"SP Cook" wrote in message
news:1121392227.300195.194820@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
>
>
> JJ wrote:
>> I am beginning to plan a car trip from Colorado to as far South in
>> South America as I can drive it and still sell it. I am seeking
>> information on the red tape issues that I will need to plan for like
>> border crossing issues, taxes, title work, insurance and so forth. If
>> you have done this homework already, please post.
>
>
> "as far south as you can still sell it" is Brownsville, Texas. Each
> Latin American nation has rules about temporary import of motor
> vehicles for tourist purposes, but no country will let you sell a US
> titled, US spec, motor car that you drove in w/o payment of prohibitive
> taxes.
This is not true. Many cars and school buses are legally imported for
sale in Mexico. I see it all the time. Caravans of small pickups headed to
Guadalajara are a common sight. They will have their import papers on the
windshield and they're being sold at a profit. Most commonly you'll see
groups of 8 to 20 vehicles. Generally a small pickup will be towing a second
vehicle, but I've seen school buses towing a second school bus, and some
used sedans are being imported. I talked to one man who was running 5 school
buses and a full size pickup from Chicago to Guadalajara that way. "They're
practically brand new" he told me of the school buses, "they're only nine
years old". You are confusing the temporary import permits used by tourists
with the legal process of paying a duty and permanently importing vehicles
the way dealers do it. There's nothing to prevent a private party of doing
this and selling their vehicle in Mexico. Procedures also exist for crossing
Mexico with a vehicle that you intend to sell further south.
TB
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