Need advice on expired car permit in Mexico

[Ted Pope]

Can anyone give me advice on this situation that just developed in April, during a vacation in Mexico. I've received no help at all from consulates I've contacted, or the border officials. My 1980 VW Westfalia broke down, with a bad #2 cylinder in Palenque, Chiapas. We waited 3 weeks with the machine shop and garage finally saying they could not get the necessary parts. My wife got sick, so we had to store the vehicle in Palenque, take a bus to Villahermosa and fly back to the U.S. I intend on returning to Palenque in November this year or January, 2007, with the needed parts, have the vehicle fixed at the garage there, then drive back to the Arizona border. However, the current permit for the vehicle expires on August 17 this year.

Is there any way to get the permit extended or cancelled, as I am unsure about trying to fix and drive the vehicle out of Mexico with an expired permit (I'm not even sure I could get back into Mexico with the permit expired). But it is impossible for me to return to Palenque before the permit expires, and it is hardly feasible to get the vehicle towed to the U.S. border. Please help!

[RVGRINGO]

See my response to your question in "Legal".
I don't know if you have a reliable contact in Pelanque who might get the repairs done and drive the car to the border to meet you. Alternatively, you might have the VW trucked to a border town if you have contacts at both ends; then, you could take it across the border to the US.
Frankly, there aren't many things mechanics here can't do; especially on a VW. I'm beginning to have suspicions that 'parts unavailability' may have been a ruse to get you to leave the VW behind to become a source of parts itself. Those things do happen, unfortunately.

[Ted Pope]

Thanks for the additional info. I'm going to check with VW about what the mechanic and machine shop told me, that the German-made VW has an engine that is different than any made in Mexico. It could be because my Westfalia is a 1980 air-cooled 2000 cc engine, and parts for that particular vehicle aren't available. Still, it seems strange to me, as there are still lots of air cooled VW's and VW vanagons running around down in Chiapas. I just wouldn't have thought the engines would be that different. I do have a reliable contact in Palenque, and I'm going to ask him to check around at other garages about the feasibility of fixing the vehicle. It could be the particular garage I went to (supposedly the biggest, best in Palenque, recommended by Sanborn's) was not being totally honest with me.

I'm also checking about what is costs to get the vehicle towed to the border, but a couple of calls to companies that can do that have left me with the idea that its around 1500-2000 dollars. Still its a good avenue to keep checking.

[RVGRINGO]

I didn't know there were different engines. If that is the case, your van has a 26 year old engine! Why not have a new engine installed in Mexico; probably for less than all the other hassles involved? Contact the nearest VW dealer to Palenque and have them determine feasability before having your mechanic buy the engine (new or from a junkyard?).

[Ted Pope]

That's a good idea, and I will check with a Volkswagen dealer, in Villahermosa, about the possibility of a new replacement engine for the Westfalia. My engine has about 65000 miles on it, though it was rebuilt only about 10,000 miles back, in Tucson, Arizona. I did get some information (from the Mexican consulate, Austin, TX) that even though my car permit will be expired, I have up to a year before any fines would be considered. And it seems that I get a "safe return" permit when I go back to fix the car, and that will allow me to drive back to the U.S. even with the expired permit. Have you heard of such permits? Or have you heard of anyone having problems with expired permits when there is a legitimate cause for such?

[RVGRINGO]

That sounds quite fair and logical. Now, if you can get it in writing and stamped quite officially, you'll be OK. Also, get receipts from the mechanics, parts suppliers and storage facility to back up your claim. Also your old visas, etc. if you can.
Do check into the new engine; it may be that the rebuilding job wasn't all that great and you may have hidden damage, caused by that cylinder, to the rod and/or crankshaft.