Are there authorized car dealers in the Chapala area?

[J.Miller]

I have just spent another sleepless night worrying about what to do regarding my CDN plated car. I suppose I am going to have to buy a good, used, Mexican plated vehicle at some point between now and the end of October. Are ther any authorized dealers Lakeside?

[El Saltos]

Not as such. However, Spencer Shulman at S&S Auto in Riberas will help you buy a new or used car. He has a superb reputation.

[snowyco]

Car dealers authorized for what?

Have you read http://yucalandia.com/driving-in-mexico-issues-fun/options-for-foreign-plated-tip-car-owners-in-mexico-esp-for-permanent-residents/?

Options for Foreign-Plated “TIP” Car Owners in Mexico, esp for Permanent Residents

Post edited to fix the broken link.

[dcstroker]

Car dealers authorized for what?

Have you read Options for Foreign-Plated “TIP” Car Owners in Mexico, esp for Permanent Residents ?

Your link requires you to sign in.

[J.Miller]

I guess when I say authorized it is because I do not want to buy a car by the side of the road as it occurs to me that these "makeshift lots" may not be selling vehicles with legal, recognizable documentation and plates. With the kind of luck that I have been having this year I expect that I would end up buying a stolen vehicle!

I would like to read the "Options for Foreign Plated "TIP" Car Owners" but could not open the link. Maybe I will try to Google it.

[Mainecoons]

You will really have to be vigilant about comparing the overall condition of the car with the reading on the odometer. When I read up on this, I was shocked at how easy it is to tamper with odometers.

[AlanMexicali]

Your link requires you to sign in.

Google brought it up outside of Wordpress:

http://yucalandia.com/driving-in-mexico-issues-fun/options-for-foreign-plated-tip-car-owners-in-mexico-esp-for-permanent-residents/

[Cortland]

I have just spent another sleepless night worrying about what to do regarding my CDN plated car. I suppose I am going to have to buy a good, used, Mexican plated vehicle at some point between now and the end of October. Are ther any authorized dealers Lakeside?

We have an Ontario plated vehicle as well as a Mexican plated car. We bought the Mexican car through Spencer Schulman (not to be confused with Spencer McMullen, the lawyer in Chapala) at S&S. He is next door to Puritan Poultry and the north side of the road between San Antonio and Riberas. We were very happy with Spencer Schulman's services.

As for the nationalization of the Canadian plated vehicle, I have now heard three first-hand accounts of people who thought they had successfully nationalized their vehicles only to discover that the documents were not legitimate. Unfortunately there seem to be quite a few scams being carried out in this area.

There was a recent posting that S&S may be able to help in nationalizing a foreign plated vehicle.

You may also want to speak to Spencer McMullen (the lawyer) who is assisting someone else I know in connection with nationalizing his Ontario plated vehicle. His website with contact information is

http://chapalalaw.com/index.php

[Ginger]

If I were going to buy a used car I wouldn't use anyone but S&S. You'd have no worries about anything being illegal. Spencer's a pro.

[J.Miller]

It seems like there are north Americans who are are permanently returning north for one reason or another. Does anyone know what would be involved if I were to come across a Canadian with a Mexican plated vehicle looking to trade fo a CDN plated vehicle?

[AlanMexicali]

You will really have to be vigilant about comparing the overall condition of the car with the reading on the odometer. When I read up on this, I was shocked at how easy it is to tamper with odometers.

You know Sir I have been shopping for a SUV for months now. I have searched several mercados on line. I understand the prices here where I now live in SLP on 2007 SUVs are 2X what I could now buy according to Auto Trader . com in San Diego and the Auto Trader . com shows these similar SUVs in San Antonio are about 1/3 more than SD.

Being a good value for my money type person I ventured to other areas of Mexico on line shopping. Guess what? In the Estado de Mexico they advertise privately similar SUVs for similar prices as I can buy in SD + the cost of importing it in Mexicali. Sounds alright and saves me the time and expense of flying to Mexicali and driving my J built Maxima to SD and shopping around.

However my wife states that the State of Mexico has been and is notorious for selling stolen cars [many stolen inside the US] with fraudulent documents and when trying to register a "good deal" vehicle here I would more than likely lose the vehicle and be in some kind of trouble for doing so.

Now I am back to buying one here for 2X the price or flying to Mexicali/SD and shopping around for a few weeks or more, no choice if I want to save the money. Alan

[Cortland]

It seems like there are north Americans who are are permanently returning north for one reason or another. Does anyone know what would be involved if I were to come across a Canadian with a Mexican plated vehicle looking to trade fo a CDN plated vehicle?

You would need to see what the requirements are to transfer ownership of the vehicle in the Canadian province in which the vehicle is registered. Ontario, for example, requires the seller to obtain an information package (available through the MOT) and also have an emission test.

See

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/vehicle/used.shtml

[RVGRINGO]

In my experience, one can buy very good used cars from new car dealers in Guadalajara. As elsewhere, they only keep the better trade-ins. They will take care of all the paperwork, plates, etc. and the process is easy. Some will even deliver the car to your home in two or three days. We have done that with one used car for a friend and a new one for ourselves.

So, get some idea of what you might like and go shopping.

[willieboy]

You know Sir I have been shopping for a SUV for months now. I have searched several mercados on line. I understand the prices here where I now live in SLP on 2007 SUVs are 2X what I could now buy according to Auto Trader . com in San Diego and the Auto Trader . com shows these similar SUVs in San Antonio are about 1/3 more than SD.

Now I am back to buying one here for 2X the price or flying to Mexicali/SD and shopping around for a few weeks or more, no choice if I want to save the money. Alan

I just compared a 2007 Honda CRV EX with 51,000 miles in San Diego with the same car in Jalisco with less than 60,000 miles. Price in SD is $18,295. Price in Jalisco at 12 to 1 exchange rate is $15,800.

Where are you getting this 2 to 1 nonsense.

[willieboy]

I have just spent another sleepless night worrying about what to do regarding my CDN plated car. I suppose I am going to have to buy a good, used, Mexican plated vehicle at some point between now and the end of October. Are ther any authorized dealers Lakeside?

Just go to Spencer at S&S. He'll charge you about $400 MX to drive you into Guadalajara and check out all of the dealers car lots (it will help a lot if you can narrow your choices down to 2 or 3 cars). If you're worried about Odometer fraud, he also has 2 mechanics he uses in GDL to thoroughly inspect the car and see if the mileage matches the condition of the vehicle. That will cost you about 1,500 MX.

Don't listen to the so-called ''experts'' on this webboard. They love to pontificate about subjects of which they know nothing. I've bought several 3 to 4 year old cars in Mexico and I've never had a problem other than dealing with the routine issues you have to deal with when buying used.

Believe me, it's a lot easier than some on this board would have you believe.

[AlanMexicali]

I just compared a 2007 Honda CRV EX with 51,000 miles in San Diego with the same car in Jalisco with less than 60,000 miles. Price in SD is $18,295. Price in Jalisco at 12 to 1 exchange rate is $15,800.

Where are you getting this 2 to 1 nonsense.

This is Hondas and rare to see low mileage vehicles in SD but other vehicles do not get that kind of high price. Do more research before you state facts. I am stating in SLP used SUVs cost more than where you are quite possibly. I have no plans to shop there and if you do find a good deal there, great.

[willieboy]

This is Hondas but other vehicles do not get that kind of high price. Do more research before you state facts. I am stating in SLP used SUVs cost more than where you are quite possibly. I have no plans to shop there and if you do find a good deal there, great.

Well then, please give me the year and model you are looking for. I'm really curious as to what kind of used vehicle costs twice as much in SLP than in San Diego.

[AlanMexicali]

Trailblazer

Well then, please give me the year and model you are looking for. I'm really curious as to what kind of used vehicle costs twice as much in SLP than in San Diego.

2004 to 2007 Ford Explorer, Escape, Expedition or Mercury equivalent; Dodge Durango, Trailblazer; Chevy Suburban, Tahoe; Jeep Commander, Liberty, Grand Cherokee; all 2 wheel drive, any mileage will do.

[willieboy]

2004 to 2007 Ford Explorer, Escape, Expedition or Mercury equivalent; Dodge Durango; Chevy Suburban, Tahoe, Trailblazer; Jeep Commander, Liberty, Grand Cherokee, all 2 wheel drive, any mileage will do.

OK. Just for the fun of it I priced a 2007 Grand Cherokee. It's hard to match up the options exactly, but I found one in Guadalajara selling for $173,000 MX. It's a Limited with 8 cylinders. At today's rate that's about $14,300 US.

http://soloautos.com.mx/autos-usados/autos/jeep/grand_cherokee/2007/verde/702741

In the Auto Trader I found several Grand Cherokee Limiteds in the San Diego area from $12,000 up to $15,000.

So I'm still not seeing this 2 to 1 ratio.

Now I know the one I'm referring to is not in San Luis Potosi, but can't you buy a car here in Guadalajara or in D.F. or wherever, and get it plated in SLP? It's not that expensive is it?

[Bourbonman]

Time to close topic & the "bickering" !

[Ferret]

Spencer at S&S Auto is where we bought our used Nissan. Painless, reasonably priced and exactly what we were looking for. We highly recommend him. BTW, it was owned by a little old lady who drove very infrequently.

They're out there. Chins up...you can do this!

[AlanMexicali]

OK. Just for the fun of it I priced a 2007 Grand Cherokee. It's hard to match up the options exactly, but I found one in Guadalajara selling for $173,000 MX. It's a Limited with 8 cylinders. At today's rate that's about $14,300 US.

http://soloautos.com.mx/autos-usados/autos/jeep/grand_cherokee/2007/verde/702741

In the Auto Trader I found several Grand Cherokee Limiteds in the San Diego area from $12,000 up to $15,000.

So I'm still not seeing this 2 to 1 ratio.

Now I know the one I'm referring to is not in San Luis Potosi, but can't you buy a car here in Guadalajara or in D.F. or wherever, and get it plated in SLP? It's not that expensive is it?

It probably costs $4000 pesos for new plates here I was told.

[J.Miller]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Ferret!

[Mainecoons]

Hey Willie, did you find out if they actually have the car? Did you go look at it? Did you confirm the factura?

Or did you just look at at a few internet listings and assume that what you see is what you get?

Every single one of the late model low mileage CRVs I followed up on Soloautos was sold. Many other listings don't show mileage and when you email them you find out why. They didn't want to reveal that they are high mileage beaters. I saw one listing where the wear and tear on the upholstery even came through the photo and the guy claimed it only had 40K KM. Sure.

This is why you have to pay an expert like S&S to go find a car. A lot of BS out there, not nearly as many cars.

I've spent many, many hours already looking for a Mexican plated car. Its a jungle out there. The internet listings look great until you actually follow up on them. Apparently, there's no requirement for the people listing on these sites to either remove the ads or note they are sold when they are. So a lot of them are there in the hope you'll call them and they can sell you something else.

Believe me, aside from the language problem for most of us who are fluent enough to do a transaction like this without help, this is not like buying a car in the U.S. And when all is said and done you had better expect to pay considerable more than you would NOB. That way you won't be shocked.

[johanson]

I too speak highly of Spencer of SS (as well as the other Spencer). In fact I am wiring S&S money, tomorrow, Tuesday to get a Mexican plated car hopefully by the end of the week. Me, brag, brag, I'm getting the highly rated small and economical SUV, the Honda CRV. (Per ConsumerReports),

Now I have to figure out what to do with my US plated 2001 Ford Explorer Sport. No hurry, though. I shall simply wait until the new laws are written for expats who are getting their Permanente green cards.