In February, 2023 - after five years of shunting my Canadian plated Ford Ranger south to Guatemala (and further south) from La Manz inorder to be mindful of Mexico's 180 day Temporary Vehicle Importation allowed to visitors-- and twice exceeding the limit and losing the US $400 deposit. I applied for Permanent Resident status at the Mexican Consulate in Toronto.

Documents submitted, I relaxed, expecting a several month delay in the processing. Two days later -- I was contacted and an appointment was made for the following week. (So much for brushing up on my very weak Spanish and Mexican history.) That was the start of importing my 2007 Ford Ranger into Mexico. As a Permanent Resident I could no longer utilize a Temporary Import Permit to bring a foreign plated vehicle into Mexico.
My 2007 Ford Ranger--300,284 km. (I am the original owner--purchased new July, 2006 ($20k CDN). There have been several upgrades which, I reasoned, made it worthwhile to export it to Mexico, rather than purchasing a new vehicle.





To import a vehicle requires the services of a Customs Broker. Crossing the border at Laredo, Texas seemed the preferable option. I contacted several Customs Brokers in Laredo before finding one whose Voice Mail/Web Site had an option for English language. Above are the required documents stipulated on their web site.

Simple enough I thought. I emailed the docs. Upon arrival at their office a week later. They could not find my info. There was only one person in the firms 15+ employees who spoke English -- my English email had mistaken for spam and moved to "Trash".

My application was expedited. We spent four nights at the Laredo's Super 8 Motel (not recommended) and my Ford Ranger was appraised for import tax purposes at $3365 USD. The cost to import (not including Custom Brokerage fees 99,380.68 Pesos). Except, they could only give me 2 of the 3 documents/clearance necessary. I was lacking an "Export Permit" so, the "decal" which would indicate that I was given a "grace period" to drive in Mexico pending getting a Mexican state license plate --but, "no big deal", it would be sorted out by Jalisco vehicle licensing office.


I won't bore you with the subsequent "muddle". A US vehicle that is exported requires an Export Permit from the USA government. The Canadian government does not have that requirement. Below is the Canadian regulation at the time.







Below are the two documents ("Pedimento" and "Logistica Y Asesoria Aduanera R&R Y Asociados") provided by the Customs Broker that were "absolutely mandatory" to get a Jalisco license plate for my Ford Ranger.



But, the "adventure" continued.