Trip Report - Nogales to Sayulita Pt 1
We’re making our usual journey to Sayulita in 3 stages. While in the past I liked to pay some attention, this year we are compelled to record the details of our journey south a little more aggressivel...
Forum Discussion
I lost track of the number of vehicle verifications I have gone through but it extends back well beyond 15-years.
Every letter and numeral of every document I have was audited, even the license plate renewal tag. FMM, passport, VIN, you name it.
These are the roadside checks that catch fraudulently imported vehicles that have importation permission via corruption. The VIN numbers do not appear on the Mexico City database.
They don't just select extraneous. One I went through while driving on the spur road between Morelia and Mex 15-D had close to a dozen Mexican plated automobiles waiting for the grua to haul them to the Corralon Federal.
My kids took my emphatically administered advice and carry all documents in a plastic pouch, even the granddaughter's birth certificates. They took my driver license and IFE credencial and gave it back after ten minutes or so. They had cellular telephones and a laptop on a fold top desk. Wanted to see if I had any outstanding warrants? You got me.
You probably read on this forum where a rather gentlemanly commandante de SSP (Federal Police) spent a few hours visiting with me and answering my dozens of questions. These "retenes" are no-nonsense, and can be a little worrisome for folks new to Mexico. Family and friends of course do not like them but they are a far cry from the utterly corrupt federal police of old, the Policia Judicial Federal.
I look at it this way - these folks are filtering out stolen cars and bad guys. When addressed from that perspective it lessens the feeling of cold, and hard examination.
People that have their paperwork in order have nothing to worry about.
And here comes a "I Told You So"
A temporary import permit that a person KNOWS for sure that shoudn't have been gotten by courier delivery in the USA will get caught at one of these roadside inspections. There is a clear NOT ALLOWED and then a GRAY AREA for pickup types. A dually trying to get through one of these retenes is in for a hard time. Usually, an infraccion is issued and the driver has 15 days to exit. The information is sent to Banjercito.
Take it for what it's worth.
Every letter and numeral of every document I have was audited, even the license plate renewal tag. FMM, passport, VIN, you name it.
These are the roadside checks that catch fraudulently imported vehicles that have importation permission via corruption. The VIN numbers do not appear on the Mexico City database.
They don't just select extraneous. One I went through while driving on the spur road between Morelia and Mex 15-D had close to a dozen Mexican plated automobiles waiting for the grua to haul them to the Corralon Federal.
My kids took my emphatically administered advice and carry all documents in a plastic pouch, even the granddaughter's birth certificates. They took my driver license and IFE credencial and gave it back after ten minutes or so. They had cellular telephones and a laptop on a fold top desk. Wanted to see if I had any outstanding warrants? You got me.
You probably read on this forum where a rather gentlemanly commandante de SSP (Federal Police) spent a few hours visiting with me and answering my dozens of questions. These "retenes" are no-nonsense, and can be a little worrisome for folks new to Mexico. Family and friends of course do not like them but they are a far cry from the utterly corrupt federal police of old, the Policia Judicial Federal.
I look at it this way - these folks are filtering out stolen cars and bad guys. When addressed from that perspective it lessens the feeling of cold, and hard examination.
People that have their paperwork in order have nothing to worry about.
And here comes a "I Told You So"
A temporary import permit that a person KNOWS for sure that shoudn't have been gotten by courier delivery in the USA will get caught at one of these roadside inspections. There is a clear NOT ALLOWED and then a GRAY AREA for pickup types. A dually trying to get through one of these retenes is in for a hard time. Usually, an infraccion is issued and the driver has 15 days to exit. The information is sent to Banjercito.
Take it for what it's worth.
