Watch this video before driving your car into Mexico in 2024 

Additional tips and info: Baja Peninsula: Foreign-plated vehicles driven into the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur do not require a Temporary Import Permit (TIP). However, your US or Canadian car plates must be valid and any stickers must be kept current while the vehicle is on the Baja peninsula. If you take your car from La Paz to the Mexican mainland (by ferry) you will become subject to the car import rules Deposit price depends on the year of your vehicle: $400 U.S. - 2007 model year and newer $300 U.S. - 2001 - 2006 model years $200 U.S. - 2000 model year or older

In 2018, early in the morning at the Nogales truck crossing we encountered 2 men eating burritos at a folding table (first clue!) which was was blocking the roadway. They, too, were offering 21Km assistance. We insisted no, we are going to Km 21 and don't need your help. Fortunately I had researched the situation as this was our first time driving to Mexico, so we didn't fall for it. The trip was uneventful after that. We now have our residency status and own a car in Mexico so have no need to make the trip at this point. We recently spent half a day with our holiday season visitors trying to track down one of our license plates during a day trip to Rincon de Guayabitos (it seems we had parked illegally and it had been removed as collateral). The ticket had no station address on it and it took some time to sort the situation out! We weren't the only ones lining up at the station to pay up 700 pesos (both nationals and gringos like us)! Eventually a motorbike pulled up and the rider opened a little hatch and took out a stack of license plates to return to those who had paid their fine! Perhaps not a scam but definitely a huge revenue opportunity for the community! Be careful out there.

Just wanted to mention that after you receive your tip and pay the $200 to drive into Mexico you might be under the impression that you will receive the $200 again when you leave. We were told by the banjercito that we were supposed to see them a second time within 30 days of having entered mx in order to receive our refund. According to them it was because we didn't that we were not eligible to receive our $200 back when we left mx. Our money was never returned and this is a common occurrence amongst visitors.

One FYI for TIP deposits: $400 U.S. - 2007 model year and newer $300 U.S. - 2001 - 2006 model years $200 U.S. - 2000 model year or older

Sold the car, and walk everywhere possible. Otherwise, taxi, InDrive, or the bus. Good exercise! I'm glad I left it behind. I don't miss it. I just have to plan ahead when running errands.

Paul, thanks for your transparency. Good stuff, bro. Yeah, scammers are worldwide, and they don't discriminate whether it's 1st, 2nd, or third world. I'm glad you came out unscathed, really and...great advice...always listen to your dog! ✌️ 🐕

We ate going to use local transport and the occasional taxi while we are down there for two months. Not sure how it will all work out but for sure will be interesting.

Really good video! One of a kind! Could you please discuss the topic of bringing furniture/any other big personal things from the US/ Canada to Mexico?

Good information Paul.

I planned on buying a new car next year. A 2025. Its 17k more if I buy it in Mexico 😮 im moving to playa in 2 yrs

Doesn't Baja Sur & Baja California Sur have completely different rules vs the rest of Mexico ???

1) So you suggest flying into Mexico, the new home, and then buying a Mexican plated car, then driving that Mexican-plated car back to the US or Canada, in order to get the "stuff" into Mexico? Doesn't sound like a super sufficient idea to me . . . Hence, those who want to drive a car in Mexico, usually start out with their foreign plated car, then, eventually, switching to a Mexican plated one. 2) All visas are "temporary" as a visa is a permission to ENTER a country for a specific purpose and duration. So the"temporary visa people" remark is just plain wrong. A temporary resident visa allows the visa holder to ENTER Mexico for the purpose to establish residency there. The visa is valid for up to 180 days and upon arrival at the border, the visa holder gets up to 30 days of authorized stay during which time they need to exchange their visa for the resident card at the local INM office. 3) Most visitors do not need a tourist visa ("visitor's visa, actually), as most visitors, especially those from Canada, the United States, and the European Union are authorized to visit Mexico visa free for up to 180 days. I'm saying this because you are mixing up terms in a dangerous way. All that said, a good video in its essence.

Any ideas of how to import a car from US car auction-i know a lot of mexicans buy cars and resell in mexico i wanna do the same

Hey Paul. Great video. Thanks for doing this. We are moving to PV to live permanently and have our Temp Res Visas all set to go. We are hoping to bring our 2013 Convertible VW Bug as it's the perfect car to have their for trips outside PV and/or Costco and such. Once we have our Temp Visas stamped at the border are we all set to go as long as we have title/registration and DLs? Also I'm confused. Once we've lived there a few years I was told our visas will convert to Permanent Res Visas, but it sounded like we then could NOT have our vehicle?? Is that the case, or does it just mean we have to pay the taxes to keep it there at that point. Thanks.

BIG WARNING***If you are in the wrong lane, when returning by car, into the U.S., You will be fined an enormous amount of money. Please do you own research into this. Read the destination signs carefully. If this has happened to you, please leave let others know.

Dont do it. Transit is plentiful.

How funny, we have a Volvo and was thinking about that. Great info Paul, thank you!