Hello all. Am in the market for a new or used car.
When I came to Mexico, I could not get straight answers about bringing in a US car (and I suspect it might be the same now) so I sold the US cars and bought a local vehicle.
The time has come to add a 2nd car to the mix. This time I am interested in knowing what the benefits of this SD registration I have heard about on the board (and seen with my own eyes while visiting BCS in Dec!).
I have a big benefit of buying a car in the US at wholesale price due to family car dealers and it can save me thousands of dollars - if I can figure out how to bring it legally to Mexico.
I am aware of what it takes to register, insure, etc the car locally in Mexico (DF).
What I am not clear on is the SD registration, benefits of doing so, tradeoffs, requirements, etc.
In my research I understand these are the benefits of SD registration:
No Personal Property Tax
No Vehicle Inspections
Excise (sales) Tax on purchase of a new or used motorhome/car/trailer
is only 3 percent, after trade-in.
However, if I have to make the drive to the border every 6 months to exit and re-enter Mexico, those benefits might be outweighed by the convenience of local registration. Unlike some on the board, we do not make regular land-based trips back to the US.
I saw some posts about the process of registration in SD - I don't think I need a rundown on that particular process and if need be I can make a trip there to do the initial registration paperwork (and get a drivers license if need be).
I am more interested in what I need to do SOB to make this happen.
Do I have to keep insurance in SD? Also in Mexico? Both at the same time?
Sorry if this is a dense question, but can someone explain exactly what you have to do to keep the SD car registered in Mexico (DF)?
I understand this is a totally different situation than nationalizing a car - which seems pretty much impossible as we are looking at cars 2 or 3 years old.
For what it's worth, I am on a non-inmigrante (aka FM3) visa and my husband is Mexican. I am 2 or 3 years away from getting inmigrante status.
Thanks in advance.
abc
When I came to Mexico, I could not get straight answers about bringing in a US car (and I suspect it might be the same now) so I sold the US cars and bought a local vehicle.
The time has come to add a 2nd car to the mix. This time I am interested in knowing what the benefits of this SD registration I have heard about on the board (and seen with my own eyes while visiting BCS in Dec!).
I have a big benefit of buying a car in the US at wholesale price due to family car dealers and it can save me thousands of dollars - if I can figure out how to bring it legally to Mexico.
I am aware of what it takes to register, insure, etc the car locally in Mexico (DF).
What I am not clear on is the SD registration, benefits of doing so, tradeoffs, requirements, etc.
In my research I understand these are the benefits of SD registration:
No Personal Property Tax
No Vehicle Inspections
Excise (sales) Tax on purchase of a new or used motorhome/car/trailer
is only 3 percent, after trade-in.
However, if I have to make the drive to the border every 6 months to exit and re-enter Mexico, those benefits might be outweighed by the convenience of local registration. Unlike some on the board, we do not make regular land-based trips back to the US.
I saw some posts about the process of registration in SD - I don't think I need a rundown on that particular process and if need be I can make a trip there to do the initial registration paperwork (and get a drivers license if need be).
I am more interested in what I need to do SOB to make this happen.
Do I have to keep insurance in SD? Also in Mexico? Both at the same time?
Sorry if this is a dense question, but can someone explain exactly what you have to do to keep the SD car registered in Mexico (DF)?
I understand this is a totally different situation than nationalizing a car - which seems pretty much impossible as we are looking at cars 2 or 3 years old.
For what it's worth, I am on a non-inmigrante (aka FM3) visa and my husband is Mexican. I am 2 or 3 years away from getting inmigrante status.
Thanks in advance.
abc