It’s not for the faint of heart.
Driving in Oaxaca can be daunting, especially if you are a foreigner who doesn’t live here. It is for me, and I’ve lived here for twenty years and driven a car here for sixteen of those. First off, you need to know that while car rental costs may be reasonable, you cannot drive here without Mexican insurance. If you are in an accident, you are presumed guilty and will be jailed, no questions asked. When you buy Mexican insurance through a rental agency, it can cost four to five times more than the rental cost.
Then, city traffic is daunting. Streets are clogged. Local drivers may double-park on the street, their emergency lights flashing, making the right lane impassable, leaving you barely enough room to squeeze by in the single remaining lane. Then there are the buses. The major thoroughfares are filled with them, and they stop at every corner. Get stuck behind a bus and it feels like you are waiting forever. Try to squeeze around it, and you are in for a wait for whoever will let you in. Turn signals are ignored.
Pedestrians don’t have the right of way, but that doesn’t stop people from leaping out in front of you when you least expect it. You can count on some drivers who will run red lights. So, if the light turns green, don’t take it as a signal that you can move ahead through an intersection unrestricted. There will always be someone in a hurry running a yellow light. Plus, there are those nasty sancudos (we call them mosquitos) — these are the motorcycles that appear from no where to pass on either right or left.
There are serpentine intersections where the right lane swerves left, and if you don’t pay attention, you will go straight and be confronted with cars coming toward you. This occurs at the corner of Avenida Heroes de Chapultepec and the Baseball Stadium. Once, to correct myself at the last minute, I had to drive over a huge concrete median to avoid hitting cars coming directly at me. Another such intersection is where Mex 175—Avenida Eduardo Mata meets Avenida Simbolos Patrios which goes to the airport and then on over the mountains to Puerto Escondido.
I can be driving in the right lane. Suddenly, a car sneaks up on my right, passes in front almost perpendicular, and crosses over to the left to make a left turn. They are impatient and do not want to wait in line in the left turn lane. I see this repeatedly—a deft move we never see in the USA. People here are bold.
How does one get a driver’s license in Oaxaca? This is what is required: One takes an online driver’s exam that consists of 15 multiple-choice questions that must be completed within 30 minutes. The passing score is 12 correct answers. This is done at home and online, so anyone can look up the correct answers. You then take a printout of the score to the local driver’s license office, pay a fee – about $150 dollars, and you have a license. No driver’s test is required. Most drivers are not qualified, IMHO.
Then there are the taxis and colectivos that travel the highways between remote villages and the city, carrying passengers who have no personal vehicles. The colectivos are always packed, usually with four or five people in the back seat and two passengers in the front, one stuck straddling the stick shift. (No one wants that spot.) The drivers make more money when they can get as many round trips into a day as possible, so they go fast, faster than the speed limit. If the speed limit is 90 kilometers per hour (56 mph), they may go 120 (75 mph). The MEX 190 highway that goes from my village and the city has two lanes, one in each direction. But it functions as a four-lane highway. There is always someone going faster, passing on left or right, and it is common to see an accident involving a motorcycle, a taxi, and another passenger vehicle. I’m super vigilant when I drive this road.
Would I recommend renting a car and driving around yourself? NO. I suggest you hire a taxi or car service to take you where you want to go, make a reservation with a guide, or take a tour. You will not be frazzled, and you will enjoy your time here even more.
Legalizing a Car for and Driving to Mexico
Check in with Aeromar is easy, and the new Austin to Mexico City service began only a couple of months ago. I am waiting for the flight. A K-9 unit is trolling the seating areas. The dog is sniffing everywhere. We are only five hours from the border.
Justo told me he got the call last night. The paperwork is ready. Once the papers are ready, you have only three days to cross the border. It happened faster than he expected. Muy rapido. He will leave early Thursday (tomorrow) morning and plans to arrive in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, by nightfall on Saturday. His brother Federico, who lives in the village, will meet him at the border and they will make the trip together.
The last two days have been filled with logistical details for La Tuga to continue on without me.
I bought MAPFRE Mexican car insurance for one year ($312USD) from Allstate agent Roger Morse after extensive online research about coverages. U.S. car insurance does not offer coverage. Legally, only a Mexican auto insurance policy will protect you, your vehicle, and keep you out of jail! You can read a lot about people who didn’t heed this.
I had the car checked out once again for a telltale front left end rattle. The Round Rock, TX, Honda dealer, after a thorough evaluation, said La Tuga is safe to drive and they couldn’t hear anything, repeating what Cary (NC) Honda told me last week.
I met with Justo to go over the route, the process of bringing a car into Mexico, to give him the insurance policy, and pay him another installment for services to legalize the car and drive.
The Process to Legalize a Car for Mexico
This is the busy season when U.S. citizens of Mexican origin make a little extra money to buy a car, legalize it, drive it to Mexico and sell it for a profit. Justo asked me a couple of weeks ago for the copy of the title, photos of the VIN number on the car’s dashboard and doors, and other documentation to give to a private customs broker he has worked with for the past 10 years.
It usually takes three days for the process to get the paperwork approved in the Mexican system, but this time of year it can take a couple of weeks or more. The customs broker, called an agente aduanale, does the legal work and applies for the permits. The cost is $1,500. I pay half in advance and the final payment before I leave. I also give Justo $750 and will pay the other half when he delivers the car. $500 of that will cover expenses (gas, motel, return bus ticket, and any gratuities to local police) along the way.
The VIN number of the vehicle is then deleted from the U.S. system and added to Mexico’s system, registering the car as a legal vehicle there. They check to make sure the vehicle is not stolen or salvaged and that the title is clean.
At the Nuevo Laredo border where Justo will cross, he will collect the pedimento (paperwork) and get the holograma, a sticker that goes on the windshield. He will attach the pedimento to the title and give these to me in Oaxaca, where the car can then be presented for Oaxaca license plates. He will also present a list of what is packed in the car along with the value. Each of passenger is allowed $500USD worth of goods without paying duty. He will declare any excess and pay what is asked.
Let me add, that this process only works for permanent residents and for citizens of Mexico. If you are in the country on a tourist visa, you can’t do this. Someone else will need to own the car!
This morning, when I picked Justo up at his house in South Austin, he told me he will be leaving at 2 a.m. tomorrow morning. He will drive from Nuevo Laredo to Saltillo, south of Monterrey on day one, and spend the night someplace safe. He will pass through San Luis Potosi, Mexico City, Puebla, and then arrive in Oaxaca. Federico, his brother, is a taxista in the village, and will travel with him. Muy rapido, he tells me this morning!
We will see each other in Oaxaca. He drives away with La Tuga, I wait for the Aeromar flight, and tell you about this last leg of the journey.
P.S. If you are interested in the services of Justo Lorenzo Martinez, please contact him. He is a personal friend, competent, reliable, and knows the process. I have turned my car and its title over to him and trust that both he and La Tuga will arrive safely in Oaxaca. Hasta Sabado.
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Posted in Cultural Commentary
Tagged car, driving, fees, insurance, legalize, Mexico, Oaxaca, registration