We spent 18 of the last 24 months in Mexico. In the last 5 years we have lived more in Mexico than in the United States. It is safe to say we are comfortable in Mexico now. We have reached cultural assimilation with our lives in Mexico.
Most, perhaps all, of our friends and family in the U.S. don’t understand why we have attached ourselves to Mexico. I often wonder what they must say about our strange lives in Mexico – but then we were strange in the U.S. – vegetarians, environmentalists, natural health advocates, home schoolers, Christians and a mysterious political mix of conservative, liberal and libertarian. Indeed a curious blend of non-conformist beliefs.
I find it strange that our U.S. family and friends don’t want to know more about our lives south of the border. When we return to the U.S. we seem to quickly re-assimilate; little is said or asked about the other life we lead beneath the border. Perhaps because of the other odd lifestyle characteristics the fact we live in Mexico one does not surprise.
Mexico is something we have chosen and it is so far removed from our north of the border friends and family’s lives that it simply isn’t a topic of discussion.
On the rare occasion that I do get into explaining I quickly start to feel like a talking travel brochure; and I stop. I don’t get a sense that there are any of our friends or family north of the border that are secretly saying, “Gee I would like to do that; up root my life and move to mysterious and dangerous Mexico.”
More often we are asked about our lives in Mexico by strangers – I still quickly begin to sound like a travel brochure and stop.
Truly our friends in Mexico are more curious as to why we are living in Mexico than our friends and family NOB. But I think that is because they have friends and family that have crossed over into the U.S. and they imagine it is better there than in Mexico – so why would we choose to be living in Mexico?
The short answer is usually something on the lines of, “Because we can live in Mexico for less, we like the food, the people, and the culture better.” Occasionally we add the living is easier, more colorful and freer – these being somewhat more obtuse.
It also can be a more dangerous place. Not because of drug wars, kidnappings and rolling heads, but because of carelessness and a less cautious life style. Go here and read a fellow expat Bloggers recent tragic story for more insight.
Greater freedom requires greater responsibility. When a mass of people live in close quarters more rules and laws naturally become necessary and apply. Mexico is younger in that development even though a much older country historically.
At the end of our living in the United States I think I was getting very tired of the mostly necessary laws and controls; tired of watching the freedoms disappear that has been so ingrained in our heads growing up in the United States. Remember the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Living in the U.S. did not provide feelings of being free and further I didn’t feel like I was surrounded by a bunch of brave people – most of us were getting scared of many of the directions the country was headed.
Some of that upbringing about freedom in the U.S. caused me to rail against the inevitable truth of diminishing freedoms and more and more laws. Couple that with the blatant greed that seems to be bringing the U.S. to its knees.
Here is a small example: My brother-in-law paid $95.00 U.S. dollars for a permit to have his water heater replaced; where we come from in Mexico that is a week’s pay. Oh he does have some very snazzy metal straps that are surrounding the tank ostensibly to keep it from falling over in an earthquake. Severed gas lines in a neighborhood certainly could lead to a disaster. Proper pressure relief and a drain tray etc. all seem logical things to have.
In Mexico anyone can connect up a water heater and in any fashion they see fit. Probably the saving grace of few gas explosions caused by shoddy installations is water heaters are mostly only turned on for specific hot water need, unlike the U.S. where the water is heated 24/7.
Yesterday my brother-in-law and I started brainstorming the installation of a water softener for his house. We had a discussion about plastic versus copper pipe. He had some concerns about resale problems that might be encountered from not doing all things to code. Thoughts that I am sure never go through the heads of my Mexican friends who will most assuredly die in the house they are living in; resale values, earthquakes and building codes are the farthest things from their minds.
There are good arguments for doing things in compliance with the laws of the land; even still better arguments for doing things right – after all codes and laws are generally minimal accepted standards, not necessarily the best way of doing things.
After living in Mexico for some time now I have developed a greater respect for some of the laws in the U.S that I previously groused about. But, the greed that is attached to so many of those laws is not missed in our lives in Mexico. I am pretty sure unless things change drastically that eventually these more civilized rules and costs will come to Mexico. Maybe we will move to some other developing country then? And the beat goes on…Stay Tuned!
We shopped at both ends of the spectrum yesterday – not the very extreme ends, but close. I like to buy shoes at Dillard’s in August as they have sales and I usually need shoes then – Cole Hahn, Gucci, Born, Sketcher, Nike and this time some Crocs.
Ok I am not buying $800.00 Bruno Magli Italian jobs but I like a good shoe.
On the other end of the shopping spectrum, we love thrift stores – other people’s junk is often our treasure and occasionally retail stores foist off returned, slightly damaged or even poor selling new stuff. And OK I am going to come out on this – I love a bargain!
In Mexico you will not find people camping out waiting for the store to open that is selling the latest iPod or Hank Williams Junior CD. There are no busiest shopping day after Thanksgiving Fridays. There are no after Christmas sales where mayhem breaks out as they open the doors – no department store injuries or fatalities – no retail sales rage. The Mexican’s shop calmly and respectfully.
Any visit to the U.S. includes shopping lists and annual visit to Dillards, Fry’s and many visits to thrift stores. Here on Wednesdays the many Goodwill stores discount 25% to seniors (I laugh at 55 year olds, mere kids, being labeled as seniors).
We have even become friendly with a few ‘regulars’ that we see nearly every visit to our closest Goodwill. I know they are either selling on Ebay or have unending weekend garage sales, but don’t expect them to fess up to that – competition is fierce in that game.
Yesterday between banking, mailing out broken car parts and a camera lens, a visit to Dillards and some cursory shopping for a Stihl weed eater, we stopped at Goodwill.
Anita found a broken wine corker just like a broken one we own. With the two broken ones I could create one working one – into the cart. Score – a nice wooden pepper mill. Sure we have one or three but it was a bargain and after all we have two locations in Mexico and one in the States. I threw a new blue jean jacket in the cart – still considering it.
But then there it was – the deal of the day!
A near new, full featured, heavy duty battery charger – a real man’s item. If you have been reading along you may remember my problem with having loaned one of my chargers to a couple Mexican guys in the Hood. It was returned very broken.
This was like divine intervention. I deserved a deal on a fine hardy charger – a charger Tim the Tool man would be proud to have in his garage – oh happy day; and at under $20 with my senior discount. This had to be a $60 or more savings.
In the thrift store shopping world this is the kind of thing you just have to be in the right place at the right time for. They bring out a man’s treasure like that and a crowd gathers immediately. I have learned to scoop these kinds of things up fast and decide whether you want it after it is in your cart.
If you aren’t familiar with thrift stores then you might not know they do not allow returns of electronic devices, a beef I will save for another time. What they do allow is testing of anything electronic providing a receptacle or two that supplies power. Some have actual ‘testing stations’.
Now that I possessed the shiny charging box I plugged it in at the test station – it hummed when on and not when off – 6 volts, then twelve volts came to life on the meter as I put it through the paces. I checked the connectors and the condition of the heavy cables – everything seemed good. I was happy.
Anita found some pants and some brand new ace bandages. I rummaged through boxes and boxes of cables and charging cubes – not really needing anything in particular – but you never know.
I remembered Bonnie and Charles had asked us to keep an eye out for a moto helmet for Charles – size 7 ¼. We had bragged about the fine five dollar helmet Anita had found here when we were all in Mexico – her’s found at this very store here in Las Vegas. I went across the store to the hats and helmets area. No, nothing jumped out at me as a brain protector for Charles.
I checked in on Anita who was pushing apart pants hanging on long racks. “I’m going to try these on.” She said.
“Have you seen our cart lately?” I asked.
“No.”
I spied it across the store. When I got to it I immediately noticed that my battery charger treasure was gone. “Help I have been robbed!”
I looked up and down the isles – no charger. I ran up to the counter and asked breathlessly if anyone had passed through purchasing a shiny black battery charger – “Yes.”
“Is that scoundrel in the store? Can you identify him?”
“No I think they paid and left the store.”
I had been robbed of my treasure forgetting a cardinal rule of Thrift shopping – DO NOT LOSE SITE OF YOUR CART!
This would not happen in Mexico. Kidnappings, beheadings, shootings and mayhem – never seen any of that in Mexico. It is safer there. Here I let my guard down. Some unscrupulous robber had seen the value of my charger; he looked around and saw no one guarding the cart. Then he grabbed the heavy black box from my cart; ran up to the counter; paid and escaped into the parking lot jungle.
Of course I was disappointed and yes even mad. But life goes on…I have this hopeful rational…that scoundrel gets home with that charger only to find it really doesn’t work. From here on out I will take any real find right to the counter and out to my car – a thrift store tip Stay Tuned!
Visiting electronic MEGA stores is just the tip of the astonishment of a visit to Las Vegas, especially after having spent the last ten months and most of the last five years living in a little town in southeast Mexico.
The hotels, casinos and public buildings that line the strip of Las Vegas are something you will see in few other places in the world. On the weekend these days you wouldn’t guess the United States is in a financial melt-down or that Las Vegas is leading the country in bloodletting real estate values to the tune of nearly 50%.
The streets are lined deep with awe struck tourists; Senora Vivavaz and mi included. It is Main Street adult Disneyland, overpowering eye candy in every direction.
We haven’t spent a lot of time in the downtown area. We are staying out on the north end of town which is comprised of miles and miles of sandy brown, ‘tile-like’ roofed houses – rows and rows and rows of them; some strip malls and an occasional wayward casino complex. We miss the variety and color of Mexico up at this end of Las Vegas– as to the strip we need to go back to put that into proper words.
Two weeks ago we had opted to drive at night from Capitan, New Mexico to Las Vegas to avoid the heat, and to drive with a somewhat better qualified group of drivers (the scary life-threatening novice drivers tend to avoid night driving).
We arrived at the Hoover dam area at about 4 AM local time. This time of year both the Arizona and Nevada sides of the dam area are on the same Pacific Daylight time.
It is eerily peaceful at that hour. Even the security checkpoint that was so bothersome when we went through at a more respectable hour a year or so ago was a breeze to gain passage.
The air was refreshing at that hour knowing full well we better enjoy it now because in a few hours, post sunrise, the heat of a blast furnace would be on.
Whatever you might say about the abyss above the border of the country we live in, you have to give them their due for the technological marvels found there (here). We have been going over Hoover dam every year since before the 911 tragedy. In Late September 2001 we missed the dam entirely because we were diverted to Laughlin as any sized truck could not drive around the dam itself at that time.
Large commercial trucks still cannot drive on the road that circles around the top of the dam. However truck drivers will soon have a great view of the dam from their perch atop the soon to be opened bypass bridge.
The peaceful, amber lit, early morning drive around the dam cried photo op. We pulled out at a place where we were the only car to park; a circumstance that you will not find during a day passing.
Here are some of the photos I took that predawn morning. I hope you take the time to look at the enlarged option photos. I am so engulfed in lightning fast internet speed that I might not be accounting for the large sized photos. Even at that they don’t do justice to having been there – but you will get the idea. Aside from technological feats beyond the planet like landing people on the moon and roving cars on Mars etc. this has to be right up at the top of the list of earthly technological feats.
The idea of building a bridge across the Colorado river starting on either side of a rock sided canyon is easily as mind boggling as the construction of the dam itself. See what you think.
Saturday August 22nd 2009, 9:07 am
Filed under: Mexico
To call the U.S. economy shaky would be giving it the benefit of the doubt. We are currently in Las Vegas which reached a record high heat yesterday of 110 degrees – ouch! If the economy didn’t illicit a lot of unhappy faces the heat did.
A visit to the happiest place on earth for a computer geek would help. Just the thought of a visit to Fry’s Electronics gives a computer junky the shakes!
Always on my list of things to get on a trip to the United States are electronics. There is no question that you will pay more in Mexico for computers, televisions and just about anything else that plugs into a wall socket or that runs on batteries.
We gave at least four televisions away when we sold our ranch in Colorado a couple of years ago. Aside from a very poorly engineered television video card setup in one of our computers in Mexico we had none. I could argue the advantages of that except for my new found interest in Futbol. I even resorted to buying my neighbors in the Hood an antenna to get better reception – prior it was hard to see the pelota (ball) through the snow.
So on my list of things electronic to get while in the U.S. was a TV. I wanted some memory in the form of flash drive sticks for our new Jetta’s advanced music system; I needed a power supply for my ailing tower desktop in Mexico and more techy stuff cascaded through my head.
My brother-in-law’s computer was thought to be DOA so we seized the opportunity to drive the diagonal length of Las Vegas with my sister-in-law to pay a visit to Fry’s.
If you have never visited a Fry’s Electronics Store – well in everything that’s anything electronic terms – it rocks! I am pretty sure my lovely esposa and her sister Becky could have left my nephew Chris and I there for lost and we wouldn’t have noticed until maybe Monday; it was Friday.
I mean Fry’s is the World Cup Finals of electronic toys. Say what you will about the U.S. being the arm pit of North America, when it comes to High Tech it is the standard bearer. Walking around Fry’s gave me a pristine rush like my first childhood visit to the Magic Kingdom!
We all split up like searchers in a manhunt as our titillated interests varied. All our fantasy’s could be filled down some isle of that giant electronic mega store – oh my gawd!
I found 4 gb memory sticks for $8.99 (plus 8.1% tax). Into the cart went a replacement power supply for my ailing tower in Mexico, rechargeable lithium batteries $5.99 for a blister pack of four.
As I walked through isles my attention would get divereted by this or that. Everywhere I looked was something I wanted.I was blinded by flashing LED’s attacking from every direction. My head was spinning.
I gathered up mi esposa from the appliance area so we could gaze upon the city of televisions.
Eventually my sister-in-law met up with us with a cart full of monitor and a new tower that will give me nightmares of computer envy.
Let’s just say we helped boost the ailing retail sales numbers as we retrieved nephew Chris from the high end stereo room like a kid being rescued from a cult group.
Later that day Anita and I bought a snazzy HD television/computer monitor at another bastion of electronic commerce – Sam’s Club. I haven’t made my last visit to Fry’s before heading back to the more sensible reality of Mexico however.
In the mean time I am thinking about pitching an idea for a film about a guy that starts living in Fry’s a la the Tom Hanks film (The Terminal) where he becomes a resident of an airport terminal. Stay Tuned!
The American dream of retiring to Mexico and having a maid and gardener is alive and well albeit perhaps a bit tarnished. If there was a simple answer for hiring people in Mexico for these services the discussions would have ended long ago – a simple solution isn’t going to happen. Like the discussions on the ‘dangers of living in Mexico’, controversy about employing of maids and gardeners is ongoing.
Heard in a coffee shop near you, “You can move to Mexico, have a maid and a gardener while living on social security!”
My Amigo Steve brought the issue up as it relates to him over there on the sunny beach of Melaque.
Steve wrote in part, “I am purposely generous on the maid cost; she needs it.”
Steve being the consummate nice guy would be in that camp. But, if we look at this beyond the surface Steve comments, “The maid issue is a ticklish one.”
Ticklish Maid Issue
If we were to hire a maid in the United States for $60.00 US a day or more we probably wouldn’t be taking into account the maids living condition beyond that business relationship. But, somehow in Mexico we consider the helps life style as it compares to our own to the point of modifying compensation – perhaps because the gap between ‘the haves’ and ‘the haves not’ is widening?
The other side of that coin is “The gringos come down here and distort the economy. We cannot afford to hire these laborers at the rate of pay the gringos provide.”
In our part of Mexico there are few foreigners – thus the distortion of the economy is barely perceptible. However in areas where there is a large expatriate population the unbalancing of the economy can create wide spread hard feelings, widening the gap between locals and foreigners.
A thoughtful person who I know Steve is must carefully weigh these issues. Charity begins at home. Our home is in Xico, Mexico. We want to be a good neighbor and fair with the people we live amongst. But combining the hiring of a local service with charity is a problem.
If there was a simple answer we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Compensation, local economy and responsible behavior towards hired help have been issues since we first moved to Mexico.
The Calypso family doesn’t have a maid or gardener. We do occasionally hire some yard work service.
We tend to lean towards not disrupting the natural flow of the economy (read pay local rates). I don’t have any special insight or answers. What I do suggest is to not be too judgmental about what others might be doing and to thoughtfully consider the many angles of this very complex issue. Stay Tuned!
Saturday August 15th 2009, 9:22 am
Filed under: Mexico
We don’t see or talk with many NOB’s (people North of the Border) when we are living in Mexico. Of course, here we are in New Mexico, rubbing elbows with a whole bunch of gringos. Whenever conversation drifts to the fact we live in Mexico the gringos always want to know about the dangers we face living in a drug infested war zone.
Last Tuesday I sold my BMW motorcycle. Other than a Honda 750 I once owned, each motorcycle sale has always been a painful experience. You get familiar and comfortable with those throbbing machines; you have knowledge of the beast. I didn’t know this BMW 1000cc motorcycle as well as I have some. I already have more miles on my Cruise Azul scooter (owned less than a year) than I had on that grand piece of German engineering; but truth be told it will be missed.
Selling a motorcycle has a lot to do with who you sell to. It is kind of like how you might feel about your ex’s next mate. You hope he is cool. This will make you feel better about yourself; and her taste. You will need to like the person that straddles your former street love.
This time I immediately liked my motorcycles new owner. The man and his son drove all the way from a town in Alabama – 1151 miles to get here and another 1151 to get back. He looked the bike over the right way. A motorcycle can be as mean as a junkyard dog. You want to caress it a bit and look it over before just jumping on and dial up the throttle.
I could tell he admired and respected the bike by reputation, but now he was getting down to how this one measured up in its class. He knew what to look for and went about what appeared to be a casual inspection; but I knew there was a deeper inspection going on as we casually talked.
I was confident that anyone that came to look at the “Bumble Bee” would be satisfied that this was a fine example of one of the best motorcycles made. While this was all going down the future owner asked about Mexico.
“Is it safe down there? I had a friend that was held up for $400.00 U.S. by the military or police. He said it was dangerous. What about all the drugs and killing that is going on?”
If you read any gringo Blog on Mexico more than casually you have heard this question and probably heard us all declaring the nonsense of the dangers of Mexico. Of course the truth is that it is dangerous everywhere these days.
I explained that much of the press hysteria is propaganda – after all with a failing economy the United States needs to do everything in its power to keep its citizens from leaving a sinking ship. If U.S. citizens and their dollars are heading south – this must be discouraged.
Then I broke my own rule. There are two things a man does not loan out (read ‘ride’) – his wife or his motorcycle. The potential buyer brought his helmet and was ready to ride – I explained there is no required helmet law in New Mexico. An audition in the wind without a helmet would finalize the deal – it did.
The one thing that gave me comfort when I left Mexico was that I knew it would be there when I got back. I never have that confidence after visiting the United States. Wednesday evening we headed off to Las Vegas.
I missed watching Mexico defeat the U.S. 2-1 in futbol (soccer). Now I can go back and read the comments made to me after the Mexico win a few weeks ago. Then I was warned that the U.S. had played its third string players and the true test was yet to come. It came and Mexico passed with flying Green, White and Red colors. Viva Mexico! – Stay Tuned!
After a career in the music business I opted to do some writing; certainly a more peaceful and arguably a more sane approach to making a living. As is typical of writing, supplemental income was often necessary. An adjunct to that need for seeds was the desire to experience by way of doing rather than simply writing as an observer.
I drove a bus for damaged children that had been rescued from terrible home situations to learn and then write about those children’s lives. I did a day’s work as a pizza delivery person to describe a day in the life…; I have flipped hamburgers and steaks; Anita and I operated some mobile espresso carts selling coffee and scones at fairs and events; that all started from being the wine & coffee editor of a state-wide newspaper. Not long ago we picked coffee berries for a day when I was writing about the entire Mexican coffee experience – from vine to cup.
That brings us to now: if you are following along we are currently in Capitan, New Mexico where we have an old real adobe house on four lots with two garages stuffed with the possessions we have yet to bring ourselves to a place to give up. That day is coming soon however.
We are camping out more or less; sleeping on an air mattress atop a wooden futon frame surrounded by boxes of our stuff. We have a compost toilet setup but lack water and electricity. We are here trying to reduce our load. I listed my BMW motorcycle the other day. We will spend the month of September selling on Ebay and where ever; more on that later.
We did just trade two very large old implement wheels for a 4-panel room divider we want to hall home to Mexico – the wheels were never going to cross the border – but that’s yet another story.
We have some friends that operate a scrumptious restaurant and rental cabins business located on the main highway 380, the local stretch is also known as Smokey Bear Boulevard. Curt and Linda are a two person operation with the occasional helper.
The Horsemen’s Grill – Capitan, New Mexico
I just finished one of Curt’s experiments in cooking for breakfast. A fettuccini noodle and egg concoction that hit the spot; sometimes being someone’s food tester can pay off.
The other day we stopped by the Horsemen’s to say hello. They were busier than a hen with ten chicks. I have no idea what possessed me; I offered our services to do the dishes which were precariously stacking up.
Anita and I dawned aprons and started at it, which brings me to the point of this diatribe. I was amazed at the amount of wasted food remaining on those stacked spent plates. At the Horsemen’s Grill you will find $16.00 Pizza Supremes, Cowboy Steaks for $15.95 (Cowgirl Steak $12.95 – she’s smaller), and Top Sirloin & Alaskan Crab for $21.95.You can get a Tomato Quesadilla for $6.95 which we are finding to be the low end price of the restaurant food chain in the U.S. The cost of dining out here is taking some getting used to for us Mexican diners where 100 pesos (about $7.50 U.S.) can get you a couple fine meals with drinks.
I figured that there were perhaps $4.00 to $8.00 of those Cowboy steaks, Cowboys beans, baked potatoes and salads left on quite a few plates as we whittled down the stack of dishes – very few plates eaten clean. We are talking a vast waste of some spendy fine food.
Couldn’t Resist Photographing this Sign at the Horsemen’s Grill
You can be assured that in our part of Mexico this does not happen. Oh there might be some left over tortillas and beans, even part of a tamale or quesadilla; but no way will those remnants end up in a landfill. That foodstuff is going to feed some dog, cat, goat or pigs for certain.
I recently saw a freewheeling hombre with a scooter pulling a cart loaded with a couple of garbage cans. He would drive to the local restaurants to pick-up their scraps for his hogs. Nothing goes to waste in Mexico.
Scrap Food Collection System – Puerto Escondido, Mexico
A family of eight in Mexico could be fed with what a family of four left on their plates as we lowered the pile and waited for tables to be bussed at The Horsemen’s Grill – did I mention that this is a wonderful place to eat? But, please eat all your food. There are children starving in Mexico. Stay Tuned!
Buying a Car in Mexico can be very dicey. Like buying Mexican real estate the process has similarities and great differences as compared to buying in the U.S.
Two weeks ago, after looking for two weeks, we found a new to us 2008 Jetta. It was for sale in Xalapa. Here is some of how this Mexican adventure went:
A visit to a dealer will be different in that they are not extremely aggressive like their U.S. counterparts. All our visits to the dealers were much more relaxed with little sales pressure. And no, they won’t be giving you $60,000 pesos cash for your clunker towards a shiny new taco mobile.
We visited a Volkswagen, Toyota, Ford and Nissan dealer. In all cases we found the sales people to be professional and pleasant. There were no high pressure sale attempts. In fact, we had to seek out help most of the time followed by no pressure to buy.
The new car dealerships seem to carry few used cars. I suppose the trade-in values are such that most simply sell their used vehicle.
You do not see a lot of older cars in our area. I believe the roads are so bad that cars only ‘live’ for 5-7 years rather than the 10-15 years a U.S. car might survive. If you decided to buy used in Mexico – don’t go back too far – 3 or 4 years old tops.
Like most things Mexico the regulations and safe guards for buying a used car do not exist. You will not find CarFax vehicle history reports. There are no laws about rolling back a speedometer. Physical repairs, paint jobs and frame straightening are not expensive in Mexico. You will want to check over a used car VERY CAREFULLY.
On a number of occasions I have written that Mexican folks often say “yes” to any question regardless of the validity of that affirmation. Talking with people selling cars is no exception. If you ask if there is a spare tire – check to actually see it – when you get it home and it is not there will be too late.
This goes for conversations on the phone prior to meeting to see a vehicle. Twice we called on cars that we thought were listed at the very high end of value. We asked if they were negotiable on the price, “Si!” In both cases once we saw the vehicles and discussed price, we were told the asking price is it – period. Reminding the seller that they had said on the phone they were negotiable drew blank stares.
In many towns there is Saturday or Sunday used car markets where you can go and see a lot of used vehicles at one time. Meeting people other than at their house can be a problem if you later find the car’s VIN number(s) are wrong or the vehicle had been stolen. You may very well be arrested for possessing a stolen car and at minimum will go away without a car or your money. Apparently the motor number and a number on the body as well as the VIN on the door or on the dash top will all be checked.
If an engine has been replaced and the number does not match – there will be a problem. So be sure you know where the seller lives and check these numbers out carefully. Best situation is to go to the Hacienda (motor vehicle department) with the seller; there all the numbers and documentation will be checked as well as a physical inspection. Anything less could be fraught with problems.
We were fortunate to find a car with just 8000 miles on it. The owner was the Volkswagen factory in Pueblo where the Jetta is made. The seller was a VW executive living in Animas (the Beverly Hills of Xalapa). He gets a new car to drive every year with an opportunity to return it or sell it and make a few pesos. We looked at the car in his garage. He was also one that agreed to possible negotiations on the price – but when we were getting down to it – his only willingness to deal was that of discounting the cost of tax and license. This amounted to 2000 pesos ($160.00 US). The Jetta was like new. We agreed to buy it.
The three of us drove to Liverpool Mall where we withdrew 5000 pesos for a deposit. We did not arrive there with any large sums of money – another safety caution. Our seller is an account executive for Volkswagen. He had a prepared deposit statement; just fill in the amounts.
It took us about 5 days to get the money in cash with many visits to ATM machines. Getting more than 100,000 pesos together is no small task; a story perhaps for another time. Just counting all those bills is no small project
We took a bus to Xalapa and then a cab to Animas and the seller’s casa. He counted the bills in accountant fashion; writing down the bill count of each denomination and then using an adding machine. He had all the paperwork together. The three of us drove over to the Animas Mall where there is a motor vehicle Hacienda.
The seller had already been to the office to ascertain what was needed. We brought an FM3, proof of residency and passport. We were never asked to produce a driver’s license or proof of insurance – different that. More copies were needed – right across the hall a copy place.
One person went with us to inspect the car – checking for numbers including a stamped in metal number under the back seats. They actually take a piece of paper and with a pencil lead sideways they trace copy the numbers using that as the proof. They are very critical about this.
We got the plates and the then previous owner mounted them for us. We drove him the few blocks home and away we went with our new car.
We are currently in Capitan, New Mexico with our new used Jetta – it was a smooth 1500 mile drive from Xico to Texas to New Mexico. If you see a dark red 2008 Jetta with Veracruz License plates from here to Las Vegas and back to Brownsville you’ll know it is me. The experience was good and the deal looks good even compared with the U.S. ‘Cash for clunkers’ rebate. We are happy. You can be too using the aforementioned cautions. Stay Tuned!
As you might imagine driving, insuring and even possibly buying a car in Mexico are controversial issues. You have but to peruse the many forums relating to expatriates in Mexico to get a feel for the diverse and often heated opinions. Let’s consider some of the issues.
Pro issues for owning a Mexican titled and plated vehicle:
First and foremost for us was the aggravation of keeping U.S. plates current and insuring vehicles seldom driven in the United States. The States obviously have been lobbied enough by insurance companies wherein they are notified by your carrier if your car insurance has lapsed.
Let me state in front that I am more than willing to have car insurance whenever I am DRIVING in the United States. However if you want to drive for a few months only, you will be required to maintain insurance continually year round.
If you are visiting the U.S. for a week or two with Mexican plates you can buy insurance by the day ($3.00 a day is the figure I have heard). Obviously if you are in the States for several months this can get expensive – but we found annual Mexican insurance that covers our car while driving in the U.S. and Canada – more on this in an installment about our Mexican car purchase.
Owning a vehicle licensed for where you live is logical. U.S. or Canadian licensed vehicles stand out like a sore thumb here in Mexico. You will likely be stopped at some time in your Mexico driving experience for mordida (an illegal ‘bite’ to bilk you out of 50 to as much as 1200 pesos (4 – 100 US dollars). You will also experience legal scrutiny to ascertain that your vehicle is in the country with proper sticker and documentation. In plain terms you are a target.
If you think you can operate and park your foreign plated vehicle in the same manner as that of the Mexican plated vehicles – think again. You must always be aware that you as a foreigner need to obey all the laws; different than the Mexican driven vehicles.
You will be a target if you speed, drive through red lights or illegally park – unlike Mexican plated vehicles that seem to do these maneuvers with impunity. Do not take the when in Rome do as the Romans do approach to your Mexican driving experience – it will cost you.
If you accidently end up going the wrong way on a one way street, something easy to do, you are bound to pay for the mistake – where as a Mexican vehicle will just need to correct the maneuver and move on.
If you buy a Mexican vehicle you can own more than the one per person limitation placed on bringing in foreign plated vehicles. If you are a car junkie or a junk car junkie like me (currently own 2-trucks, 3-cars and two motorcycles) you might want to consider the Mexico vehicle advantage Mexico does have a mandatory insurance law; however I have never been asked to produce proof of insurance and I am not sure they even have those cards – however if you get in an accident the penalties and price you pay for not having insurance are brutal. Don’t even think about not having insurance in Mexico.
Con issues for owning a Mexican titled and plated vehicle: Annual registration renewal is expensive (this being relative some U.S. States have very costly annual registration (tags or stickers)).
You can drive your one imported vehicle (per person) with foreign plates that are expired. In some cities like Mexico City and Veracruz the transito officials may use expired tags as an excuse to stop and put the bite on you. There is a paragraph of Mexican law explaining how you are NOT required to have current tags on you foreign vehicle – this is a good thing to have a copy of in your vehicles glove compartment – it can save a lot of hassle showing you have done your homework.
Insuring a foreign plated vehicle in Mexico is less costly than insuring a Mexican titled and plated vehicle. I don’t know why – perhaps they think because you are a visitor you are a better driver than most Mexicans (not hard to qualify for that by the way). Liability only we were paying about $135.00 U.S. annually to drive in Mexico. Our Mexico car is $225.00 U.S. liability only. Keep in mind this includes being covered in the United States and Canada. Full coverage foreign plates about $350.00 U.S. per year (of course depends some on the value of the vehicle) – our new (used) Mexico car is about $675.00 U.S. for full coverage with a 10% deductible.
Perhaps the best of both worlds is to have one of each in Mexico? That is our current situation, or will be when we return. At least no one can accuse you of doing it wrong since you can bring up either as your position in any argumentative discussion on the subject.
We mostly went the Mexico vehicle route to reduce the hassles with insurance in the United States. Next time I will tell you about the experience of looking for and buying a Mexico vehicle as a gringo – Stay Tuned!
Stay Tuned!
