I want to buy a car to keep in Mexico and use when I cross the border. Is it possible to buy a car in the states and get it registered in Mexico or is it better to purchase one in mexico? I want a used car. Is there a good used car dealer in tijuana or a newspaper with a good classified section? Does anyone have any experience with this?

Buy an American car with American plates.

No big deal, as you are an American, right? BTW, if you are American you CAN'T get Mexican plates(legally), just as Mexicans can't use cars with American plates(although 50% of TJ-residents do!).

If you are just going to "play it safe", and take it to parking lots all the time, buy any car you want. But, if you are going to park it on TJ backstreets, I have some info for you.

Just make sure you buy a "beater", so that it won't get ripped-off on the first day down there. Some suggestions...

Ford Taurus(thieves know they have "bad" transmissions - taxi drivers don't use them).

Do NOT take any vehicle to Mexico with a Chevy 350 motor - virtually 99% of the taxis in TJ use this engine. It will be ripped-off in a heartbeat.

Avoid the usual good, decent used car that you would use in San Diego - Toyota Camrys, Nissan Maximas/Altimas/Sentras, etc. These won't last two months parked on the TJ streets.

What my alter-ego says is pretty much right-on! As some of you know, I now live in Tijuana and have been doing this for about six months now. Driving two vehicles that is. At peek hours, you can walk across, much faster than drive. But both of my sets of wheels are legal, so I can drive either across if the traffic or schedule permits.

My normal stateside transport is an 88 chevy truck with a full lockable hard back bed cover, and my mexican vehicle is a 83 Nissan Yunker! But junk only on the outside. Some of the dents and extra rustolium were self applied for uggliness alone. The hood is chained down and wheel locks all around. Never! keep anything inside in plain view! If it's important, carry it with you! Think like a biker!

I got into this fix when my main transport was down and I was forced to use public transport for about three months before I decided to buy the extra car. If you can afford it, it has it's advantages.

Speaking of public transport, here is a partial list of taxi colors and general area served:

Yellow - Central Revolution area and la linia
Blue and white - Central and Alta Mira ,Villa area
White with a skinny yellow and black stripe - Central and Canyon Johnson
White with red and black stripe - Central and Hidalgo Obrera
Grey and white - Central and Colonia Libertad
White with blue and black stripes - Special for the hotels
White and orange - Central and Otay, la Mesa, Tecate
Red and black - Central and La Presa, La Mesa and Cinco Diez
White and green - Central and the playas, mirador
Yellow (the other one) - Central and Colonia Bella Vista
White with wide yellow and black stripes - Hidalgo Obrera second (upper) part
Gold and white - Central and zona rio, zetas
Brown and white - Libertad and la linia
White and green - Brisas and Suigentes
Gold - Central and Mexico, Morelos
White with yellow - Central and Rosarita, Gloria
All white - airport
Yellow and white - Central and Colonia Azteca
White with orange and brown stripe - Central and Independencia, Gerrero, Villa
Yellow with white center section - Central and las cruces
Green and sometimes green and white - Central and cinco diez
White and red - Central and moreles

Above info NOT certified, as it was gathered soley by me and my live-in. I don't know of a central location for this info, but I would think that there is. A while back I called the Taxi Union hoping to get this info and they said, company colors are up to the company that owns them.

All the above are all mostly station wagons types and down-town you will have to wait for a full load before the driver takes off. - - cost 5 pesos one way.

Another good choice is the mini buses or Calafias these run the same general routes and cost less 4 to 4.5 pesos depending on destination and length of trip.

All have signs in the windows with their general area served. And most all will instantly turn into a "special" and go to the area you want to go for about 5 or 6 dollars or equivalent peso amount.

Just remember "El que se fue a la villa perdio su silla." (if you move your meat, you lose your seat!)

--Diego1--

What do you do for parking on the US side?

Diego1;

Shit, you are more into the Tijuana transportation scene than I am!

This is good shit, but the big thing that is missing from your list is the location of the main pick up areas for the routes downtown.

The Calafias are good during the winter, spring, and fall - but I can't stand them during the summer!


Signed - The "real" Diego(like the "real" Santa Claus)

Diego - Great stuff. I had a few buddies who wanted me to drive them all down in my 93 Suburban... I told them they were fucking high. I've heard the average Suburban (with US plates) lasts an hour on the streets and sometimes not much better from secure lots.

BTW - TJHombre, I love that spell-checker. It even checks to make sure you spelled the work "fucking" correctly! ... (prog)

You are right - they LOVE to steal Explorers and Suburbans. That is because the Mexican bitches are so impressed by them. They figure they can get inside some whore's pants on a long-term basis, if they can hook her up with a Suburban.

The funny thing is - the prices on old, used Suburbans are PLUMMETING right now. I saw an 83 going for $1450! Even new Explorers can be had for about $21K! With $3 gas on the horizon, who wants a vehcile that gets 8 MPG?

The way I figure it, in about 5 years, when all those old Chevy 350-based Impala Station Wagon TJ Taxi frames have completely fallen apart, the taxi drivers will all be driving Explorers. Watch - I will be right on this one.

I also have two vehicles. I keep one in a hotel in San Ysidro, where I pay five bucks a night to park it. I bring it home on weekends. My other car stays at home. I ride my bicycle from my house across the border and throw it in the back of the truck. This avoids the long ass pedestrian lines that sometimes develop at 0dark30 on Monday mornings. It also saves me an additional 30 pesos parking of my other car on the MX side, and gets me about 15 miles a day of free excercise. When my car(s) is/are parked in front of my house at night, the coil comes out. If they are going to be there any length of time, the coil and spark plug cables come out.

Powerslave and Diego1, why don't you get a commuter pass for the DCL. It is a piece of cake and never a line to get into the US.

I am not inclined to let a bunch of thieves like the FBI go over my entire past life. Besides, that commuter pass does no good southbound when customs sets up their "fourth ammendment free zones" going into mexico. I have seen southbound lines over a mile long lately...

Anybody know what is up with the Customs and police check at the border lately?

I read a recent report saying that Operation Gatekeeper, or whatever they call the massive migra deployment along the traditional immigrant crossing routes, is causing the highest volume of attempted illegal crossings to occur right at the Port of Entry. So we can expect more aggressive activity at la linea.

Last Thursday night I got an interrogation and car search like never before. The customs guy searched my luggage item by item, but didn't ask for the car registration...I was literally begging him to look at it when he refused to believe that it was a '98 model..."don't tell me it's a '98, I KNOW it's not a '98."...asshole!

I am talking about the other direction, going south into TJ.

I have the DCL pass and it is awesome. It is a pain going into Mexico from about 4pm till 7pm wed to friday.

Robertosol Care to elaborate on how you got the pass? My understanding is that was intended for those who live in Tijuana and work in SD and based on that it wouldn't seem you qualify.

The commuter lane is for anyone. The only limiting factor is that you cannot have a criminal record. You can live on either side of the border and use the lane for business or personal reasons. The key is that you are a low risk (no drugs) border crosser. Just call and set an appointment. You need the following:
1) lease agreement or mortgage and utility bill
2) w-2 or pay stub
3) proof of insurance (US insurance)
4) passport or birth certificate
5) car registration
6) drivers license
You need to call to set up an appointment, fill out the application. They run your fingerprints through the FBI files. When you get clearance they will call you down and put the transponder on your car and give you your card. It takes perhaps a total of 3 hours to get done in 2 sessions. It is a piece of cake and will save you tons of time by not having to wait in that horrible line. Just think of the value to never wait in line coming back from 6am to 10pm 7 days a week. It is awesome. They are going to stop giving out the passes when they get to 5000 vehicles, so I would hurry. I will try to find the number and post later.

the website is http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/lawenfor/bmgmt/inspect/sentri.htm

To schedule your appointment, please call the SENTRI Office at (619) 661-3170 from Monday through Friday after 8:00AM and before 3:00PM.

The address of SENTRI Enrollment Center for both Otay Mesa and San Ysidro is:

Otay Mesa SENTRI Office
2500 Paseo Internacional
Otay Mesa, California
For general information regarding SENTRI, call toll-free at 1-877-265-1335

You can't have a criminal record?

Well, that explains why I don't bother - and why the SENTRI lanes are COMPLETELY empty!

But really now - NO criminal record? That is totally insane. Are you sure you don't mean no "felony" record? Shit - a DUI is considered a misdemeanor criminal offense. Fucking George W. had one of those!

What about a misdemeanor joyriding conviction in the 70's?

There is a BIG difference between Misdemeanor(literally "acting badly"), and Felony convictions. Typically, with a Misdemeanor, you get probation, Credit for Time Served(one or two days in the hoosgow), and that is the end of it, as long as you don't get caught again for 3 years. The WORST sentence you can get is up to 1 year in the County Jail(and that hardly ever happens, unless you keep repeating the crime over a short period of time). With a Felony, you usually get sent to PRISON for a minimum of 1 year. BIG difference. Those are the fuckers you gotta look out for - and who might be likely to run drugs or people across the border.

Think about it - anybody that is going to actually LIVE down in Mexico is going to be a little different - and it is likely that they will have at least 1 misdemeanor mark on their record. If they reject everyone who ever had ANY criminal conviction they are left with NOBODY. Oh, and as far as the Mexicans are concerned - they are too fucking cheap to pay for SENTRI, and besides, their cars are all illegal, so they couldn't get that past the assholes. Not to mention that they have all been arrested on Misdemeanor offences, but they don't keep records for those types of offences in Mexico!!! So, they would let in a Mexican misdemeanor offender, but not an American? THAT IS FUCKING INSANE!

If the rules you state about SENTRI are true, then I only have one thing to say about it... FUCK SENTRI.

Misdemeaners can be expunged. If you probation has ended ALL of your records can be destroyed by court order and that includes fingerprints on file. Any lawyer will do it for a small fee, in fact the court fee can be higher than the lawyers fee.

69;

Dude, You don't need a lawyer to get an expungement. Trust me, I'm an expert on "expungement". I've rolled my own on two occassions over the last 30 years. FUCK defense attorneys - in most cases I just represent myself. The Judges and Prosecuters hate it - but FUCK them too, they are all part of the thieving lawyer fraternity.

BTW, expungement does NOT actually get the record "destroyed" - it just legally allows you to lie on things like job applications and such(isn't the law great). But guess what, the records STILL exist! To be honest with you, for the most part, expungement is a load of crap. You just need to know how to lie like a lawyer.

The only real way to get records sealed is with a special order from a judge(rare) or, better yet, a pardon from the governor. Even then, the record is not destroyed. The courts and FBI will ALWAYS remember EVERYTHING. It is just that the information can't be introduced to a court in future proceedings, and you can lie without fear of being found out. With expungement, you don't get this - you just can't have a civil action based on the record, like getting fired for lying about your record on your application(remember, with expungement, they gave you permission to lie!), but any prick can still look at your record, if they are persistent enough.

The other thing is, there are various levels of archiving of records of misdemeanors, and the older the record, the deeper it is buried. Typically, during about the first 7 years the actual record is maintained in paper format, then after about 7-10 years, it typically goes to microfilm(probably goes to CD-ROM now!), which after about 20 years the microfilms were sent to some faraway basement that a typical "private dick" type couldn't get easy access to. I suppose with expungement, they might send your record to microfilm a bit earlier, so expungement might help here too. But, even then, with expungement, some persistent asshole can always still dig up dirt on you. Look at the old misdemenor shit the press dug up on Jack Ruby! For felonies, I would guess that they will keep the actual record for 20-30 years before microfilming it. We got to keep an eye on those Felons, don't you know.

Dudes, you've got my interest up - I'm going to look at the application for SENTRI. How much do you want to bet that there will be various questions about your criminal record? - with catagories for drugs, etc. I would guess they wouldn't give a rat's ass about any misdemeanor conviction over 7 years(unless it involved drugs) - but would care about anything in the last 7 years, with wording to the effect of "whether or not the record was expunged, or ordered sealed by a judge". Note here that a pardon WILL get you off in this case, but a expungement or seal order won't. With any kind of felony, you basically have to answer for it forever on federal questionairres(unless Clinton pardons you). Now - some felon assholes do get their voting and gun rights restored after they clear parole, but I would doubt they could LIE about their convictions on a federal application. I suppose if the felony was old enough(30 years), or a combination of old enough and minor enough(let's say Grand Theft Auto 20 years ago, or embezzling 15 years ago), those SENTRI assholes might let you thru.

Isn't the law great?

Between 1949 and November 24, 1963, Ruby was arrested eight times by the Dallas Police Department. The dates, charges, and dispositions of these arrests are as follows: February 4, 1949, Ruby paid a $10 fine for disturbing the peace. July 26, 1953, Ruby was suspected of carrying a concealed weapon; however, no charges were filed and Ruby was released on the same day. May 1, 1954, Ruby was arrested for allegedly carrying a concealed weapon and violating a peace bond; again no charges were filed and Ruby was released on the same day. December 5, 1954, Ruby was arrested for allegedly violating State liquor laws by selling liquor after hours; the complaint was dismissed on February 8, 1955. June 21, 1959, Ruby was arrested for allegedly permitting dancing after hours; the complaint was dismissed on July 8, 1959. August 21, 1960, Ruby was again arrested for allegedly permitting dancing after hours; Ruby posted $25 bond and was released on that date. February 12, 1963, Ruby was arrested on a charge of simple assault; he was found not guilty February 27, 1963. Finally, on March 14, 1963, Ruby was arrested for allegedly ignoring traffic summonses; a $35 bond was posted.

When Ruby applied for a beer license in March 1961, he reported that he had been arrested "about four or five times" between 1947 and 1953. Between 1950 and 1963, he received 20 tickets for motor vehicle violations, paying four $10 fines and three of $3. In 1956 and 1959, Ruby was placed on 6 months' probation as a traffic violator.

Ruby was also frequently suspended by the Texas Liquor Control Board. In August 1949, when he was operating the Silver Spur, he was suspended for 5 days on a charge of "Agents: Moral Turpitude." In 1953 Ruby received a 5-day suspension because of an obscene show, and, in 1954, a 10-day suspension for allowing a drunkard on his premises. On February 18, 1954, he was suspended for 5 days because of an obscene striptease act at the Silver Spur and for the consumption of alcoholic beverages during prohibited hours. On March 26, 1956. Ruby was suspended by the liquor board for 3 days because several of his checks were dishonored. On October 23, 1961, he received another 3-day suspension because an agent solicited the sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on licensed premises.

The Warren Commission Report, p. 800

I think the girl on the left works at AB nights. lol

The one on the left is definately the best looking above the neck - I wonder what she's got underneath that kimono?

You know, I don't believe there was any conspiracy. I can relate to Jack Ruby - he was getting up in years, and said "what the fuck, I'm gonna kill that little shit - I'll be famous and they'll probably let me off with about 5 years". He ended up dying of Cancer a few years later anyway. He done good.

I called those SENTRI people to make an appointment. They took my name and number and said they would have an inspector call me... in three months. Who says bureaucracy doesn't work?

--Mr416

I knew it...

they are all a bunch of cocksuckers.

I just went to my sentri appointment. After reviewing my application they took my fingerprints and told me it will be another 3 months and a few days before they call me in to install the equipment on my car.

Six months, minimum, huh?

I change cars faster than that.

Cocksuckers.

When you have the DCL pass, you will feel it is well worth the wait. It is awesome!!!

It was funny too, because the woman on the phone acted like it was totally normal and reasonable. I swear to you, the United States Government is not someone you want to deal with. I just dont understand how they can operate! They are like 10000x worse than Fry's! It just boggles the mind.

--Mr416

I agree that the Fed Govt bureaucracy is a joke. It really is like a workfare agency. They should make the INS private, you would get your pass in 24 hours and it would be more secure for all. Just vote republican.

Mr416;

I totally get your Fry's analogy.

What cracks me up about Fry's is that the put the line for the returns right there at the entrance, it is just about as fucking long as the line at the checkout registers!

You would think that would turn away customers, but they keep coming like lemmings.

A week or so ago the Sacramento Frys busted a guy who was putting high quality homemade bar strips over the real ones. It made the local news several times over because they showed an extensive and highly detailed video surveilance of the guy throughout the store. The guy had a $200 gizmo that he put a $40 price tag on.

The guy's bail was, ready for this?, $750K. That's thousands, not hundreds. The same week a road rage murderer was bailed out on $25k. OK, the Frys crook also had mucho guns in his house along with drugs. And the murderer was a nice guy who sort of lost it and later committed suicide at the same spot where he shot the other driver. Still, the point was made. Don't mess with Frys.

At first, it sounds like a cool scam.

But he was an idiot, because you NEVER know what checkout person you are going to get(they direct you to the checker from a single line), and if you get a knowlegable person, they will KNOW it is a totally bullshit price, and inform the manager - and the next time they will be watching you.

You know, I sometimes get pissed-off at Fry's for the long lines, "blemished" merchandise, and total lack of anyone to help you find anything; so, sometimes a 36-pack of AAA Sanyo batteries could end up "falling in your pocket" when your getting your wallet while waiting in those long checkout lines. Serves the bastards right for putting all that shit there to tempt you in those long checkout lines - and for selling Earthmate Road Warrior GPS units without properly identifying the cable inside, and for selling "refurbished" merchandise. Bastards.

How come they never have any hot dogs at 7-11 after midnight? The lazy fuckers that work there figure that as long as the place doesn't burn down or get robbed overnight that they have done their 'jobs'? I scream at them every chance I get about it, but they just DON'T FUCKING LISTEN!!!

Careful Porker - those 7-11 dogs are made with lots of etc. - they will kill you!

Porker:

You know who is in stock 24-7 on munchies such as hot dogs, hamburguesas, corndogs, etc? The Am/Pm on Galeana y Revo...

They've got industrious TJ teens cranking those things out all night-- and all morning-- long...

YoungBrig

I agree, YB. That am/pm beats any convenience store I have been to in the U.S.