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sanjuan

Jul 21, 2012, 11:12 AM

Post #1 of 3 (1443 views)

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Selling a foreign plated vehicle

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According to a poster on Chapala.com you can sell a foreign plated vehicle in Mexico if it is at least 8 years old. The seller and buyer need to sign a Carta Responsiva for the vehicle which absolves the seller from any liability. No need to take the vehicle to the border or to nationalize it. The seller won't be able to bring in another vehicle on that same passport and it he left a deposit at the border he would lose it. Any thoughts on this? I wonder would the new owner use the same plates. If so how would he get an import permit? Or get Mexican plates for the vehicle-how?

YucaLandia

Jul 21, 2012, 11:51 AM

Post #2 of 3 (1435 views)

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Re: [sanjuan] Selling a foreign plated vehicle

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Almost all (if not all Mexican states) allow the owners to sell a foreign plated vehicle.

Historically, the problems arise after the sale. Many (most? all?) Mexican states have not allowed the buyer to register the vehicle and the states also limit the legal operation of the vehicle. Maybe Chapala's version of the DMV now allows registration of foreign plated vehicles, but this seems to run counter to Mexican federal law.

I look forward to hearing specific examples from people who have actually purchased foreign plated vehicles and successfully either permanently imported them or legally re-registered them with a new TIP (both without going to the border). Since most states do not check nor care whether a foreign plated vehicle has current US/Canadian/etc. registration, then 1,000's of people do buy foreign plated vehicles and drive them. These illegal vehicles are called "chocolates" here in Yucatan. People drove their "chocolates" for years here with no problems, but for the past 6 months, our state police have been cracking down on "chocolates" and other improperly registered vehicles.

Our neighbor's son-in-law just had his $70,000 US dollar BMW crossover towed and impounded, after driving it illegally here for the previous 18 months. If this example applies, people can sell their temporarily imported vehicles, but the vehicle may be confiscated years later when the police finally notice the problem.

Any documented rule changes for Chapala to confirm the proposal?
Have any buyers stepped-forward to describe how they successfully permanently imported the vehicle (without going to a border) and got it legally registered?
Is the OP claiming that the Temporary Import Permit is somehow moved off the 1'st owner's passport and INM permit, and migrated over to the new owner's passport and INM permit (without a trip to the border)?
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Read-on MacDuff
E-visit at http://yucalandia.com

(This post was edited by YucaLandia on Jul 21, 2012, 12:29 PM)

Marlene

Jul 23, 2012, 6:46 AM

Post #3 of 3 (1302 views)

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Re: [YucaLandia] Selling a foreign plated vehicle

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A friend of mine just made a trip to the border to have her TIP removed and to nationalize her foreign plated car, after receiving her Mexican citizenship. She then returned and went through the State registration process, to receive her Sinaloa plates.

A vehicle which is brought in on a Temporary Import Permit by a foreigner (and overstayed it's welcome) is not what they consider a "chocolate" vehicle. That's a whole different can of worms.

It seems every time the Feds try to crack down on "chocolate" vehicles (those purchased up north, and duly imported by nationals, but never legally registered in any State) the confusion escalates. Sinaloa recently attempted the program to have chocolate vehicles registered and plated, but it didn't go as well as they had hoped.

(This post was edited by Marlene on Jul 23, 2012, 6:48 AM)