Forums > General > Living, Working, Retiring

Jean

Apr 30, 2003, 1:11 PM

Post #1 of 10 (1415 views)

Shortcut

Things I Forgot To Think About Before Coming To Mexico

Can't Post | Private Reply

First my driver's license. 6 months after arriving it came up for renewal. This was "picture" year and I was not able to renew it online. They gave me a six month extension. Then I had to get a Mexican drivers license. Now I am going back to the "old" country and can not get car insurance from an agent up there because I have a Mexican drivers license.

Car Registration. It came up for renewal in October 2002 and I went to renew online and they wanted an emmission test done before they would give me my new sticker. Explained my situation and they basically said tough luck. Now I have to drive up north with a Mexican license and an expired registration.

Car insurance - Mexican coverage is a breeze. Getting car insurance to drive in the US and Canada is not possible from a Canadian or American agent. I can get coverage here in Mexico that will cover me in Canada and the US but the PL & PD will only be $200,000. If I am involved in a major accident and medical bills go beyond $200K then I can be sued. Not a pleasant thought.

So, before you come down, check all those little expiry dates as they can be pesky little details if you want to return.
Retirement Communities
http://www.retirecommunities.com

Rolly

Apr 30, 2003, 1:50 PM

Post #2 of 10 (1402 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Tuatha_de_Danann] Things I Forgot To Think About Before Coming To Mexico

Can't Post | Private Reply

Things may not be quite as bad as you think. Unless you wish to drive your car out of Mexico, you don't need current registration -- the Mexican authorities don't care about your foreign registration, they just want plates on your car for identification. You can live here with expired plates. If you do want to drive north, you can get a 30-day transit permit at the Texas border that legalizes your old plates for 30 days. You can also buy trip insurance at the border. But why drive back? By the time you buy gas, tolls, motels, food, tires, etc, you will have spent as much as a plane ticket and more than a bus ticket.

Rolly Pirate

E-visit me http://Rollybrook.com
On Facebook as Rolly Brook

alex .

Apr 30, 2003, 1:53 PM

Post #3 of 10 (1402 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Tuatha_de_Danann] My passport expired

Can't Post | Private Reply

but I was able to renew it at The Consulate General in about 20 minutes. Something else to remember: if you let your US insurance lapse during an extended stay outside the US you may lose your persistency discount and some companies will penalize you with MUCH higher rates if you decide to move back to the US. Even though my wife has held a MX license for many years, and survived driving in Tijuana for 7 of those years with no accidents, she is insured in the US as a new driver with no experience.
Taking a car(s) back and forth sure is a pain, keeping the cars on one side or the other a lot less hassle as Rolly suggests.
Alex

(This post was edited by alex . on Apr 30, 2003, 1:56 PM)

Jean

Apr 30, 2003, 2:01 PM

Post #4 of 10 (1400 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Rolly] Things I Forgot To Think About Before Coming To Mexico

Can't Post | Private Reply

That's the point. I am moving back. The plates are Canadian so a 30 day trip permit at the border won't work for me and I can't get car insurance in the US on a Canadian plated car.
Retirement Communities
http://www.retirecommunities.com

Jean

Apr 30, 2003, 2:05 PM

Post #5 of 10 (1397 views)

Shortcut

Forgot about the passport

Can't Post | Private Reply

Ours expired in March. So yesterday we had to go to the Canadian Consulate with all documents, pictures and money etc. to have them checked so they can be sent to the Embassy in Mexico City. They instructed us to use Estafata just outside the building. Went there with out my dictionary. Huge mistake. They don't supply envelopes like Fedex does so had to go searching for an envelope. All in all it took four hours from house to house, including rewarding myself at the Dairy Queen in the Plaza Del Sol.
Retirement Communities
http://www.retirecommunities.com

alex .

Apr 30, 2003, 3:28 PM

Post #6 of 10 (1389 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Tuatha_de_Danann] Forgot about the passport

Can't Post | Private Reply

The Canadian Consulate should have been able to make you a new passport right there on the spot using the info from your old passport. Just because your passport expired doesn't mean that your citizenship did! I have no clue why they would have you send documents to MXCity, just their system I guess.
Alex

Jean

Apr 30, 2003, 3:35 PM

Post #7 of 10 (1385 views)

Shortcut

Re: [alex .] Forgot about the passport

Can't Post | Private Reply

Because they do not do passports at the consulate :) I agree...go figure.

Canada is the land of rules and regulations and it's their way or the highway...so to speak :)
Retirement Communities
http://www.retirecommunities.com

PeggyS

May 1, 2003, 12:57 AM

Post #8 of 10 (1358 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Tuatha_de_Danann] Forgot about the passport

Can't Post | Private Reply

Had to laugh because my husband went through the same thing last year. It was so awful it was funny. First, he saved the right amount of Canadian money as written on the passport renewal form. Second, he had all his information, papers, everything with him. "Oh, we don't do the passports here, you have to send everything to Mexico City" and then, "Oh, we don't accept Canadian money, only pesos or dollars" and after a bit more of this, he exploded, "Then what on earth are you dong here?" only not quite in those words. You go, you wait in line, and you are told that not only will they not help you (you send it yourself to DF) they won't accept their own currency. Very funny in retrospect, very frustrating at the time.

alex .

May 1, 2003, 8:27 AM

Post #9 of 10 (1333 views)

Shortcut

Re: [PeggyS] quite a contrast

Can't Post | Private Reply

from the American Consulate in Tijuana. Once I got past the "we only do that between 1 pm and 3 pm on Thursdays, except for on American AND Mexican holidays.." blurb they took my old passport, my application, about $45 USD, then created a shiny new passport, punched holes in my expired one, and gave them both to me. All in 20 minutes.

Odd thing was that everyone I saw working there was Mexican and no one offered to speak English. Its very desireable to work at the Consulate, the locals receive US GS pay scale, benefits, and all the holidays of both countries. Come to think of it , the neighborhood surrounding the Consulate is quite nice....I ought to look into working there myself.....
Alex

(This post was edited by alex . on May 1, 2003, 8:36 AM)

PeggyS

May 2, 2003, 12:21 AM

Post #10 of 10 (1270 views)

Shortcut

Re: [alex .] quite a contrast

Can't Post | Private Reply

from the American consolate in Guadalajara too! Once you get in the armed fortress (and boy are there armed guards and police stationed everywhere) you are treated very nicely. The folks we saw working there, and the ones who come out to Ajijic to help at the Lake Chapala Society, are all Mexican, very helpful, speak English, are proficient at the computer, etc. The hours they are open correspond vaguely to those in Tijuana.
However jeejeje - want to hear about my FM-3? I took pictures and all to get the new one. Guess what - I was wearing earrings. Not allowed. Went to have more pictures taken, no earrings. Not allowed, my ears were not showing plainly enough. Went to have more pictures taken, hair behind ears, just as I turned to ask when she was going to take the picture, she snapped it. It was accepted. If you want to see an FM-3 with a picture of a surprised rabbit with ears showing, call me.