Anyone ever bought a vehicle or something big from Mexico and brought it back?

[KactusKiller]

Anyone ever bought a car or something big from an individual seller and brought it across the border? How does that even work as far as title and taxes bill of sale etc?
Doubt I follow thru with it but made me curious.

[Antlers86]

I’ve heard it’s easier to buy here and take there than it is to buy from Mexico and bring to the US. Something about their emission regs are illegal here or something. I’ll ask a guy that works for me tomorrow. We recently had this conversation last week and he mentioned that. They are a lot cheaper in Mexico!

[KactusKiller]

It would be an older vehicle and would not be subject to emissions tests in Texas. Just curious on the ownership sales paperwork, taxes etc.

[PYBUCK]

Check the VIN if it still has one and see if it was ever reported stolen Probably came from the US several years ago

[RifleBowPistol]

Check the VIN if it still has one and see if it was ever reported stolen Probably came from the US several years ago

Definitely a possibility.

[donpablo]

I’ve heard it’s easier to buy here and take there than it is to buy from Mexico and bring to the US. Something about their emission regs are illegal here or something. I’ll ask a guy that works for me tomorrow. We recently had this conversation last week and he mentioned that. They are a lot cheaper in Mexico!

My dad recently bought a new vehicle in Mexico but he said something similar about emissions or something. Somehow he was able to register it in Mexico and has Mexican plates. I assume this is because he has dual citizenship.

[KactusKiller]

Check the VIN if it still has one and see if it was ever reported stolen Probably came from the US several years ago

I actually thought about that already, I asked for a vin number picture and picture of a title/ownership doc

[RifleBowPistol]

My suggestions would be, don't go across the border to do the deal, period for no reason. Then what area of Mexico?

Then if you decide you want to try and buy the vehicle, get the VIN, search it very thoroughly here in the US. See if it was ever registered here, then try and find out when it left the US, if it is from the US, find out why it left the US. Was it a wreck total, theft, ECT. Then understand that down there swapping VINs is common and not a big deal down there, piecing together multiple wrecked vehicles and making one is also common. Doing both mechanical and body repairs that would not be acceptable here, are done down there all the time.

I would want that vehicle to drive over hear and then spend hours inspecting it, with someone who knows paint and body very well, seen a lot of cars, that have been spliced together. Then someone with very good mechanical skills to look it over, thoroughly.

Again, do not go into Mexico with money for any reason, you may not come home. I used to work for an insurance company, the company I worked for, at one time got a random call about a car that belonged to one of our insured that had been stolen. The car was written off and the owner paid for the car. Over a year later, the insurance company got a call from Mexico, the person calling, claimed to have the car. They wanted us to bring money to Mexico to get the car back. Some of the girls in the main office were from that area of Mexico. They found out about the deal, got all the info and said it was a set up. They were going to send me down there with the money to get the car. The deal got called off.

To give you an idea of how little they care about stolen cars down there. One of the multiple occasions I had to go to Mexico to look at a car, that had been involved in a wreck. I spent most of two days in the Piedras Negras Police department. Their system for storing records is a joke beyond belief. There is no order, rhyme or reason, in how they store records in their system. After a day and a half, we finally found the correct accident records. Then I got addresses for the Mexican residents that were involved, I had to go to their house and talk to them. All this took three trips down there and about three days.

But after all that, I got accident photos and records, drawings of how the accident occurred. When I finally got back to the office. I was looking through the accident pictures and noticed that the Piedras Negras police cars had, Texas plates on two of them, then plates from some other state on another. I was only able to read one of the plates clearly. I checked to see what the history was on that plate number. Turns out it was stolen out of Marble Falls.

It is possible to find honest people down there, and there are some very interesting cars down there. But dealing with someone you don't know, can be very dangerous, more so, if you travel to a border city like Laredo, El Paso or Brownsville, to do the deal and potentially much worse across the border. If you happen to be dealing with the wrong people, even in those Texas towns it could still be a set up, where you could wind up getting robbed or dead. Yes, you could get robbed anywhere, but those areas are higher possibilities of you having problems. If the money involve is not that great, the risk is lower, but if there is enough money involved, you need to be careful.

[KactusKiller]

My suggestions would be, don't go across the border to do the deal, period for no reason. Then what area of Mexico?

Then if you decide you want to try and buy the vehicle, get the VIN, search it very thoroughly here in the US. See if it was ever registered here, then try and find out when it left the US, if it is from the US, find out why it left the US. Was it a wreck total, theft, ECT. Then understand that down there swapping VINs is common and not a big deal down there, piecing together multiple wrecked vehicles and making one is also common. Doing both mechanical and body repairs that would not be acceptable here, are done down there all the time.

I would want that vehicle to drive over hear and then spend hours inspecting it, with someone who knows paint and body very well, seen a lot of cars, that have been spliced together. Then someone with very good mechanical skills to look it over, thoroughly.

Again, do not go into Mexico with money for any reason, you may not come home. I used to work for an insurance company, the company I worked for, at one time got a random call about a car that belonged to one of our insured that had been stolen. The car was written off and the owner paid for the car. Over a year later, the insurance company got a call from Mexico, the person calling, claimed to have the car. They wanted us to bring money to Mexico to get the car back. Some of the girls in the main office were from that area of Mexico. They found out about the deal, got all the info and said it was a set up. They were going to send me down there with the money to get the car. The deal got called off.

To give you an idea of how little they care about stolen cars down there. One of the multiple occasions I had to go to Mexico to look at a car, that had been involved in a wreck. I spent most of two days in the Piedras Negras Police department. Their system for storing records is a joke beyond belief. There is no order, rhyme or reason, in how they store records in their system. After a day and a half, we finally found the correct accident records. Then I got addresses for the Mexican residents that were involved, I had to go to their house and talk to them. All this took three trips down there and about three days.

But after all that, I got accident photos and records, drawings of how the accident occurred. When I finally got back to the office. I was looking through the accident pictures and noticed that the Piedras Negras police cars had, Texas plates on two of them, then plates from some other state on another. I was only able to read one of the plates clearly. I checked to see what the history was on that plate number. Turns out it was stolen out of Marble Falls.

It is possible to find honest people down there, and there are some very interesting cars down there. But dealing with someone you don't know, can be very dangerous, more so, if you travel to a border city like Laredo, El Paso or Brownsville, to do the deal and potentially much worse across the border. If you happen to be dealing with the wrong people, even in those Texas towns it could still be a set up, where you could wind up getting robbed or dead. Yes, you could get robbed anywhere, but those areas are higher possibilities of you having problems. If the money involve is not that great, the risk is lower, but if there is enough money involved, you need to be careful.

For sure, thanks for the info, I seriously doubt I’ll follow thru on it but when it popped up I got curious. Also I have several employees with dual citizenship that make the trip often. I wouldn’t even think about going across the border, no matter what.
More curiosity than anything.

[Farmdog]

I bought a new JD 4440 tractor from Mex for 20k when I was a kid and ran it for 30 years, different fuel filters. 6 or 7 identical tractors crossed by Liborio Hinojosa, I regretted not buying more. Libo passed away last week, a RGV legendary businessman and owner of H&H Meats. I don’t think they are even having a funeral, he is on my mind, sorry