Question on purchase

[GLRawley]

What is the procedure of purchasing a U.S. Flagged boat in a foreign country (Mexico) and getting back to the North West (Puget Sound)?
It is listed in San Diego but docked in Mexico.

 

[mvweebles]

Boat has (or should have) a 10-year temporary import permit (TIP). This is not transferable. It must be canceled by seller and buyer has a new one issued in their name. If you take possession in California, make sure that TIP has been canceled - will cause all sorts of hassle if the boat ever returns to Mexico. TIP is not vert expensive ($50? I don't recall) but paperwork is a hassle and can a half day of chasing officials, paying funds at a bank, etc.

Once you leave Mexico, you should go to Port Captain and receive a Zarpe, the official checkout form.

If boat is located in Ensenada, the marina offices have personnel who can assist but you may want to hire an agent. One who used to work at Cruiseport Village is Michelle Aguilar +1 (619) 305-9385

Getting a boat surveyed in Mexico can be a challenge. A San Diego based surveyor I have used will make the trek to Ensenada for a fee. kells@themarinesurveyors.com

Good luck with the purchase.

Peter

 

[twistedtree]

This is from memory, but I believe one of the stipulations on the TIP (temporary import permit) is that the boat won't be sold in Mexico. I don't know how much it's enforced or matters, but technically you need to transact and sale outside of Mexico. That means going off shore which is OK, but then when you return it's now your boat not the previous owners, and the TIP is no longer valid, so you are importing the boat into Mexico again for the first time under new ownership. But you won't have new registration papers yet, and you will have an old TIP still hanging around that needs to be cancelled.


I suspect a lot of people just ignore this, transact the deal, and move the boat back to the US or wherever, cancel the TIP, and move on. But to do it correctly looks to be a real hassle. At one point we had a boat in Mexico that was for sale and our plan was to return to San Diego to transact any deal, just to ensure it was clean and simple. If the boat's in Ensenada that easy.