Filed under: Car Buying
Mexico bans all imported used cars from U.S. except 1998 models
All you people with a 10-year-old car – drive it, drag it, push it or pull it! Mexico is paying top dollar!
Starting today, the only used cars the Mexico government will allow across its borders for resale are those exactly 10 years old. That means your 1998 Hyundai Accent has appreciated in value for the first time since you drove it off the lot. But your 1997 Astro van is, believe it or not, worth even less than it was last year, and you 1999 Daewoo Nubira drivers will have to wait until next year to cash in.
There are two main reasons for Mexico's seemingly arbitrary automotive adjudication. First, its new-car dealers are tired of trying to compete with all manner of relatively inexpensive, recent-model used cars from the U.S. Second, the government says cars older than 10 years are wreaking havoc on the country's air quality.
Until now, it was legal to import cars into Mexico that were between 10 and 15 years old. The Mexican Association of Automobile Distributors fought for the newer, more restrictive law to, as quoted by The Detroit News, "stop the accelerated conversion of our country into the world's biggest automotive garbage dump."
[Source: The Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
FThorn 7:45AM (3/03/2008)
Ironic. Mexico doesn't want cheap goods from US(a)? LOL.
And just 1998? That's as logical as any politicians decisions, I guess.
Reply
Gardiner Westbound 8:16AM (3/03/2008)
I think this violates the NAFTA free trade agreement.
Reply
John Johnson 8:19AM (3/03/2008)
Hahahaha. We just sold our 1998 Ford Windstar to a couple of Hispanics. When they said this was going down to Central America, we were like "Hey, cool".
Hahaha, it all makes sense now. Twas a good van, A/C still blows cold, I hate to think how much money they'll make off of it down there :P.
Reply
geo.stewart 8:20AM (3/03/2008)
okay, we dont want anyone coming here from Mexico that is not exactly 10 yrs. old.
with the recent reports on % of Hispanics in prsion and the number of illegals coming into the country, we dont want to become a 'xxxx dumping ground' also...
Reply
Noe 9:17AM (3/03/2008)
thats was totally uncalled for!!
Frylock350 9:40AM (3/03/2008)
amen
Mr. Oak 11:41AM (3/03/2008)
Hey I bet you got your stats from Bill O'Reilly.
Immigrants make up exactly 3.97% of the US prison population. The reest are all loco Ameericans
nikola 1:42PM (3/03/2008)
And with recent reports of republicans committing pedophilia we don't want any Grand-Old-Pedophiles having internet access or being around small children. Guess you better log off and exit the children's library.
Corey W 8:28AM (3/03/2008)
Mexico is like that embarrassing, crazy, drunk uncle eveyone has.
Reply
Jorge 11:08AM (3/04/2008)
Sorry this crazy uncle is not allowing to import garbage from your country, but at least this crazy uncle doesn´t get wacko and starts killing people in McDonalds, Universities, etc.
And FYI, this not interfere with NAFTA, this is an allowance that Mexico itself stablished when it entered in a new stage of global commerce. The idea was to allow farmers to have access to still reliable vehicles at low prices. But as a corvette or a civic can´t quialify like that, this was out of control and something have to be done. Sorry if this forces you to go and take the garbage to a recycling center.
Corey W. 11:27AM (3/04/2008)
"Sorry if this forces you to go and take the garbage to a recycling center....."
Not even sure where you're going with that..... But what you're saying is a two year old car is garbage?!? Ok....
"....but at least this crazy uncle doesn't get wacko and starts killing people in McDonalds, Universities, etc....."
Please don't even go there, are you kidding!! Ok, lets start with the corruption of your own police force, and how many people a year go to Mexico and just DISAPPEAR!?!? Wide scale child prostitution, basically being ignored by your noble police force…. Please, spare us the how great Mexico is compared to the US verbal garbage, if that's the case, stop crossing the border!!! That is, unless you're exactly 10yrs old….
iSpec 9:12AM (3/03/2008)
Hey, there's nothing wrong with being the crazy, drunk Uncle!
Reply
AZMike 9:32AM (3/03/2008)
this is going to really put a dent in the market here in the US.
once the jokes are over, many folks will come to realize what an effect this will have on the auction market in the US.
it looks like a lot of my comments here will be in the past tense, at least for now.
I travel a lot, and it's interesting to see all the variations on what was headed to Mexico. if it's coming from California, it's most likely Toyota pickups, with one pulling another, and both loaded with bicycles. as the years have passed, medium-duty box trucks have been added to the mix, with the box loaded with a Toyota pickup, of course.
when I'm headed to the east coast, I generally take the I-10 to I-20 to I-30 to I-40 route. if I'm headed to the midwest first, I take I-10 to I-25, and get on US 70 east. this takes you over the mountains to Alamogordo. if it's daytime, you can usually see a few Stealth bombers flying around.
I pick up US 54 north in Alamogordo, heading for Santa Rosa, New Mexico, over 200 miles to the north. my travels get really interesting here.
in the next 200+ miles on US 54, I will pass, heading south, at least 300 vehicles pulling another vehicle (always with towbars) heading toward Mexico. these all ALL salvage vehicles, purchased from salvage auctions all over the midwestern and eastern US. the Mexicans have managed to single-handedly managed to prop up sagging prices at auctions for many years. another thing is the fact that "salvage title" in the US doesn't exactly translate into Spanish once the vehicle gets to Mexico, if you know what I mean.
Mexico has had stupid laws like this before, and I'm sure either a repeal or modification to the present law will be in the works very soon.
in case some don't understand the reason for only 1998 models, it's because they are ten years old. for some reason, dealers have picked an arbitrary number.
another thing to consider here; not all countries have the easy credit available for buying cars like we do here in the US and Canada. in Mexico, financing a new car is a relatively new thing, with two-year financing being the norm (if at all), and interest rates being in the 15%+ range.
AZMike
Reply
Frylock350 9:41AM (3/03/2008)
Wow banks down there really stick it to the customer don't they?
Troy D 10:04AM (3/03/2008)
Hey, we could have the convicts at Unique Performance change some VIN plates for us and make our '82 Honda's 1998 models. C'mon, they will never know a little bondo won't matter...
Reply
XJ 10:13AM (3/03/2008)
I don't understand, why can't it be 5-10 yrs old? Why exactly 10? Surely a 5 yr old car and car made today can't be that similar that it will cannibalize sales?
Reply
3cubed minus 3squared plus1 10:27AM (3/03/2008)
What about the other way around?
can we export vehicles from Mexico that are not exactly ten years old?
Mexico is filled with great classics that are usually rust free, and they'll sell them pretty cheap sometimes too.
Reply
Mr.Source 10:29AM (3/03/2008)
Cars newer than 10 years old have always been banned from Mexico. Under NAFTA Mexico will have to allow the import of all used cars 10 years old and newer by 2019!
This was because under NAFTA, used car imports had a smooth transition of 25 years! Besides, Hyundai Accents and Daewoo Nubira's will never cross the border as you may only import NAFTA made cars into Mexico.
Previously, in 2005 the Mexican Government because of internal pressures conceded the import of cars which were 10-15 years old, but when you import more used cars from the US then what you are selling new, you have got a serious problem.
Importing only 10 year old cars is in accordance with NAFTA.
Reply
Maytag 10:50AM (3/03/2008)
Dammit, too late to sell my wife's purple 1997 Maxima.
Reply
JIm 10:50AM (3/03/2008)
Wonder if this also applies to "salvage" vehicles. I had a vehicle stolen and bought it at a salvage auction a year later. I noted a large number of Hispanics and asked about buyer demographics. Was informed by management at least 85% of their buyers were Mexicans buying damaged vehicles to take back to Mexico for reconstruction and sale.
These vehicles ranged from "totaled" to just "tired" with no visible damage. Prices were "eye popping" and buying a vehicle at a salvage auction seemed like a great way to get your kid a car. The numbers are staggering , 800-1200/week and ~20% drivable. And that's just from one auction house.
If this new law includes salvage vehicles then the entire dynamic of the salvage industry could change.
Reply