Motorbike long time Storage Baja California
 

Dear all,
I'm looking for a save long term storage of my motorbike (BMW 1200 GS) starting at the mid of January 2025 for around 7 months at a reasonable price.
Preferred region is the city of La Paz (Baja California) because of the proximity to the airport.
All suggestions are welcome
Uwe

Uwe , just one important question .
From which direction will you be arriving in La Paz BCS ?
This may be important , and you may already have developed a plan to cover for the problem .

If you are coming by ferry from mainland Mexico then of course you will possess the TVIP . That document must be cancelled before leaving the bike stored for six months .
Left uncancelled the TVIP expires and you will lose the security deposit and have more problems .
There is no way that the Banjercito at the ferry terminal in either of Pichilingue or Topolobampo or Mazatlan will cancel a TVIP . That must always be done at the border , in this case the border at the north into USA ..
If you are coming from the US border intending to go to Mexico by ferry from Baja then you do not need to get the TVIP for Baja California . You will need to get a new FMM at the border in order to get the TVIP at the ferry docks . Both the TVIP and FMM are available at border crossing customs terminals .
I leave untouched the options of getting such documents on-line .

If after the seven months away from the bike you intend to take the ferry to the mainland you will need to get the TVIP at the ferry terminal and to do that you need the tourist card = FMM document which your air-line ticket into Mexico should get you ( but I have never flown into Mexico )
Without first having an FMM in hand the TVIP will not be given to you at the ferry terminal .


For storage you should be able to find a commercial storage facility ( mini bodega ) in La Paz or you may locate some person who is willing to keep it in their garage for less money .

It might make more sense to find a Mexican storage service near the US border , then you will have the FMM and TVIP options both close to hand if you need to get both. The Tijuana airport can get you all the connections to anywhere .


As examples in Mexicali this link https://simplestorage.mx/nosotros/
in La Paz https://en.storagelapaz.com/

Dear Sjoerd,
Thank you for your detailed reply.
1. TIP
My plan: I will take the ferry from Mazatlán to port Pichilingue near la Paz. In the port at the Banjercito branch I will cancel my TIP. Afterwards I store the motorbike near La Paz (time reason) and around 7 months later I will come back and enter the US on the direct way via Tijuana with the bike (note: The whole Baja California is a free zone where foreign vehicles can be used without TIP …)

Question: Do you agree that in this planned way the TIP is used correctly and all other relevant rules are respected ?

1. Sought long term storage for the motorbike.
You wrote: „you may locate some person who is willing to keep it in their garage for less money“
Yes, such a storage option for a reasonable price is what I’m looking for.
Question: Does anybody knows such a person ?

Thank you and greetings from the south of Mexico.
Uwe

Uwe I have to repeat :
It is not possible to cancel the TVIP at Pichilingue - I have asked them in person - or at any other office in La Paz or Cabo San Lucas u.s.w ( Some fellows have claimed that they found an official way to do it , or tried bribery , somewhere at the airport , but I have no knowledge of that )

The cancellation of the TVIP is a process restricted to border points where it is expected that the owner will transport the bike out of Mexico .
In your case you will ,I suspect , be heading north out of Mexico later in 2025 .


To cancel the TVIP the motorcyle and supporting documents must be physically presented at the BANJERCITO kiosk at the border or at one of the inland roadside Banjercito offices . There are none of those roadside facilities in Baja , they exist only at a number of mainland locations .
The BANJERCITO agent will accept your TVIP form in printed representation , will take photos of the VIN on the bike and a photo of the license plate and of the whole bike . If you have only the electronic version image of the TVIP document then get a paper print made of it .They will not accept you holding up the smartphone display of it, I have tried that . .
Repeat : the motorcycle must be there , not only a show of the papers.

That Banjercito agent will then give you the receipt for the Security Deposit Refund and you take that inside to the Migracion desk to present it as proof and then they will terminate your FMM ( tourist permit ) If you paid in cash US Dollars for TVIP SECURITY DEPOSIT then the Banjercito will now give you back the same US Dollar amount . If you paid for the deposit with a credit card the refund goes back directly to that card account .


This is the reason I suggested finding a parking spot in Mexicali . You can also do the same thing in Algodones or Tecate or Tijuana . Tijuana has an international airport for connecting flights to Europe through Mexico so you avoid all the problems of crossing into the USA . That way you can first arrange some manner of storage and then cancel the TVIP and get your security deposit returned .

Then cancel your FMM .

Having done those two things you can turn around and retreat into Mexicali or Tijuana to park the bike in storage .

This is possible because the Mexican attitude at the US border is quite relaxed . They do not force you under armed supervision to actually get out of the country straight away .

As a tourist you may be in the Mexican border city or small town for a day or two without these documents , they do not run streetside checks of passports .
From the US side people walk in and out of Mexico with minor checks in Mexico . Going into The US they get a serious document inspection .

The whole of Baja California is exempted from the need to have a TVIP , but for longer visits the FMM is required.

When you are cleared for exit from Mexico only then can you put your bike away in storage and it should never be removed until your return .

When you do return get the bike out of storage and running and simply ride it to the border station and get in any lineup of cars there may be to enter the USA .

You do not need to stop at Mexican customs when departing . Your bike was already out of the country officially .

To enter the USA use your passport and whatever visa you needed to arrange beforehand with the US Naturalization and Border Security Service . The will not really care what you did with the bike left in Mexico

Dear Sjoerd,
thank you for your reply.
Please let me summarize the two options I have.

Option 1 (in the following sequence):
a.) I ride the bike to any border point (for instance Tecate)
b.) In Tecate the TIP is cancelled.
c.) In Tecate the FMM is cancelled.
d.) Instead of crossing the border in Tecate to the US (as it should be usually done) I ride the bike to the storage location somewhere in the region of Tijuana
e.) Finally I take a flight from Tijuana back to Europe (and 7 months later I will actually cross the border with the bike to the US in Tijuana for instance).

Option 2:
I store the bike in La Paz (and take a flight from there) as planned, I do NOT cancel the TIP and the security deposit is lost (note: I will never travel again with any personally owned vehicle to Mexico)

Question regarding option 1:
If I understood correct every tourist travelling to Mexico gets a FMM.
Am I allowed to leave Mexico by plane from Tijuana with a cancelled FMM at all ? (I think cancelled means, that I do not have this card any more …)

Thank you for your reply in advance.
Uwe

If you do leave the bike in La Paz with the TVIP and with the security deposit left uncancelled in any event you will forfeit the security deposit .

In answer to your questions of Option 2

You have a choice of two approaches .
From Europe you can fly back to La Paz and get your bike out of storage .

Approach 1 You can then take your chances and ride it north to the border and simply cross directly into the USA while not having any contact with the Mexican side about cancelling the TVIP and cancelling the FMM . The USA zoll agents will not care about the status of your bike as concerning Mexico . They will see your EU license plate and that is enough .
This probably will mean that you will never wish to visit Mexico again ,seeing that your uncancelled TVIP suggests that you sold the bike in Mexico illegally , and this data will be in their computer file with your name . You will be flagged and will be blocked from entering Mexico .

A variant of this could be that you ride to the border and openly confess that you failed to remove the bike from Mexico . This will likely entail a fine to be paid on the spot . It may clear your record with BANJERCITO for future visits to Mexico .



Approach 2 You fly back to La Paz and retrieve the bike and then take up contact with BANJERCITO to explain that you have exceeded the TVIP time ( 180 days ) allowed . ( There may be a fine in addition to loss of the deposit , but I am not sure of that ).
Ask for a temporary permit and they will inspect the bike and your paperwork and the VIN all of which then proves that you did not sell the bike in Mexico , so not imported and no taxes evaded .
Banjercito may then issue a short term permit , a number of days for you to legally ride the bike to the nearest border crossing to the USA where you will go to the BANJERCITO and actually finish officially clearing your bike out of Mexico and retain your good standing so that in future you might ride another bike , or car into Mexico .
With that done you can still put the bike in storage in BAJA , Keep it hush hush .!


Now regarding your questions as to your Option 1

Yes every tourist in Mexico needs to have the FMM , but never having flown into or out of Mexico I am not familiar with how it goes for flying out of Tijuana .
However since in theory by now you just cancelled the old FMM and the TVIP there is nothing to stop you from applying again for a brand new FMM only and paying for it . For your purposes , IF they ask about a bike which you had , you simply say that it is now in California .

As I say , I have never flown from Mexico , but the Tijuana International Airport may have FMM exceptions for travelers coming out of the USA .
There is a pedestrian border crossing from San Ysidro, USA directly to the airport terminal and a regular flow of travellers walk from the USA straight into the airport terminals to take flights in Mexico and beyond . In any case they would have that document issued at the terminal . But this last paragraph is speculation on my part .

You need more input from regular fliers in Mexico

Dear Sjoerd,
with “option 2” I actually meant to exceed the maximum date of return and cancel the TIP sometime later at BANJERCITO, by losing the warranty deposit.
My intention is close the case officially before I enter the US and provide the proof that I did not sell the bike in Mexico for instance.
There is many information in the internet informing about this TIP topic, but nowhere is referred to a regulation which specifies that there is an additional fine charged (on top to the loss of the warranty deposit) when exceeding the maximum date of return.
That means: No supporting regulation is existing and no fine is charged …

Regarding “option 1” I see the problem that they will terminate your FMM (tourist permit).
In the free zone (e.g. Tijuana) you do not need a FMM so this would be not a problem, but in my case the officer in the airport (when I take the flight back to Europe) will see in my passport the entry stamp of the border point near Chetumal. This is for the officer the indication that a FMM definitely was issued. This situation may generate further questions I do not want to discuss as my plane will not for me.

That means over all “option 2” has a price of 400 USD, but there aren’t any unexpected surprises as the regulations are clear.

Glad that you are seeing your way through this bit of bureaucracy .
Please let us know how all of this worked out when you do the return portion of your voyage and have entered the USA .
Ciao .