Another Driving Trip to the States- 13 Years and Counting

Sharry and Bill Hickey

By: Sharry and Bill Hickey
(Bill is 80; Sharry is younger)

Another trip to the States. We have been driving up to either Texas or California every year since 2001, so we are fairly well versed with the trip. We had a California plated vehicle and were quite stressed about what to do for many months. Mike and Sara have been a source of solid information, as solid as you can get here in Mexico. With all of the changes this year and our new Permanente status, we obtained the Safe Passage Permit from the SAT office. Others have outlined the procedure, so I will not repeat it. It is fairly easy and took two days. I got it a couple of days before we planned to leave. The lady who gave it to me was explicit that it be turned in at the border and she read the page about that our car could not be confiscated, etc. to me. With our letter under the floor mat, we left early September 1st for Texas. We like to leave on a Sunday, as it seems the traffic is lighter and it is easier to get through Guadalajara. I do the driving and Bill navigates and helps watch for the signs.

We always stop in Matahuala and stay at the Las Palmas hotel. A safe, moderate, clean hotel with a restaurant. I do think they charge too much and I usually can shave off a few pesos, but it is easy access to the toll road. We like to leave by 6:00 am (no breakfast) even though it is dark, but the road is good although there are lots of trucks and often there is fog. In about two hours there is a travel Pemex stop with restaurants. The toll roads are worth the $100 USD tolls.

We had a funny experience with the Federal Police. There was the normal occasional stop where they just wave you on. We drive a Nissan Armada SUV. A couple of miles after being waved on, two Federal police with sirens and lights came up behind us. I was not alarmed, as I wasn’t speeding, etc. I pulled over when it was safe and in the meantime another federal police car came up to block us. We were ready with the “safe” letter. The young officer came up to the driver side, he didn’t say a thing, just nodded, took one look at us, two old people driving a big car and waved us on. He gave his buddies a disappointed look that we were nobodies. I believe it was a case of mistaken identities. Sometimes, it pays to be old.

We cross at Columbia, never Laredo. The temporary import sticker was removed and we were given the receipt. We then went into the Immigration office to show our Visa and to turn in the “safe” letter. Well, I couldn’t give it away. A pleasant man in the customs office finally agreed to copy it to keep and sign my original. Oh well, I was glad that we had it. On across the border and on our two month journey around the States visiting family and friends.

The months before we left PV, we had spoken with Oscar Angulo who is in Nogales about legalizing our Nissan. We didn’t know whether to sell it in the States, buy a Mexican car or???I love this big car and hope to have more years of driving to the States and it only had 60,000 miles. After deliberation, we decided to bring her home to PV coming back through Nogales to work with Oscar.

Oscar is the greatest guy to work with. I scanned and sent all the required documents to him, so he was all set when we wanted to meet him. Our big day was October 25th. We had driven from Colorado and after visiting a friend in Phoenix, we were ready. We were to meet Oscar at McDonalds in Nogales AZ. Now our kids were not too thrilled about the aspect of us meeting a guy at McDonalds with cash money, our car and stuff, but they are fairly accustomed to us and our adventures by now. I had spoken with Sara and Mike and heard of the experiences of others, plus the excellent article that Bill Regan and Norm and Peg Winkler, www.expatsinvallarta.com wrote about their recent experiences.

We were to meet him at noon and he was almost on time. He is very gracious and really gets things done. We had heard that it would be necessary to unload our car before the inspection. Now, the way I shop and pack, that was a problem. I had scaled down somewhat and Oscar assured me that he had fellows to help unload and reload and that we could put our stuff in his office, which is what we did.

We and another couple followed him across the border at the truck crossing and on to his office. Along the way were people who were either trying to do this on their own or had people helping them who did not have an office, because there they were with their stuff sitting along the road in the heat. Oscar’s office was humming with several other people who were just finished with the paperwork or ready to go like us. I went with Oscar in my car and we went through a check point, where he got papers and then on to have the car photographed and checked. We were done in less than two hours and ready to reload. In the meantime, I had found that my insurance through Lewis and Lewis was not good now that the car was legalized, even though it still had California plates. Oscar called his Qualitas agent in Nogales, got me a quote and then took me to the office as we were leaving town. That was above and beyond, as far as I am concerned. I had been told it would be much more expensive for insurance with a Mexican car, but the cost was less than I had paid with Lewis and Lewis.

Oscar had quoted me the import amount several months before and he didn’t change it – $1030.00 USD, more than fair for all that he did. I can heartily recommend Oscar. He is professional, pleasant, and easy to work with.

We had met a couple from Manitoba who live in La Cruz who were also working with Oscar. We decided to caravan. Now, that is something I might not do, but these folks were great and seasoned road warriors like us. It was very reassuring to see them in front of us and we had good visits at dinner. As it was 4:00 by the time we were ready to leave Nogales, we drove about 1 1/2 hours to Santa Ana. Oscar had recommended the Elba hotel and restaurant. It was perfect and easy to find. The roads were fairly difficult with lots of construction and potholes from the rains. We were traveling on a weekend, so that might have helped with not so many workers. The next day, we had hoped to make Matzatlan, but we realized that was too ambitious and it would have been dark. We stopped in Culican, not my favorite city, but it was fine. After a bit of driving we found a really nice, fairly new hotel, The City Express. Gated parking, nice rooms and the reception by the manager was warm and helpful. We had a drink and since it was late and we didn’t want to leave the hotel property and walk about; we had room service. Perfect! Breakfast was included, so we were set. There were a number of young people on a swim team with their coaches and parents in the hotel. We enjoyed visiting with some of the parents.

Sunday morning and we were on the home stretch. It was a mess getting through Mazatlan, oh well! Our traveling buddies thought it would be good to go through San Blas instead of the mountain road. A mistake this time of year. The roads were more than horrible with potholes big enough to loose your car in. We made it and were home by 6:00 ready for a margarita and the sunset counting our blessings for travel protection.

Armed with our legal documents and info from Sara and Mike about what we would need to take to the license office in the new government building in Fluvial. First it was necessary to get an emissions certificate. A friend helped me find an authorized place and it cost $350 pesos. On October 30th at 9:00 I went to Lines 9 or 10 at the government building where the documents were examined, shuffled, sorted. After paying a fee of $350 pesos, I was given a telephone number to call the following Monday. This first step took only about 30 minutes. I called on Monday and was told to call on Thursday. The papers go to Mexico City, so one does not quite know long it will take. After a few more days and a couple of calls, I was able to go back to the office with all my paperwork, copies and originals. After purchasing the yellow envelope where copies are made, I went to lines 9 or 10. The papers were again examined, shuffled, sorted and some were put into the important yellow envelope which was then securely sealed, stapled and taped. Sara and Mike had told me about this. Do not open it! I was given the date of November 20th for the car inspection. There have been other articles about arriving early and the procedure. I was somewhat anxious about this. There is a large fenced parking lot just past the government building. I was told to arrive early and that it would be a long day. We arrived at 6:15 am and were #5 of ultimately 49 cars. I checked with the man in front of me and was assured that I was in the right place. He was very pleasant and explained what would happen. At about 7:15 the gate was opened and we entered the lot in order and were told where to park. At 8:30 the envelope was opened by the inspector and the VIN number checked. They took the yellow envelope. Documents were once again inspected, shuffled and sorted. Now I had heard that all cars would have to be inspected before anyone could leave. I was pleasantly surprised when the envelopes were returned in numerical order and we were allowed to go to the office and line up in order. Whew! We were glad that we had arrived early, as our wait was brief. All of the documents were again inspected, shuffled and sorted. The fee was $2060 pesos and we were rewarded with our Jalisco plates! They did not ask for the California plates. We were home by 10:00 eating our breakfast and cheering that we had survived yet another adventure in paradise.