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boonerdog

Feb 14, 2011, 7:02 PM

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Difficulties w/VIN numbers crossing border in car

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Years ago, before Mexico converted to a computerized bar code on those metallic vehicle import stickers they put on your front windshield, as I was returning back into the U.S. I stopped at the office where you're supposed to return your car permit stickers, but the person manually wrote down the wrong vehicle identification number mistaking an "8" for a "B" and so on. Complicating matters, the last time I crossed was in an older car. About 5 years ago, the last time I drove across the border, I was in my new car, still owning the old car I crossed in the previous trip. At the checkpoint south of Nogales heading into Mexico, they claimed that the vehicle sticker for my old car was never returned before leaving Mexico and they assumed I had sold it down there. By this point they were using computer-scanned bar code permit stickers. Fortunately, I had a photocopy of my old car's title w/VIN # and showed them how the number had been improperly written down when I returned the sticker of my old car years earlier. I told them I still owned the old car, and had not sold it in Mexico. After 4 hrs in the hot sun waiting to hear back from Mexico City, I was finally allowed to cross in my new car. They recognized that someone had made mistakes writing down the VIN # the previous trip. My concern is that once a mistake is made in their computer system, it's difficult to get rid of it. Does anyone know if one can check w/Mexican authorities before driving all the way to the border to ensure that your VIN # on the car you'll be driving shows that the sticker was properly returned last trip? Thanks!