:


> Hi Everyone,
> I have tried reading all the posts about importing my car but I am still confused.
> I have a 2010 Toyota.
> I am from Canada.
> ...


I am licensed to export/import vehicles from the US into Mexico so will offer my 2 cents. If the Toyota is a NAFTA manufactured vehicle and the VIN begins with a number, a 2010 qualifies for permanent import into Mexico effective Nov 1st and thereafter for 2 years. Obviously, a TIP circumvents these regulations.

If you want to keep the vehicle the associated expenses to permanently import are not that prohibitive regarding standard passenger vehicles; luxury cars and light-duty trucks can get pricey. The process is well worth investigating because quality used vehicles in Mexico are sold at a premium. You need to speak at this juncture with a licensed Mexican customs broker only as the specific rules, schedules, etc. can be impossible for a layman to navigate through correctly. My business cohort in Mexico is probably Canada's & the US's most recognized and utilized vehicle broker. Message me and I will give you his contact info.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

Here's a question, what if your TIP permitted vehicle is totaled and can't make it to the border?


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## Dylemma (Sep 21, 2016)

Thank you everyone for your replies.
Eastwind you make some very good points. Dh car will be eligible for import at 8 or 9 years in 2021/22 so that is an option. Also if he can't drive my car on the tip then the plan won't work at all, I don't plan to drive much there and dh hates being a passenger.
LM Tortugas, thanks for the info, I will pm you. I checked the vin and it is good to go. You seem to understand my point of bringing my car down as I know the history of it rather than buying another used car. I did some research and found the price of a used one is more than bringing my car down and paying the custom fees.
Zorro, I believe there are systems in place for this in Mexico. 

Thank you everyone for helping I really really appreciate it.


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## UrbanMan (Jun 18, 2015)

Dylemma said:


> That will give us 8 years of having a car both in Mexico and Canada.
> The negatives are that he can only stay for 6 months on a tourist visa for the first 4 years and I can't drive his car as I will be a permanent resident at that time.
> 
> If anyone can see any other negatives or has something to add please let me know, all this planning is enough to make a person crazy!!


I think planning out for 8 years is a bit much. The rules in Mexico do tend to change. Also general life events can occur.



> I plan to spend 7 months a year in Mexico. (In order to keep my health insurance in Canada I must be in Canada for 5 months a year.)


If your health is average or better than average, I suggest you look into medical insurance in Mexico. It might cost less than you think.

Also leaving your car in Mexico for 5 months a year, it will have to be somewhere secure, to maintain it someone should drive it at least once a month (even just 1 kilometer), cars can go bad if left completely idle for months at a time.

Can you divulge your approximate age(s)? And where you intend to be in Mexico?


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## Dylemma (Sep 21, 2016)

Age early 50's, planning on living in Merida. 
We will purchase a house that has parking that is secure. #1 priority.
The issue is if we move to Merida full time and we visit Canada (which we would frequently as we have kids that live there) then we will have to purchase health insurance in Canada for when we visit and it is very expensive. Also we do own a house in Canada with rental income, which we plan to keep as it is only increasing in value, so coming home for 5 months isn't a problem, especially as the summer months in Merida are extremely hot.
I do understand what you are saying about the 8 year plan I am just trying to figure out all the options that are available, planning for retirement is a full time job. LOL


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

You wouldn't necessarily have to purchase health care _in Canada_. There are international policies available from companies like Cigna that would cover you in Mexico and also for travel to other countries like Canada. The one policy I'm familiar with covers Canada at no extra charge, though there is an extra rider with an extra cost if you want to extended travel coverage to the US. These are regular health care policies, not short-term travel policies, but they have terms that include coverage while traveling, with some kind of time limit on how long you can be traveling, like a month per trip.

You may find that being away from your place in Merida for months at a stretch is problematic, too.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

eastwind said:


> You wouldn't necessarily have to purchase health care _in Canada_. There are international policies available from companies like Cigna that would cover you in Mexico and also for travel to other countries like Canada. The one policy I'm familiar with covers Canada at no extra charge, though there is an extra rider with an extra cost if you want to extended travel coverage to the US. These are regular health care policies, not short-term travel policies, but they have terms that include coverage while traveling, with some kind of time limit on how long you can be traveling, like a month per trip.
> 
> You may find that being away from your place in Merida for months at a stretch is problematic, too.


I have Cigna and it only covers emergency care out of the USA.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

They have lots of different policies.


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## UrbanMan (Jun 18, 2015)

UrbanMan said:


> If your health is average or better than average, I suggest you look into medical insurance in Mexico. It might cost less than you think.





eastwind said:


> You wouldn't necessarily have to purchase health care _in Canada_. There are international policies available from companies like Cigna that would cover you in Mexico and also for travel to other countries like Canada. The one policy I'm familiar with covers Canada at no extra charge, though there is an extra rider with an extra cost if you want to extended travel coverage to the US.


Yes eastwind, this is exactly what I was thinking. Great job adding better definition.



eastwind said:


> You may find that being away from your place in Merida for months at a stretch is problematic, too.


There are a lot of people who do split-year living with real estate owned in both countries (ie. X months in home country, Y months in Mexico). But in my prepatory reading for my own move, I read many stories of people doing this for a few years, and tiring of all the time and energy it takes.

As in, we are leaving Canada/USA for the winter, we need to spend lots of time over 2-3 weeks getting the house/car in Canada/USA ready to be empty/unused, and getting ourselves ready to go. Now we have arrived in MX, where the house has been empty for months and the car unused, we need to spend time daily over 2-3 weeks getting them fully functional, and settling ourselves in, in various ways. Repeat in reverse when you go back. 

Also, someone has to do a basic check in on an unoccupied house, probably monthly.

Related, a few bloggers/posters wrote things like, our grown children in the USA, we get along well, but they really did not want to see us 3 weekends a month, for six months in a row. They have their own lives.

Not saying everyone who goes down the 'own a house in MX' path has these results. I would not even say its the majority. But some certainly do.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

I'd have someone check on the house more frequently than monthly if it is empty, people have had an extremely hard time evicting squatters from their homes.

Do a search on squatters...Squatting is also a problem in rental units. It’s not unusual for people to simply stop paying rent and continuing to live there. And apparently without embarrassment. It takes a huge expensive effort to get them out.

This is why landlords would often rather rent to foreigners than their own people. And it’s not that foreigners and Mexicans have a different level of rights in this instance, its just that foreigners usually don’t behave that way and actually, courts do tend to rule in favor of a Mexican over a foreigner, even though that is illegal.


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## Dylemma (Sep 21, 2016)

All valid points. Lots to think about that's for sure.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

CNN predicts Dodgers to win 2017 World Series by 98%...

What about the other 2%.......love an underdog,LOL


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