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cristalhombre

Jan 9, 2004, 10:14 AM

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Need some help with this one from all of you experts.

If I were to bring down a car to my casa in Ajijic from the US with my FM3, and offer it to the renters (they also have FM3 status) to use as a part of the home rental agreement, how would I handle the insurance?

More info: The car would be in my name. I also know the folks that rent my casa for 6 months each year and I trust them to take good care of it. This likely be a 5 year old car that I would not worry about for fender-benders and that stuff, however theft is always a concern.

Any comments here about the legal aspects and insurance? Is anyone else doing this. How much would I charge the tenent? Monthly charge plus mileage???

This would allow me to have a car available when I come down and use the place in the off season.

thanks

Brad in Vancouver USA

"NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST...."

Moisheh

Jan 9, 2004, 5:16 PM

Post #2 of 9 (595 views)

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Re: [cristalhombre] Auto question.

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If you have tourist insurance ( car is foreign plated) then your insurance would be null and void. Most, if not all, policies only allow the owner and spouse or family to use the vehicle. Also this would be a 'rent a car" and require commercial insurance.

Carol Schmidt

Jan 9, 2004, 8:15 PM

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Re: [Moisheh] Auto question.

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Also, I believe that Mexican law states that if the person driving your car is not on the title, your car can be confiscated. I've been warned not to let anyone else drive our car here, even a guy at the car wash driving it a brief distance. It can be argued that you've given that person your car. Anyone have any comments on what I've been told?

Carol Schmidt

Papirex

Jan 9, 2004, 9:24 PM

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Re: [Carol Schmidt] Auto question.

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The law states that the spouse of the car’s importer may drive the car. Other persons that may legally drive the car are: parents (or grandparents), licensed children, and siblings of the importer of a car that is imported with a temporary import permit. Tenants are not mentioned.

The caveat is that the driver must have the same immigrant status as the car’s importer. If the person that is named on the permit has a FM3 visa, and the second driver has a FMT visa, the second driver may not legally drive the car. And vice versa. If there are any exceptions to these restrictions, I have not seen anything from any authority about it. Lots of stories though. If anybody has any hard information about any exceptions I would like to know about it. Some of the laws, and regulations down here are so darn convoluted it is often hard to get a handle on them.

A related story. We were driving back from Acapulco on December 30th when the transmission on our US plated van began to die. Luckily when this happened we were passing Temixco, where our auto mechanic has his shop. We were able to drive to his shop and leave the van there. Our mechanic told us that he has a friend that has a transmission repair shop; he would have him look at it and give us an estimate after the Holidays. Temixco is at the southern edge of Cuernavaca, so we were almost home. Our mechanic gave us a ride to our house.

Two days ago, our mechanic called us and said that his friend had finally returned from his holiday vacation. Our mechanic told his friend that since the van was still drivable, he would drive it over to his transmission shop. His friend immediately to him “No! It is the holidays, and the police are stopping everybody. It is an American car, neither one of us has American papers. If we get stopped, we will be in trouble, and the police will take the car. I will come to your shop to look at it.” Knowledgeable Mexican citizens know the restrictions placed on driving a foreign plated car.

It might be a low risk to allow an unauthorized person to drive your temporarily imported car. But it is a risk.

Rex

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

Rolly

Jan 10, 2004, 6:27 AM

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Re: [Moisheh] Auto question.

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Moisheh is correct that the car would become a rental which is forbidden by the temporary importation rules. The car would be subject to confiscation.

Rolly Pirate

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shoe

Jan 10, 2004, 7:55 AM

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Re: [cristalhombre] Auto question.

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I checked with my insurance company (Lloyds) about a American friend driving my vehicle. They said no problem. They cover her without any problems. Maybe she can't drive it legally but she is covered by insurance.

I thought anyone that has the owners permission and a valid FM X could drive the vehicle but not Mexican nationals. Maybe I am wrong on this but I will search these threads more as I think it is on MC forums, archived someplace.

shoe

Nothing is intrinsically good or evil, but its manner of usage may make it so.
-St. Thomas Aquinas

Papirex

Jan 10, 2004, 10:52 AM

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From what I have been able to find out, you are right about anyone with permission being allowed to drive the car, but the importer (owner) must be present. There have been a lot of informational posts on this subject, but a lot of them were before October 1919,:-) so many of them are not available anymore. J. R. had posted some very good info about it in the past.

Rex

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

jennifer rose

Jan 10, 2004, 11:09 AM

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Re: [RexC] Auto question.

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Those authorized to drive a temporarily-imported foreign-plated car are:

1. The importer
2. His or her kinfolk as described in the other posts.
3. Any foreigner having the same immigration status as the importer.
4. If the importer is present in the motor vehicle, any licensed driver.

The terms of insurance policies vary. Read yours carefully, and then read it again. If you do not understand the terms of the policy, ask your insurance company. Some insurance policies require payment of an additional premium if the vehicle is used for business purposes.

Common sense indicates that a Mexican national can sometimes drive the car for a short distance for a limited purpose. How else would they valet a foreign-plated car?

Personally, I think it's stupid to include the use of a foreign-plated car with your home rental. You do not know the immigration status or intelligence level of your tenants. You don't know if they've got a valid driver's license, how many innocent women, children and dogs they've struck with their motor vehicle, or whether they can even read a stop sign in Spanish. Oh sure, nine out of ten tenants may be perfectly all right, but it's that tenth one that could cause you immeasurable grief. But hey, it's your life.

mkdutch

Jan 10, 2004, 12:01 PM

Post #9 of 9 (489 views)

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Re: [cristalhombre] Auto question.

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Regardless what the laws read, interpretation by local authorities varies. And what they think, right or wrong, is what counts.

You may expose yourself to a lot less risk and worry by just bringing a beater down and storing it when you leave, as some do. If you haven't the room at your home, inexpensive secure storage should be available. Another way to think about this is, would you do the same thing at your other home in the USA or Canada? I wouldn't.