Vehicle Confiscation Report out of Michoacan

This is a direct quote from the Yahoo Michoacan Message Board:
" I just heard a first-hand report this morning that I felt I should pass on. A friend was driving a non-Mexican plated vehicle along the road from Patzcuaro to Tsurumutaro when the federales stopped the car, along with many others, using what I was told is an EMP (Electro-magnetic pulse), which apparently stops all the electrical parts of the car. I didn't even know that could be done. Anyway, even though the car is in the process of being legalized and our friend had the papers/receipts to prove that and the policeman even spoke with the man handling the legalization, he still took the keys to the car. Off to the side, there was a large truck loaded with cars that had already been confiscated or were being confiscated. Fortunately, another cop came up to our friend after the first took the keys and, knowing that the first one was wrong, whispered to our friend that he should go and get another set of keys to the car and come back for it. Our friend did
and fortunate the car was still there on the road, because the truck was already full. Still, someone had to be sent to Uruapan to pick up the keys that had been taken. This friend has been stopped 4 or 5 times already and previously was given warnings and allowed to continue when he showed the papers showing the car was in the process of being legalized, usually along that same stretch of road.

So, here are my questions to all of you...first, do federales have the right to confiscate cars or only aduana and does anyone have a specific part of the Mexican law that states that? And, secondly, in order to stop your car, don't federales have to show you something in writing to warrant them stopping or, worse yet, confiscating your car? And, does anyone have that part of the law in writing? We are currently looking at buying a Mexican car, new or used, but before we get it we definitely don't want our only car confiscated. And, if it should be confiscated, does anyone know if that is a permanent confiscation or if it's possible to get it back by paying some sort of fine?

Thanks for any help with this!"


I cannot offer any background to the credibility of the poster but things are definitely different in Michoacan! One prominent poster had their US plated Subaru totalled in an accident. In order to license their replacement care purchased in Mexico with Michoacan plates, they forced him to obtain a Michoacan drivers license. I may be wrong but I don't think Jalisco has any such requirement?

Sounds like renegade car theft. Did all the cars on the loaded truck have foreign plates?

"in the process of being legalized" is curious. Either the car is legally here or not, there is a decree where you can drive the car for 30 days after the definitive importation without plates. Sounds like something was up.

BE VERY CAREFUL AND SCARED OF VEHICLE IMPORTATIONS AS THERE CONTINUE TO BE PROBLEMS

The Federales using EMP devices?Sounds kinda fishy to me....

Intercasa wrote:"in the process of being legalized" is curious. Either the car is legally here or not, there is a decree where you can drive the car for 30 days after the definitive importation without plates. Sounds like something was up.

BE VERY CAREFUL AND SCARED OF VEHICLE IMPORTATIONS AS THERE CONTINUE TO BE PROBLEMS

Maybe that's it. Maybe these cars were being trucked to the border by some vehicle importer. There's way more to this story. And yeah, Federales with EMP devices?

My neighbor called Aduana in Mexico City and addressed this with them. The neighbor's first language is Spanish. He was told that a person with Permanente is NOT required to either nationalize or return the car to the border, and that it is legal for them to have and drive a foreign plated vehicle. He was referred to a document which another neighbor printed out and took to Tio Corp yesterday. They stated that this certainly puts a whole new look on things. Apparently there have been problems with people wanting to nationalize through their contact.

Trailrunner wrote:And yeah, Federales with EMP devices?

Not likely, they would probably need to pull a trailer with a nuclear reactor to get the power for such an EMP burst. Aliens perhaps???

itsme wrote:My neighbor called Aduana in Mexico City and addressed this with them. The neighbor's first language is Spanish. He was told that a person with Permanente is NOT required to either nationalize or return the car to the border, and that it is legal for them to have and drive a foreign plated vehicle. He was referred to a document which another neighbor printed out and took to Tio Corp yesterday. They stated that this certainly puts a whole new look on things. Apparently there have been problems with people wanting to nationalize through their contact.

What is the "document" you're referring to? May we see a copy?

Ignoring all the brou-ha-ha about Aduana for the moment... I agree with viajero: EMP devices? Horse hockey. According to the Weeb, only two types of NON-NUCLEAR EMP devices have been developed:
One uses conventional explosives to induce the EMP; another uses a single-use, high-power microwave generation device.

There are lots of diagrams on the Web for toy EMP thingies. And when the real thing does arrive? I'm pretty sure Mexico won't be the first to use it.

HelperGuy wrote:Ignoring all the brou-ha-ha about Aduana for the moment... I agree with viajero: EMP devices? Horse hockey. According to the Weeb, only two types of NON-NUCLEAR EMP devices have been developed:
One uses conventional explosives to induce the EMP; another uses a single-use, high-power microwave generation device.

There are lots of diagrams on the Web for toy EMP thingies. And when the real thing does arrive? I'm pretty sure Mexico won't be the first to use it.

The guy in Michoacan who origionally posted that either has a sense of humor or is dumber than dirt IMO.

With that EMP device I still think it may have been aliens from the planet "Ima One Pendajo". What say Talosian?

There are devices like small remote-control cars thant can deliver a physical (by contact under the car) charge to stall the car. I doubt they would do any damage other than spike all the imput sensors and stall the engine. However, I have never seen them used, not even in the USA.

Could we get back to the vehicle confiscation topic please?

Sure, if we want to talk about that... but finding it very difficult to put any weight in the bit about EMP devices, I'm thinking that the rest of the story is BS too... but let us share a fine glass of red and think on it. Virtually, that is.

It's hot, I'm having vino blanco. I just want to know about the document "itsme" referred to. "He was told that a person with Permanente is NOT required to either nationalize or return the car to the border, and that it is legal for them to have and drive a foreign plated vehicle. He was referred to a document which another neighbor printed out and took to Tio Corp yesterday"

I have been watching for follow-up conversations on the Yahoo Message Board and while no one on there has disputed the use of EMP devices, they too have issues with staying on topic and have drifted into the nationalization issue and whether or not it can be done without going to the border. The issue in Michoacan is somewhat "muddied" by the option that one can obtain UCD certificates to semi-legally drive a NOB vehicle.

Note: The State of Michoacan has always been a bit different in their handling of NOB plated vehicles and have been known to confiscate vehicles that other States would ignore.

Go to Tio Corp and ask them?

You're joking, right? They are less than useless. I had my insurance with them several years ago. I was hoping "itsme" would provide it.

There is an interesting thread on TOB re TioCorp. Something smells. I hope people who gave them deposits will either get what they paid for or their money back.

I have no personal stake in this since we guessed that the future would bar foreign plated cars and bought a Mexican car, but if I were looking for nationalization today, I wouldn't have touched the TioCorp offer, but would have been prepared to go to the border for the usual method. It sounded too good to be true and reminded me of the scheme several years ago where people living in Mexico and being treated in Mexico, were "somehow" going to get Medicare to cover it. People had high hopes there, too.

Okay......I'm being cynical. So be it.

I just want to know about the document "itsme" referred to. "He was told that a person with Permanente is NOT required to either nationalize or return the car to the border, and that it is legal for them to have and drive a foreign plated vehicle. He was referred to a document which another neighbor printed out and took to Tio Corp yesterday"

Right. Wow, I have heard and read so many stories about this topic (not that particular piece of paper), including one customer yesterday saying she went to TioCorp Monday and his story was a load of crap, compared to what she has to do. I have no details, though... sometimes it is better not to ask when I'm working.

When the offer sounds to good to be true it probably is.

Not really much different from the self designated experts on the new INM proceedures, the confusion over the car situation for those going Permanent Resident have created endless opportunity for new experts and certainly opportunities for the scam artists. While I haven't read very positive reports regarding Tio Corp customer service skils, it is hard to imagine them exposing themselves by participating in a scam. If some of these stories prove to be true, it appears that Tio Corp is highly exposed!