New Owner From Mexico

[TJMexico]

I live in northwest Mexico, state of Sonora, south of Arizona. I'm a resident expat from the US. At 61 y/o, I have lived over 1/3 of my life here in Mexico, and another 10 years in Central Asia.

I just bought my first US produced Jeep, a 2005 TJ with a 4.0l I6 and an automatic transmission. Just about to turn over 100,000 miles. She has a 3" life and is running 31x10.50s on stock 15" rims.

I have owned a few 4wd vehicles. I said "US produced Jeep" because I owned two different Russian UAZ Model 469s (Russian military Jeep) when I lived in Central Asia for 10 years. Those vehicles were unbelievable. The build quality wasn't perfect. They would break down now and then, but there were easy as hell to fix and parts were literally available anywhere. It took about 15 minutes to swap out a water pump without needing to pull the radiator! They had a hand crank to start them if the battery went dead. In the winter, we had to put a gasoline torch under the oil pan in the morning to loosen up the oil so they'd start.

I really loved those Russian jeeps.

Now, I have my first US jeep, the above mentioned. I have some stuff to learn and probably to un-learn. I'll have some questions in the next few days, a few probably newbie ones. I'll search the fourm first, then post if I can't find any answers.

Here's a pic of my new buggy...

 

[L J]

welcome to the forum and congrats on your TJ

 

[Mr. Bills]

Welcome from San Miguel de Allende, GTO.

 

[rasband]

Congrats, welcome! You definitely won't need any torches under a TJ in Mexico!

 

[TJMexico]

Welcome from San Miguel de Allende, GTO.

Glad to see another Mexican here. Well, I'm not technically Mexican, but I've spend over 1/3 of my life here, so I feel more Mexican than estadounidense.

How long have you been in Mexico? Or are you from here? Is your Jeep national or imported, or are you on a temporary permission? Just curious.

Mine was originally purchased from a Mexican dealership (been through several hands since then), but was built in the US. I tried real hard to find one originally purchased in-country. Sometimes the importation process can be dodgy and Mexican friends advised against buy one that had been imported.

 

[Mr. Bills]

Glad to see another Mexican here. Well, I'm not technically Mexican, but I've spend over 1/3 of my life here, so I feel more Mexican than estadounidense.

How long have you been in Mexico? Or are you from here? Is your Jeep national or imported, or are you on a temporary permission? Just curious.

Expat, in Mexico 4 years. I have a 2006 LJ Rubicon still in Northern California. I’m deciding whether to garage it at a vacation home in Baja California or sell it and buy a new Suzuki Jimny 5-door.

 

[TJMexico]

Expat, in Mexico 4 years. I have a 2006 LJ Rubicon still in Northern California. I’m deciding whether to garage it at a vacation home in Baja California or sell it and buy a new Suzuki Jimny 5-door.

You probably know, but if you have permanent residency (I do), you are not supposed to have a US registered vehicle in country, though I know several people up in San Carlos (within the zone where US vehicles can circulate without permits) who are permanent but have US vehicles and have not had issues. Once you get out of that zone, however, it's another story.

There are fairly new laws making the importation of US vehicles easier, but the process is only available to Mexican citizens. I was told that if a Mexican imports a vehicle, he can then "sell" (or even gift) it to a resident. If you are not aware of that, you may want to look into it.

 

[DavidBT]

Welcome from your neighbor North of the border in Cochise County.

 

[tm dean]

Welcome to the wrangler tj forum. Great to have you on board. Congratulations on the tj.

 

[Mr. Bills]

You probably know, but if you have permanent residency (I do), you are not supposed to have a US registered vehicle in country, though I know several people up in San Carlos (within the zone where US vehicles can circulate without permits) who are permanent but have US vehicles and have not had issues. Once you get out of that zone, however, it's another story.

There are fairly new laws making the importation of US vehicles easier, but the process is only available to Mexican citizens. I was told that if a Mexican imports a vehicle, he can then "sell" (or even gift) it to a resident. If you are not aware of that, you may want to look into it.

Residentes Permanente cannot obtain Temporary Import Permits (TIP) for U.S. plated cars, which is required everywhere in Mexico except the state of Quintana Roo, the northern portion of Sonora, and all of the Baja Peninsula. Permanentes can drive U.S. plated cars in the TIP free zones. Since my LJ would be garaged in Baja, which is in the TIP free zone, there is no problem.

Personally, I wouldn't try to import a U.S. or Canadian car into Mexico unless it is something special that I can't bear to part with. In the long run it is easier and less expensive for an expat to buy a Mexican plated car. One advantage of a Mexican plated car for me as resident of Mexico and a U.S. citizen is that I can drive it into the U.S. for up to a year without any paperwork, and since it is unlikely that I will stay in the U.S. for more than 365 days at any one time, that means no U.S. customs or state DMV paperwork ever.

 

[OHFIVETJ]

Welcome to the group from the Island of Long, My name is Johnny & i'm a JEEPAHOLIC

 

[TJMexico]

Welcome to the group from the Island of Long, My name is Johnny & i'm a JEEPAHOLIC

I'm beginning to think that there should be a corresponding entry in the DSM for this!