Why was Bob Fretting?

Check out our latest video on the Messy Suitcase YouTube channel -- Crossing The Border (a.k.a. Why was Bob fretting?) #messysuitcase #mexico #retirement 

Driving Our Car in Mexico, Part 2

Because it took us a few weeks to start our Visa processing, the first thing we did after our first trip to Immigration in Guadalajara was to go to the tax office to get our TIP expiration date extended. Unfortunately, no one at the Immigration office seemed to know what we were talking about, so we showed them the paper they gave us at the border. They directed us to a SAT (Servicio de Administracion Tributaria, or Tax) office in Guadalajara.

SAT #1: Guadalajara

We Ubered there an eventually found someone who spoke enough English, who told us we were at the wrong SAT office and that we needed to go to another one even farther away, in the far northeast neighborhood of Zapopan.

SAT #2: Zapopan

We went there, once again found someone who spoke English, who told us we were at the wrong office and that instead of SAT, we needed to go the Customs Office at the Guadalajara airport, south of the city. It was getting late so we decided that I would do that another day.

SAT #3: Guadalajara Airport

Two days later I made the trip to the Guadalajara Airport, not knowing exactly where I needed to go. As I Ubered into the airport I saw a big gate with a SAT sign, but continued on to a Customs Office address I had found online. No one there seemed to know what I was trying to do. I proceeded to walk to the SAT sign, and was shown to an office where they seemed to only be mildly confused as to what I was trying to do. There was no English spoken. Eventually, I filled out some forms I didn’t understand, gave them copies of my TIP and passport, and received a date-stamped form. I was expecting another official looking TIP, but I didn’t get that, so now we have the expired TIP and a stamped form with no expiration date.

I was told online that I needed to go back to the same office once we finally got our Residente Temporal cards, so I returned with the green card, expecting to get a more official document. The people at the office looked at me like I was crazy. They initially told me that I didn’t need anything new, but eventually had me fill out the same forms and gave me a new stamped form. Again, no expiration.

Crossed Fingers!

We can only hope that we’ll get our $400 deposit back when we cross back over the border into the United States with the truck this summer.

Driving Our Car in Mexico, Part 1

Since we were moving to Mexico with three people, three cats and three musical instruments, we wanted to take our Toyota Tacoma with us. Many people just hop on a plane with a couple of suitcases, but we needed more space. So before we left Colorado, we ordered a topper for the back of our 2012 Toyota Tacoma. When an accident totaled the truck, we replaced it with a newer model that still fit the topper.

The car and all the stuff.

Car Rules in Mexico

There are strict rules surrounding the importation of vehicles into Mexico. You’re OK if you only plan to take a vehicle within Mexico’s Free Zone (Baja peninsula, large parts of Sonora and up to 20-26 kilometers from the border). However, if you want to go further than that, you need to get a Temporary Import Permit(TIP). You can get this online or at the Banjercito at the border crossing.

Unfortunately, due to a long delay in getting a title from Colorado for the new truck, we didn’t have the title or registration when we left. We eventually got the title, but we needed to have some physical presence back in CO to get the registration document. So we changed plans. Since we were going to be spending time at one of our vacation homes in Ludlow, VT, before heading to Mexico, we decided to register the truck in Vermont, expecting to get the plates and registration on the spot. It didn’t happen that way. Vermont took our Colorado title away and told us that they would mail the new registration and title. Unfortunately for us, they entered an incorrect address into their system and these two documents ended up floating around the Postal System for a long time. So we were forced to drive to the Mexican border with a handwritten registration application from Vermont and hope for the best.

Turned Away at the Border

Alas, Mexican authorities wouldn’t let us enter with the truck without a permanent Vermont registration. We turned around and frantically called the Vermont DMV, trying to get a copy of the registration that had never arrived. After getting a couple of robotic bureaucrats who offered no assistance and told us they could not help, we were fortunate to reach a helpful woman who told us that our registration had been returned. She offered to FedEx a replacement to us that day. We therefore spent an additional two days in Laredo, Texas, navigating this paperwork before heading back to the Banjercito.

Trying Again

At the Banjercito, they remembered us and quickly processed our paperwork. The cost ended up being about $1,150 MX pesos (about $40 US) for the permit processing and another $7,800 MX pesos (about $400 US) for a deposit, which we should get back when we return the Temporary Import Permit (TIP) sticker upon crossing the border back into the U.S. We were told that our TIP was tied to our Immigration permit, so it expired in 30 days. This meant that we would have to get our TIP renewed when we got our Visas processed.

Bob putting the temporary sticker on the truck

We also had to get Mexican insurance for the truck, as American insurers don’t insure vehicles in Mexico. We got ours through Sanborn’s, and canceled our US car insurance.

To be continued ...

Crossing the Mexican Border

(A look back at the border crossing experience, or Why We Were Stuck in Laredo for Two Days)

I was a little concerned about crossing the Mexican border. I knew there were several things that needed to be done in order to successfully enter Mexico, and I wasn’t exactly sure how, or where, to do them. I was particularly worried that we didn’t have the documentation we would need for our relatively new car. Finally, I was concerned about how long the lines at the border, because we had nearly a 7-hour drive to our first stop, and we had been cautioned not to drive in Mexico after dark.

I had read that most Americans heading to the Guadalajara area from the eastern US used one of the Laredo, Texas, border crossings. Many used the somewhat out-of-the-way Colombia Bridge crossing, which doesn’t have as much traffic as some of the others. It is not a 24-hour crossing, so our plan was to get there when it opened at 8AM.

The First Attempt

We arrived at the border at 8:15 AM, paid $3.50 USD to cross the bridge and we were in Mexico – almost. I had found very little information on the layout of the border crossing, but I knew we needed to visit Immigration and the Banerjcito (the import office) so we could temporarily import our car, which is a requirement if you want to take your car past the "free zone" the first 20 km or so inside  Mexico. Therefore, I was ecstatic when I immediately saw the Banerjcito and an empty parking lot. 

Empty parking lot

 We took our paperwork and went directly to the window inside. I knew they needed the car registration and/or car title. What I was concerned about, though, was that we only had a temporary vehicle registration paper from Vermont.

Getting rejected at the window

Here's why: Our car was totaled in August and we had to get a new (used) vehicle less than a month before leaving Colorado. Our Colorado paperwork had not yet been processed by the time we left in September. In fact, the processing was so slow that we had to get the car dealership to send it to Lisa’s brother in Virginia, where we parked our car during our European trip, and it took so long that we needed an extension. We needed that paperwork so we could either fly back to Colorado to process it at DMV, or ask someone to perform the unenviable task of going to DMV for us.

Our second option was to register the car in Vermont, where we own a couple of vacation rental properties and where we were staying for a month. 

We decided to go the Vermont route for convenience sake, in early December. Unfortunately, only after they took my Colorado title did I find out that it would take them 4-6 weeks to process the paperwork and issue our car registration document. We had over 5 weeks, so I thought we were still in good shape. When it didn't arrive, I was concerned but was still hopeful that Mexico would accept our temporary registration. 

They didn’t!

Rejected at the Border: Now What?

We turned around, crossed the bridge back into the US and cleared US customs. We had been in Mexico, but not really. We left thinking we were at the mercy of the Vermont DMV, something you don’t want to be. We decided to take a chance and call, and learned that our registration had been sent to our Colorado mailing address, but the address they used didn’t include our box number, so it was returned, where it was just sitting in our file. It would have to be resent. Could it be emailed? We don't do that, said the man in the DMV office. FedExed? We don't do that, droned the man in the DMV office. 

So what could we do for the next week while we waited for the registration to be snail mailed to our Colorado address, processed by our traveling mailbox, and then mailed to us? And where would it be mailed to, anyway? We had checked out of our hotel and our truck doesn't have a mailbox.

Regrouping at McDonald's

We went back to Laredo and regrouped at a McDonald’s, sitting in a corner booth with coffee and a computer. connected to the free Wifi. Looking out the window, we noticed a UPS Store across the parking lot. We dashed over, had a chat with the counter worker, and found out we could use their address to accept a Fed Ex. Newly energized, we returned to McD's. While Lisa went online looking for a  pet-friendly place to stay for a couple nights, I pulled out a cellphone and called Vermont DMV again, this time determined to talk with a supervisor. 

Working in McD's on lodging and getting that registration

However, a kind woman named Diane Hedding answered and immediately offered to help us. All we needed to do was to send her a prepaid shipping label and she would personally take our registration to the mail center and Fed-Ex it to us. She gave us her personal email address, and then sent us a note when she dropped off the package. We found a Laredo Airbnb for the next couple nights and waited for our package to arrive.

The Second Attempt

At 10:30 AM on Saturday, Jan. 11, we had our registration in hand! 

Registration!

We moved out of the apartment, packed up cats and luggage, and headed to the border. After paying another $3.50 to cross the Colombia Bridge, we confidently walked up to the Banjercito window. Just one person was in front of us, and the woman at the counter remembered us! This time they told us we needed to go to Immigration first, as they needed our immigration form to process the import.

 

Bob filling out the paperwork

Lisa filling forms

Lexie, too

We went over to Immigration, again no line, filled out the forms, showed them our Mexican Temporary Resident visas in our passports, and were processed. The immigration form was the same one was had always gotten when flying into Mexico, but there were several boxes that needed to be properly checked. This was done and we were now on a 30-day clock to get into Mexico, get to an in-country immigration office and finish up our Temporary Resident visa requirements.

Back to the Banjercito, still no line, they processed our paperwork, took a $400 deposit, (which will be returned when we take the car out of the country), gave us a sticker for our car and allowed us to proceed.

Getting Through Customs

Next up was Customs. We knew, with our luck, we would get selected for a complete car search. And, true to form we were selected. They didn’t want to see the International Health Certificates we had for the cats, but they did question me several times regarding firearms, alcohol and cigarettes. Next, they looked at what we had in the car and decided to X-ray it, which was probably better than taking everything out. This required humans and cats to get out of the car. I drove the car over to the X-ray area, where I was escorted behind a barrier and a movable X-ray device transited the length of our car, scanning it thoroughly. 

I drove back to where Lisa, Lexie and the cats were waiting, and in a couple of minutes, they told us we were good to go. After strapping the cats back in and getting our bearings, we crossed the border! Then we were officially off and driving in Mexico toward Tlaquepaque. It had taken us one and a half hours at the border crossing. That process would have taken much, much longer during busy season, so I felt extremely lucky that we were finally on our way!

WELCOME TO MEXICO!

Crisis at the Border

Today we were supposed to enter Mexico. We didn't.

Blame the U-Haul Driver

It all goes back to a U-Haul truck that caused a horrendous car accident for Bob and Lexie last August. It merged into their car on a highway when they were going 65 MPH, Lexie took evasive action to prevent impact but hit a car beside her, and in a blink of the eye, our 2013 Toyota Tacoma truck was totaled. We got a replacement (2015) truck as quickly as we could but couldn't get it officially registered in Colorado before we left for our cross country trip in September. With a flight to Europe scheduled for Sept. 30, we had no wiggle room.

The border building

We actually got into Mexico but had to turn around and go back out

Bob before the denial, still hopeful

So when we got to Vermont after the Europe trip, we registered the truck there (since we own property in the state), but had limited time to receive the permanent registration and tag stickers, and they hadn't arrived by the time we had to set off for Mexico.

So we arrived at the Mexican border this morning hoping they would let us cross with the temporary paperwork, but despite our best efforts, and speaking with every single Mexican who worked there, it was a no go.

So what to do? We had a hotel and a house booked in Mexico and no way to get there.

Working on Plan B

We left the border dispirited, found a McDonald's with Wifi back in Laredo, bought an order of hash browns for Lexie to rent a corner booth, and called Vermont DMV, only to discover they had screwed up our mailing address (omitting the box number to save space) and the paperwork we desperately needed had been returned to their office. The automobile title was still in the mail to our mailbox in Colorado, but also going to an incomplete address.

Working out PLan B logistics in Mickey D's

We appealed to the young man on the phone to email a copy of the registration, but he said they "don't do that." We asked him to FedEx the registration to us in Laredo, but he said they "don't do that."

We started working on changing hotel dates (supposedly non-refundable) and trying to figure out where to sleep tonight. We saw a UPS Store across the parking lot and went in, asking if we could receive a Fed Ex there. The answer was yes! Bob got on the phone to DMV again, this time reaching a wonderful woman named Diane who was sympathetic to our plight and willing to go the extra miles to FedEx our paperwork from Montpelier to Texas, to arrive by 10 AM Thursday morning.

Finding Lodging

We thought about crossing the border on a temporary visa for a couple days and staying in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico -- where AirBnB rates are one-third the cost of the U.S. side -- but we were afraid we had too much stuff in our truck to clear customs successfully. We found an AirBnB two-bedroom rental in Laredo that allows pets and quickly booked it, then hung out over a long lunch killing time till we could get in.

Our rental for two nights

So that's where we are tonight -- hoping our paperwork truly arrives tomorrow, and then hoping the registration will be sufficient to get our vehicle into Mexico, since it could be a couple weeks before we get the title sorted. The other consideration is that we only have ten days since getting the cats' international health certificates to enter Mexico, and we only have three days left or we will have to find a new vet and pay for the process again!

Try, Try Again

If all goes well, we plan to try again on Friday to drive our vehicle into Mexico.

We'll keep you posted!