Auto Insurance

I plan on buying a Mexican plated car. Probably something around 10 years old. Valued at about 5K. What can I expect to pay for insurance and what other yearly costs are involved with Mexican plated cars?

CanuckBob wrote:I plan on buying a Mexican plated car. Probably something around 10 years old. Valued at about 5K. What can I expect to pay for insurance and what other yearly costs are involved with Mexican plated cars?

I doubt this will help much other than the cost to insure is based on cars value. My 13 y/o Ford Explorer is worth about 5 K and US plated. My insurance is about $ 250 US a year from Parker. Mexican plated cars cost more to insure so figure just a little more.

I am guessing insurance could be approximately 3,000 to 3,500 pesos. I doubt you will have collision coverage on a car that old.

Annual "registration" which is called Tenencia here is approximately 3,500 pesos - it is supposed to be eliminated this year but I doubt that.

You are supposed to get an annual smog test - around 200 to 300 pesos depending on where you go.

Then you have routine maintenance which is a whole lot cheaper here than in US or Canada.

One of the used cars here that never dies is a Nissan Tsuru and you should be able to get one for around that price. I have no idea what gas costs in Canada, but it's cheaper here than in the US right now. However it is going up in price. Price is just over 9.5 pesos per liter for regular.

simpsca - Smog tests are required on Mexican Plated cars only.

They have done away with Tenecia on cars over 10 years old.

I have 2 companies you can call for low rates in GDL which one insured my nationalized car with full coverage.

I will likely purchase a car older than 10 years.

Are the smog tests required for Mexican plated cars registered at the lake or only those registered within the Guad city limits?

What happens if the car fails the smog test?

Not sure Bob. Supposedly lakeside is included. I don't know if older cars have less stringent requirements. If it doesn't pass you are supposed to get it fixed so it does pass. There was one shop doing inspections, telling the person they needed repairs which were expensive. One person had the repairs done somewhere else and went back to get the sticker. But the original shop told them it still didn't pass. Don't know what they did or if they went somewhere else. I'm sure Spencer can tell you of a decent place to get the inspection. I use a place in San Antonio - sign on the highway near Walmart and never had any trouble. But never had a Mexican car 10 years old.

I got my Mx plated car smogged as they gave a discount on the registration if you did and it was only 200 pesos. The last revision of the law I saw didn't include lakeside for a mandatory smog test. I got my test done in Guad as I didn't want to wait and it took 15 minutes.

I would be concerned about buying a car that doesn't pass and then couldn't register or insure it. That's what happens up here in Vancouver. Do they still let you register and insure if it fails?

Your car can fail and it is not tied to insurance and the requirement for registration would depend on if you lived in an area requiring the smog check. Either way if it doesn't pass it probably wouldn't be very reliable transportation.

Haha.........I can milk 300,000 kms or more easily out of most vehicles. I have driven many a beater for years that can't pass a smog test. We just register them outside the city limits. I'll bet that van I rented in April would have had a few problems passing.

We have a Nissan X-Trail 2003 Mexican Plated.

Insurance $7800p with Jesus Tejeda
Tenencia $2200p this includes the plates.

2012 there is not suppose to be Tenencia but after the new elections it will probably come back.

Have you tried ANA Seguros? $7800 seems high, that is what I was quoted for my 2004 Chevy Tahoe Z71 after nationalizing it with full coverage and a current value of $17,000US. ANA was the lowest, we called everybody to check rates. They also gave me the best rate on my car and best coverage.

I'm sure they take desirability by thieves into account. Perhaps the Nissan is high on the list?

CanuckBob wrote:I'm sure they take desirability by thieves into account. Perhaps the Nissan is high on the list?

One of the reasons we kept with the older Lexus. After a few years the status image, no longer exist and you get a really fine used car at the prices others are paying for standard. Actually the older models were built at a higher standard to obtain the status quality and later had to discontinue the quality to be competitive in this down-turned market. Because of their perceived high price the numbers are relatively few, plus their pretty much worthless without their key ($170 USD), not worth stealing compared to other models. Knowledge is priceless.

When they were making the VW beetle that was the most stolen car in Mexico. And yes I hear Nissan is desirable - easy to get parts for (and therefore easy to maintain). I know of one attempt to steal a Lexus in front of Mail Boxes in broad daylight with the owner in the drivers seat - they hit him and he wouldn't get out (I met the man) so car was not stolen but he was hurt. My friend had her Honda Accord stolen from in front of her house, and some friends had a Jeep Cherokee stolen from in front of a restaurant. So I don't see any pattern to what is stolen lakeside.

Bob, I bought a 2011 Ford Escape, prior to purchase called Parker Insurance for rateThis vehicle purchased in Mexico, Insurance, approx. 12,000 pesos, purchased in US, foreign plated $370.00, plus I can get rental car coverage ....while car is being repaired....according to Parker, this is not available in Mexico....only if policy is issued NOB.

Yes, I have heard that the Mexican plated insurance is higher however I will be getting a vehicle that is quite a bit cheaper than 2011 Ford Escape so would think that insurance will be equally cheaper.......

I'm thinking of spending 5K at most for a vehicle initially. Does anyone here have a Mexican plated vehicle worth about 5K? If so, I would be interested in hearing how much your insurance is.

Just checked my premium on my Suzuki SX4 2010 - premium 6,417 pesos for full coverage including collision and theft plus all the other and road side assistance.

My question: when looking at the total cost of insurance, is anyone considering just what the total coverage is and what the deductibles are? Cheap doesn't necessarily equate to good when one has to cover deductibles in the event of a claim.

I don't know what anyone else is looking at, but the main thing I look at is the coverage and that all the important coverages are provided. In some cases you can buy replacement cost value and that costs a little more. There doesn't seem to be much of a price break for various deductibles - not that I have experienced. And most importantly is the reputation of the insurance broker you buy it from - will they go to bat for you, and the reputation of the insurer.

simpsca wrote:Just checked my premium on my Suzuki SX4 2010 - premium 6,417 pesos for full coverage including collision and theft plus all the other and road side assistance.

Is that Mexican plated Simpsca?

Yes, Mexican plated.

[quote="yuri"]My question: when looking at the total cost of insurance, is anyone considering just what the total coverage is and what the deductibles are? Cheap doesn't necessarily equate to good when one has to cover deductibles in the event of a claim.[/quote

I have a $500.00 USD deductible, yet reimbursement is in pesos. The insurance company requires repair in Guadalajara...It took 8 weeks, plus 50 mile drive each way, to retrieve vehicle. The 2nd incident, in the middle of BF Nowhere took 5 hours for agent to arrive, injury involved, still $500.00 USD deductible, repairs took 4 days, as we had upgraded policy to include rental car while my 2002 F150 Supercrew was repaired. Annual premium is $375.00 USD for foreign plated coverage. The upside for keeping foreign plates is that my plates expired in 2004, and I save on renewals, and no emission test required....the down side is I must take it NOB to sell or trade.

You can price it out quickly yourself at
www.internationalinsurancereview.com
All companies are AAA rated and have been in business for some time.
I buy mine thru them.