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MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Jun 28, 2018

If You Purchase A Vehicle In Mexico

Make sure someone is not trying to dump a "chocolate" on you. "Chocolate" is slang for a car with counterfeit importation papers. Yep the owners got legal Mexican state license plates. And drove them around town and cities or in very rural areas. Places where the Federal Police would not inspect them and verify VIN numbers against a federal database..

The PFP and SSP Federal Police set up checkpoints usually on federal highways and the checkpoints have laptops connected via wi-fi direct to terminals in Mexico City. The last number I heard was 11,000 cars impounded (lost) and that was six or seven years ago.

Owners (Mexican and American) who find their car is a chocolate drive the vehicle in a very limited area and hope to dupe someone onto buying the car. License and registration can be renewed to the new owner's name but the car will be seized at the first federal checkpoint. There is a federal website to check if a VIN number is a chocolate/

http://www2.repuve.gob.mx:8080/ciudadania/servletconsulta
  • Tequila's avatar
    Tequila
    Explorer
    Jul 10, 2018
    Usually with a toad they will put a 180 on the RV and the toad. It you tow anything with an RV like an ATV on a trailer they will only give you a 180 day. I am thinking of hauling my ATV down and going through nogales where i could get away without permiting it (say I am going to San Carlos or kino) and just leave it mexico where I like to camp. It's pretty old anyway. On the other hand maybe just pay the duty or forfeit the deposit and be done with it.
  • MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
    MEXICOWANDERER
    Explorer
    Jul 01, 2018
    It's the combination. A 10 year eligible RV towing a car couldn't get a 10 year RV permit. With car ineligible, without car eligible. Yeah Moishe Sonoyta and the Baja California aduana think maybe they are live and work on their own galaxy.

    If Lopez Obrador doesn't shake things up next year then the zoo will continue.
  • moisheh's avatar
    moisheh
    Explorer
    Jul 01, 2018
    That rule for only one tip per perso changed more than 10 years ago. Cannot speak for Sonoyta. That crossing makes their own rules. I have never heard of anyone having problems with toad and unit.

    Moisheh
  • MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
    MEXICOWANDERER
    Explorer
    Jul 01, 2018
    Better recheck on the RV towing the toad. I was flat-out denied. Part and Parcel. They even said at Sonoyta that the toad had to be physically disconnected from the RV to get a 10-year permit for the RV. And under a different passport name and number. Neat huh?

    If this has recently changed then additional info would be definitely appreciated. I have to take Quicksilver to Guatemala the end of the year to get a renewal. Then they'll have to sue a grave.
  • moisheh's avatar
    moisheh
    Explorer
    Jun 30, 2018
    One cannot get any tip if you have a RP. If you have an fmm you can have both the RV and car/truck in one person.s name. The RV gets a 10year and the other vehicle gets a 6 month. If you have a RT the rules are tricky and I am not sure I can provide the correct info.

    Moisheh
  • MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
    MEXICOWANDERER
    Explorer
    Jun 29, 2018
    If you want an RV 10-year permit and do not have a spouse who will bond the other vehicle your RV gets stuck with a 180 day TIP. Because of high cost of travel these days, more and more folks are opting for basing the 10 year vehicle and using a toad to get around and flying fro and to to save hundreds of dollars per trip. I can fly to Tijuana, cross the border then take VOLARIS from Tijuana to ZLO or Zihuatanejo for one sixth the cost of using a 40-mpg super economy car.
  • Talleyho69's avatar
    Talleyho69
    Moderator
    Jun 29, 2018
    And here I was, thinking that this topic had nothing to do with RVing in Mexico.....

    There are a number of our members that do live in Mexico and do buy and sell vehicles here, like us!
  • azdryheat's avatar
    azdryheat
    Explorer
    Jun 28, 2018
    I had something similar when I was an LEO. I came across a parked Lincoln with Mexican plates here in Tucson. We don't have access to the Mexican database so I didn't know who the plates belonged to. I checked the VIN and it came back that the car had been reported stolen out of Chicago a year or so prior. I impounded the car as a result. Not long after, the Mexican Consulate called up and were they ever PO'd that I towed a car belonging to a high Mexican government official. Well, they couldn't back-pedal fast enough after they were told about the stolen status of their car.
  • gbopp's avatar
    gbopp
    Explorer
    Jun 28, 2018
    I'm sure there is a reason they refer to the illegal cars as 'Chocolate' but, I probably don't want to know. :)

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