Used Cars to Mexico? Forgetaboutit!

Mexico is a lot tougher on imports that Canada is. They don’t allow the sale of imported used cars and limit the importation of cars for personal use. So, Mexicans are limited to buying used cars that are already in the country.

If someone is taking a car back to Mexico from the US, there are a number of hoops to jump through that make it problematic to bring a car in from el Norte.

First, the car has to be NAFTA-made. At least 62.5% of a car’s components have to be made in North America. So, if you had a BMW made in Germany, it’s stuck in the US.

Secondly, the car has to ten years old. Not nine or eleven, ten years on the nose. Anything else stays north of the border as well. If you happen to own a 2000 model car, you can bring it back. That means that 2000s are hot commodities near the Mexican border.

If you happen to have that precious 2000-model-year, NAFTA-built car, you then have to pay some cash to the federales. There is a 0.8% customs processing fee and a value-added tax of 10% for folks within 25 miles of the border and 15% for folks further south. While there’s no duty, there is an importation tax of 10% and a new car tax of between 50% and 100%.

Thus, unless you’re planning to move to Mexico and happen to have a car exactly ten years old, forgetaboutit.

Source: http://www.trade.gov/wcm/groups/internet/@trade/@mas/@man/@aai/documents/web_content/auto_reports_tradebarriers.pdf ://http://www.trade.gov/wcm/groups/int...debarriers.pdf