evafla
south california
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Joined: 10/04/2007
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Hello, and please help with information;
My husband and I have been in Mexico for 8 months now .
We hold FM3 visas, valid till July 2010 , we are planning to extend them .
We move around a lot in our small RV , pulling the car .
Our RV has 10 years permit, however California registration
will expire in December 2009 .
Our car has 1/2 year permit and registration valid till July 2010 .
Are we going to have problems with Mexican police when
registration of RV is going to be expired, but we are having our visas ?
We are not planning to go back to US for a good while,
however we know , we both will have to be there 3.5 years from now .
My husband the most likely will go back sooner, for little while,
maybe more than once, with the car only .
RV will stay for a few years in Mexico .
Can we do anything from Mexico about California´s registration in
order not to pay very high penalties, if we decide take motorhome
back for a while ?
How to deal with these problems ?
thanks for help
eva
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robatthelake
Vancouver Island
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Joined: 08/24/2003
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You May be able to obtain another Years California registration by Mail. I say May , as I don't know the requirements. It is certainly worth a phone call to the Ca DMV to find out.You may be required to return to Ca for an inspection.
We Often see vehicles driving around in Mexico with Expired Tags I believe that it is illegal to do so. You could face a stiff Fine and possibly have the vehicle(s)Impounded.
I would also suspect that none of the Vehicles have Insurance as I'm pretty sure Current registration is required to obtain insurance.
Rob & Jean
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trektracker
Ajijic, Jalisco MX
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Joined: 10/03/2007
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If you hold a valid FM3 visa, you can drive either vehicle with expired plates. You must maintain a valid drivers license.
Bob
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JUrban
Delaware
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Joined: 06/28/2004
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Contact your DMV. When I was in the Air Force, I carried NJ plates on my vehicles, my home state, and they required an in state inspection to register by mail. After questioning them, I got a letter from DMV to carry that waived that requirement until I was back in the state for 30 days.
I used that letter for 15 years. Contact your DMV and explain the situation. You may be better off doing it by mail so they actually know where you are and there is a written record of what transpires.
John
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moisheh
North America
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Joined: 05/04/2002
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trektracker:
Could you please provide a source for your information?? I know that thousands of expats do drive with expired plates but that does not make it legal.
Moisheh
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Turtle-Toad
Wherever I park (orig Kingston, WA. USA)
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Joined: 04/11/2004
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This was covered on an official Mexican website but I forgot which one. When I get a chance I'll check my links and find it again.
What it said was, as long as your migracion papers (FM-T, FM3, FM2) were valid, your US registration wase ok, even if it was expired. However, if you missed renewing your FM3 by even one day, you had to get new tabs.
Of course you can't renew a FM-T. But it does cover you if your registration runs out before it expires.
Either way, look out for the cops when you do cross back into the US 
Turtle & Toad, On the Road
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Garry P
Canada
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Joined: 04/20/2008
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There are in excess of a thousand vehicles with expired foreign tags in Ajijic. No one here has ever had a problem. And you can get Mexican insurance with expired tags.
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Bromley
Mexico
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Our plates are expired from Canada, but they are good in Mexico as long as our FM3's are current. Plate registration is a tax and the Mexico government doesn't care about that.
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Linda from Canada
Grand Marais,Manitoba,Canada & Zihuatanejo,Mexico
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Joined: 09/04/2004
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Our Canadian plates have expired. We have FM3's. We went to aduana at the airport here in Zihua and they issued us a certificate that says our vehicle is legal for the duration of the FM3. When we renue the FM3's, we need to return to the aduana for a new certificate. This certificate is not really necessary, but if we were to get stopped it is not a for sure that that particular cop would be familiar with this law, so the certificate means no hassles. The expired plates are not a Canadian problem for us since this vehicle will be staying in Mexico.
Now insurance is a different matter for us, since we come from Manitoba. Our insurance, plates, and registration are one thing- you can't have one without the other two. Mexico Bob is the only one that we have found that will insure our vehicle once the registration/insurance has expired. Other companies will say ok to expired plates & insurance, but once I explained that this also meant expired registration, they all backed away. We are going with this for now, but eventually will nationalize the vehicle.
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rbobbitt
San Jose del Cabo
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Joined: 06/01/2008
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I have a similar problem. I don't have ay plates, just a title. I bought my MOHO and drove it straight into Mx. Don't plan on taking it back, but I would like to nationalize it. Anyone know how to go about that and does it have to be less than 10 years old like cars and pickups.
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