One lakeside business seems to have found a way to bypass the problems that have plagued other firms and individuals that have tried to help expats nationalize their foreign-plated vehicles.
“We now have five cars circulating with Jalisco plates,” said Karen Herrtwich of S&S Auto. “The process has gone smoothly.”
Herrtwich says she has eight more pedimentos (importation permits) in the pipeline and is making validation and verification appointments for the cars and their owners.
After an unscrupulous broker in Guadalajara deceived some lakeside businesses, S&S Auto took it upon themselves to find a trustworthy intermediary to help the many foreigners who have been forced to change their immigration status to “permanent” – a category that excludes them from driving foreign-plated vehicles.
“I have absolute confidence in our broker,” Herrtwich said.
Herrtwich says the importation process is not impossible for foreigners do to on their own but reckons it would be daunting for those without any language skills or some prior knowledge of the administrative procedures relating to vehicles registered in Jalisco.According to Herrtwich, once a pedimento for a permanent import permit for a foreign-plated vehicle has been issued, the owner may drive the vehicle legally for 30 days. Appointments for documentation validation and vehicle verification can then be made for either of two verification centers in metro area Guadalajara (in Tonala and Tesistan).
But before the vehicle is taken to the centers, the owner will need to obtain an emissions test sticker for the vehicle at one of many certified garages in the state (there are three in the Chapala municipality). And before the pedimento is issued, insurers or brokers should be notified that the car will soon be Mexicanized, so the appropriate policy can be issued.
Lakeside residents should set aside an entire day for the verification procedure. “An early start is essential,” Herrtwich noted.
The upside is that the verification process is carried out in one place, and by the end of the day the owners can drive away fully nationalized cars, with legal Jalisco plates, and have all the correct ancillary paperwork in their hands.
They will need to take sufficient funds to pay for the state registration documents, plates, hologram and, possibly, a transfer tax.
The entire process should take less than a month, said Herrtwich, adding that currently she can only handle a certain number of vehicles at as time for logistical reasons.