what to do with car?

[iagarcia2004]

Ok.....so my plan for our 1st appointment in April is to drive to CDJ because we are just too nervous to take a chance with the airports......but......I don't really want to take my car across the border into Mexico. Is there anywhere in El Paso where we could leave the car and then pick it up later? After our first appointment we have over a month until our waiver appointment. We are going to visit his family in Central Mexico. I was just going to have us fly to Toluca from CDJ rather than drive all the way there. Do you think I could leave the car at the airport in El Paso and catch a cab from there to the hotel? Do you think it would be safer to leave the car at the El Paso airport rather than the CDJ airport? What do you think?

[Salsa2]

I think El Paso airport would be safest. Check with the airport parking companies. They may be able to give you a deal for a month. It may be cheaper than leaving it in the official airport parking lot. In Denver we have USAirport Parking. There's a huge, secure lot and then shuttle you to the airport.

The El Paso airport website should give you the details on the official airport lot and lots run by outside companies.

Maybe a local El Paso member can help with this. There could be a parking garage in the city where you could leave the car for a month.

You could also call the taxi guy - Alfredo Delgado. He is very friendly and may have ideas of a reasonably priced, safe place to leave your car. He would be glad to pick you up there and take you to your CDJ hotel!

[IBMMuseum]

I think El Paso airport would be safest. Check with the airport parking companies. They may be able to give you a deal for a month. It may be cheaper than leaving it in the official airport parking lot...

The El Paso airport website should give you the details on the official airport lot and lots run by outside companies.

Maybe a local El Paso member can help with this. There could be a parking garage in the city where you could leave the car for a month...

Although I have left my cars in the El Paso (International) Airport for as long as two weeks (my Annual Training for the military) before, more recently I would use the long-term parking at the Convention Center since it was closer to the border and the bus line I would use. The rates are better, the car is out of the weather (indoor parking), and security is better. Here is the website:

http://www.elpasocvb.com

I'm not exactly in El Paso, but about a two & a half hour drive away. Any way I can be of help (layout of El Paso/Juarez, facilities, travel in northern Mexico), let me know. A more detailed travel plan would tell me how I can best be of assistance.

[Brisa6]

Why don't you want to drive to Juarez? It is so convenient to have your own transportation and the consulate is not far from the bridge. You can leave your car at my house if you like, let me know.

[Sabrina022203]

where are you flying from?

[iagarcia2004]

I don't want to take my car into Mexico because you hear of cars being stolen there all the time. My insurance isn't good in Mexico and the car isn't paid off. I would probably do it but with us flying to Toluca to visit my husbands family I don't want it sitting in Mexico during that time. I feel it would be safer in the US. Though I do realize things can happen to it in the US also.

Here is the plan.

Drive to El Paso arriving 4-10 and take a cab across the border. We are staying at Los Cedros.

Medical on 4-11
1st appointment on 4-14
Fly to Toluca on 4-15 to visit family
Me and the Kids will fly back to CDJ on 5-2 and drive the car back to Ohio. A friend is going to meet us there to drive with us. I have to come back because I have to have Gall Bladder surgery before my maternity leave is up the end of May. (one of my sons may stay with my husband but the baby will come back with me)
Fly back to El Paso for the waiver appointment on 5-20 (appointment on 5-21.) Husband from Toluca, Me and Kids from Ohio.

Hopefully waiver is approved and we can all fly home together. If not then husband goes back to Toluca.

[IBMMuseum]

I don't want to take my car into Mexico because you hear of cars being stolen there all the time. My insurance isn't good in Mexico and the car isn't paid off. I would probably do it but with us flying to Toluca to visit my husbands family I don't want it sitting in Mexico during that time. I feel it would be safer in the US. Though I do realize things can happen to it in the US also.

Here is the plan.

Drive to El Paso arriving 4-10 and take a cab across the border. We are staying at Los Cedros.

Medical on 4-11
1st appointment on 4-14
Fly to Toluca on 4-15 to visit family
Me and the Kids will fly back to CDJ on 5-2 and drive the car back to Ohio. A friend is going to meet us there to drive with us. I have to come back because I have to have Gall Bladder surgery before my maternity leave is up the end of May. (one of my sons may stay with my husband but the baby will come back with me)
Fly back to El Paso for the waiver appointment on 5-20 (appointment on 5-21.) Husband from Toluca, Me and Kids from Ohio.

Hopefully waiver is approved and we can all fly home together. If not then husband goes back to Toluca.

Wow, about 40 days for the car sitting in El Paso? For the rates I remember (although it has been some time), it was like $6 daily for the Convention Center, $9 for the airport (I think that was long-term rates). Better to find someone in El Paso (I also have family there) with that kind of expense.

[MamaIsa03]

hm only left urself that same day for his appt?in alot of cases your gunna have to come back the next day and hell be gone all day once again...unless of course your case is easier then others and is really early in the morning..but ya i left myself a few days jus to be safe

[iagarcia2004]

hm only left urself that same day for his appt?in alot of cases your gunna have to come back the next day and hell be gone all day once again...unless of course your case is easier then others and is really early in the morning..but ya i left myself a few days jus to be safe

Are you talking the first appointment? I didn't realize that sometimes they went back the next day? I thought that only seemed to happen with the waiver appointment. I haven't bought my husband a ticket anywhere after the waiver appointment because I don't know for sure if he will be approved or not. I'm thinking we would fly out on Friday (at least me and the kids) just to be safe. My husband would get a ticket when we know if he is approved or not.

[iagarcia2004]

Wow, about 40 days for the car sitting in El Paso? For the rates I remember (although it has been some time), it was like $6 daily for the Convention Center, $9 for the airport (I think that was long-term rates). Better to find someone in El Paso (I also have family there) with that kind of expense.

It's actually only 23 days. The kids and I are flying back to El Paso on the 2nd of May to drive the car back. (my mom is going to fly down to meet us and drive back with me) I have to be in Ohio for surgery. When we come back for the waiver appointment we will just fly since we no longer need to worry about security at the airports (since my husband will already be in Mexico)

[MamaIsa03]

Yeah the 1st appointment is carried over till the next day alot of times..my husband was as well as 5-10 other men that were there..It happens.has he had a medical exam done in CDJ?You are going to have to have that to,and you have to be there a few days before your interview as well..because you do that and then you go back the next day to get results and my husband and some others were given new consulate appts to send in all paperwork and then had to come back there orignal interview day as well...it's quite a process in alot of cases!

[MamaIsa03]

The waiver appointment is carried over the next day alot of times as well thank god his was on the 25th and i made the plane ticket back home(assuming we would be accepted) the 28th..cuz he had to go bac kthe 26th to get his packet ..Worked out well ha

[iagarcia2004]

We are planing on doing his medical appointment on Fri the 11th. So hopefully that is enough time. A lot of people have said that they are able to get their results the same day...at like 3pm. Hopefully that is the case for us too.

Thanks for the info!

[iagarcia2004]

FYI I just checked out the El Paso airport website and the Long term parking rates are $22.50 per week! That's better than $9 a day! whew!

[nineten]

That's exactly what I'd been thinking about in the respect if we take 2 vehicles to Mexico. "If" I end up actually having to be present in both (hopefully we can be bumper to bumper, heard we could with titles in both names) then we take one over since it's in his name and mine (he's going to register it); the other is older than a '98 so I'd have to leave it somewhere and then come back across border taking taxi to wherever I leave the other truck in El Paso, cross border with it by myself (husband can't return) and get a 'permit.'


Does anybody know if there's any parking anywhere near/at the border so that I can park one truck, take the other over, and come back and get the other one? I hate to have to go all the way to the airport to get it and drive it over.

[nineten]

I was told that around Laredo it's easy to get anything done there. Crooked.

[IBMMuseum]

I was told that around Laredo it's easy to get anything done there. Crooked.

I wouldn't say "Crooked" (because sometimes there isn't money or favors involved), just that the personnel at most of the locations can be talked to...

When I tried to get my latest FMT I made the mistake of turning in the old one immediately before. The staff is under the contraint that they are not to issue another FMT until the following day at the very minimum. It was 6 PM, and initially he wanted us to wait around Juarez before coming back right at midnight. A few minutes of sweettalking got him to issue another FMT.

...Does anybody know if there's any parking anywhere near/at the border so that I can park one truck, take the other over, and come back and get the other one? I hate to have to go all the way to the airport to get it and drive it over.

At every crossing point there is some sort of short-term parking on the U.S. side. I'm most familiar with the Stanton crossing in downtown El Paso, a few miles west of the Cordova Bridge (and the Consulate area). Where are you ferrying the vehicles to on the Mexican side?

[nineten]

What's FMT?

We'd be heading for Mexico City. In Gen. Discussions we have a thread going about the permits, registrations, etc. I've been told point blank that it's better to enter around Laredo.

We're still searching for exact info from Export Brokers which I'll be getting phone numbers on Monday when I call El Paso consulate.

We want to get both vehicles, a '98 and an older '88 pickup trucks, over to Mexico City.

Too much different info on being in the car. I'm told once that if we are in line (behind each other, bumper to bumper) then the titles we have will cover us both to cross over with both trucks.

If it ends up that the '98 gets across because I'd have to be in it, then I'd have to park the '88, walk back over border and get it and then enter with it asking for a permit for it. (We want to get it registered though.)

Only the '98 can get later get registered in Mexico City but not the '88.

My attempt is going to be to find a loophole to get this '88 over and not on a permit basis. (I was told that is 3 months, 3 months out or to the border, and then 3 more months within the year!)

There is a law called "A3" that I'm going to check into.

I'll be posting the latest info I have pretty soon in that thread.

[IBMMuseum]

What's FMT?

An FMT is a travel document for non-Mexican citizens to travel to the interior of Mexico. You can get them at the border or the inland inspection stations if travelling by car (by plane they are provided on the flight). There is a number of threads on this forum with information on the FMTs.

We'd be heading for Mexico City. In Gen. Discussions we have a thread going about the permits, registrations, etc. I've been told point blank that it's better to enter around Laredo.

We're still searching for exact info from Export Brokers which I'll be getting phone numbers on Monday when I call El Paso consulate.

We want to get both vehicles, a '98 and an older '88 pickup trucks, over to Mexico City.

Too much different info on being in the car. I'm told once that if we are in line (behind each other, bumper to bumper) then the titles we have will cover us both to cross over with both trucks.

If it ends up that the '98 gets across because I'd have to be in it, then I'd have to park the '88, walk back over border and get it and then enter with it asking for a permit for it. (We want to get it registered though.)

Only the '98 can get later get registered in Mexico City but not the '88.

My attempt is going to be to find a loophole to get this '88 over and not on a permit basis. (I was told that is 3 months, 3 months out or to the border, and then 3 more months within the year!)

There is a law called "A3" that I'm going to check into.

I'll be posting the latest info I have pretty soon in that thread.

The vehicle are only screened at those inspection stations before entering the interior of Mexico (I'm only familiar with the one south of Juarez), not at the border crossing itself. You would be allowed to get a permit for the 1988 for travel into Mexico, then back out (like a tourist would do, not leaving the vehicle in Mexico). But then again I am just familiar with the temporary import process.

[nineten]

Yes, you're right about the permit. We're trying to find a way to work around it that's why I mentioned the A3 law that has a 'loophole' in it but I was only told about it and have no new info yet. If one can get that documentation, I was told that you can go straight through with no problem and get it registered. I was told that some don't like it but it's the same as our driver license rules, the states website has information for that is general, and then like Florida, you find out that there's info that's not on the website and approved I-797's can get a one-year license. So I'm anxious to find out about this A3 thing. Our '88 truck has only 64ish thousand miles on it, it was originally from a university in NC and it's a good truck and we placed a big, older topper on it and we want to load it up like the Beverly Hillbillies and take a lot of stuff there in it and let hubby keep it as a second vehicle in the event his '98 has any future mechanical problems.

He's hounding me to sell it and buy another '98 truck but I'm waiting until I get more info or can talk him into only registering (and being satisfied) with the other '98 truck.

The '98 Nissan will have a small pull-behind enclosed trailer on it. That's not going to count as two vehicles is it?

There was a website, planet earth or something where the guys were talking about the new law on the '98s and about their motorcycles or something and trailers and I didn't keep the link. I'll search for it later.

IBMuseum What's the deal on how long you can stay on the permit? If a tourist wants to go for six months then why am I told that the vehicle on permit can only be for 3 months, return to border or wherever for another three months and then come back for your other three months but only within one year, six months out of one year? Then another man tells me from the consulate that it's 180 days out of one year? That sounds the same but a tourist doens't want to me in central or southern Mexico and have to return northward because of some 3 month restricted permit.

I don't get it!

[IBMMuseum]

...What's the deal on how long you can stay on the permit? If a tourist wants to go for six months then why am I told that the vehicle on permit can only be for 3 months, return to border or wherever for another three months and then come back for your other three months but only within one year, six months out of one year? Then another man tells me from the consulate that it's 180 days out of one year? That sounds the same but a tourist doens't want to me in central or southern Mexico and have to return northward because of some 3 month restricted permit.

I don't get it!

The way I have seen it applied the "temporary import" permit lasts as long as the FMT itself. Typically the FMTs are going to be issued for 180 days (it's not counted in months). We left the sticker on our van in case we want to drive down before July on another trip (the same reason I try to keep an FMT always active on myself too). I have never figured out the true FMT reissue (which would also be the same for the vehicle permits, but I think they probably track that more rigorously than FMTs) process; One way to work around that would be to go to different offices from the turn-in to the reissue of the FMT.

[nineten]

I need to check out the info on the FMTs.

One thing that puts my mind at ease is that I was told that if I get a permit that when we get the Mexico insurance on it that since the vehicle is in both our names, he's a Mexican national and I'm a U.S. citizen, that I can put him on the insurance also. Then he could drive it with no problem.

This is the same as every other question I ask the consulate. I have to call back and ask a second time or third time to make sure the info given me is correct and in line with what I was told before.

If he can be placed on that policy then I can fly back out of the U.S. and leave him with the truck until it's time for renewal.

Tell me there's no law governing whether I can fly back to U.S. while truck is there on permit!

[pumpkin916]

Hi there,
Hubby and I just got back from CDJ, and we left our car at Shelter Valet, right near the airport. Alfredo picked us up and returned us right to the same spot when we were done. It was amazingly simple, and we didn't have to worry about taking the car to CDJ or the insurance or anything.. The address is 6440 Airport Rd, El Paso, TX 79925. (915) 778-2020. The rate is $35 for a week, and $7 for each additional day. Not too bad. They were very nice and professional. Also, you can arrange to have your car washed or oil changed, etc while you are gone.

[nineten]

Thanks for that info. The deal pertaining to me (not wanting to return trucks to the U.S.) is that when the first truck goes over then I need to immediately bring the second one over so I need it "as close to the border" as possible. (That's if they won't allow us to take both over at the same time since they both have U.S. plates on them.)

I'm sure by the time we travel there (when he returns) that we'll definitely have a sure answer about the two trucks, esp. the '88 truck. I'm talking about the Laredo area for my situation because I think that's the best route from Texas to Mexico City I was told.

[nineten]

Thanks for that info. I'm going to enter it into my notebook for future reference.