car

License plate snafu snarls car sales in Lakeside and beyond

Car in Chapala. 

Patrick O’Heffernan, Ajijic. Buying a car in Lakeside?  Don’t count on getting your car on the road quickly.  In fact you may have to wait a month while it sits on your dealer’s lot awaiting plates because the new  appointment system is overwhelmed.

Karen Herrtwich, co-owner, with her husband, of S&S Auto in Reiberas de Pilar said that new and used car buyers need to be patient because license plate appointments now take  2 weeks to a month from the date of purchase.  Herrtwich pointed out that before the system changed to appointments last October, she could usually walk into the office in Chapala  the day after selling a car to complete the registration get the plates.

“ I went in to the license office in Chapala yesterday to plate a car we just sold and the first appointment was April 6 for a used car”, she told Laguna in a telephone  interview, adding that “the system here is saturated and we are told it is because people from Guadalajara are coming here to get their plates because they can’t get appointments in the city.”

Other dealers have gold Laguna similar stories, including for registration in other states and Mexico City.  I one case a  car was sold by a local dealer at the beginning of the month and was to be plated in Mexico City, but it was two weeks until he could get the appointment. When  the dealer showed up at the appointment, the license office manager said the staff were out sick with Covid and they could not do it. The dealer  was not able to get another appointment until the 24th of the month – almost two weeks later and a month after purchase.

“There are no appointments available anywhere in the near future, “ Antonio Regalado, owner of S&S Car Solutions  in Ajijic, told Laguna, adding that since the government went to an appointment and online systems last October, it is now very inefficient.  “Before that we could just show up with the paperwork – now it takes weeks or more and husband and wife can’t register as joint owners online so they have to go in person”, he said.

INSERT QUOTE FROM DMV MANAGER HERE

Regalado added that a contributing factor is the lack of new cars for sale, even at new car dealers.  He also said some dealers are opting to register cars in Estado de Mexico which is less expensive, but also requires a wait and a Mexico state address.

“There are no new cars available,” he told Laguna,  they are backlogged due to covid and shipping problems, a claim backed up by Mexico’s auto distributors association AMDA  which saw new car sales drop by at least 25.5% in 2020 .  Many people are cancelling orders for new cars because of the waiting time, and buying used cars, which drives more people to apply for appointments for used car registration”.

Once a dealer or a buyer gets an appointment,  there are usually not additional problems, Laguna  was told, except for the case of the office not staffed due to Covid. But the system breakdown seems to be widespread;  one dealer was told that offices as far away as Michoacán were overwhelmed by Guadalajarans and others trying to get appointments. A contributing factor may be last minute appointments to renew existing registration to get the discount.

Vehicle registration plates  are issued  in Mexico with unique visual designs by each state as in the US, but , but with a single national numbering system to avoid duplication of numbers between states.  This requires coordination with the national government, an extra step in the process.  Every year, owners of Mexican-registered vehicles pay the tenencia or revalidación de placas (car plates renewal tax) between January and March.  As with other taxes and fees, the government offers a discount for early payment. In Jalisco you can pay online at  Adeudo Vehicular’s website: https://gobiernoenlinea1.jalisco.gob.mx/vehicular, or in person at the Chapala office #026, located at Degollado 306, in Chapala.  For new plates you must make an appointment at the office.   Mexican car registration includes one pair of plates and a windshield sticker.