Turned Away at Guatemal Border - Mesilla

[hound master]

I thought I should share this info as it may help somebody else, and possibly somebody would have some advice.

I attempted to cross the border yesterday to Guatemala and was turned away because they would not accept my Memorandum Title as proof of ownership. It is an official, original document from the state of Ohio but because I financed a portion of the motorcycle the bank holds the real title until I pay in full. When preparing for the trip I asked about this and was told it would work as it states i am the owner and it is a document from the state. Not in Guatemala, and as far as I can tell there's no way around it, geographically and figuratively.

I am in San Cristobal de Las Casas trying to figure my next move, I am supposed to meet my family in Costa Rica on Tuesday morning! Any help or advice would be appreciated, and I hope this helps future travelers.

Thanks! Greg

[Sjoerd Bakker]

This is a tough one to answer but maybe this will help. Since you are back in S Cristobal ,you probably went to and from the Cd Cuauhtemoc/La Mesilla crossing .Going back there they might let you go , but they might also remember you and refuse you again.Would have been better to have gone to the south coast border crossing ,not back to SC , but so it goes.

Do you have the vehicle REGISTRATION from Ohio ? Hopefully you have such a card or page and that it is in your name. This could save your bacon.Go back to the GT border at another crossing and show only the bike REGISTRATION and your DL and passport.Leave the"title" out of sight as if you do not have Ignore it completely. Really should not need it, it is only for purposes of selling ,right?
Go down to the Mex 200 crossing east of Tapachula at Cacahoatan.These guys see more traffic than la Mesilla and may not be as finicky.
If you make it through then you are also on a faster route through Guatemal on your way to Costa Rica
See www.borderhelper.com and click on border of Cacahoatan ,more details. re: leaving Mexico

[hound master]

thanks for the response.

I am going to print a copy of a my title on some more official looking paper stock here and as you suggested go to the southern border crossing, hopefully tomorrow.

I did show my registration at the Guatemala - Mesilla Aduana and he refused to believe it was original, which it is, it just looks photocopied. The guy was impossible, he did show me a line in an official looking book about requiring "original title" for importing a vehicle into Guatemala. I was really surprised to see that. I hope the southern pass will work out and the other crossings will be better? Should registration only work for South America as well? Thanks for your help, the border crossing site is really nice so thanks for the link.

Greg

[guaterider]

Sorry about your trouble , but by law you are required to carry and show your title, not only in Guatemala but in all the other countries further down south as well .
You might not always be asked for it , but that's a different story.

IMHO Tapachula is a much tougher border to cross then La Mesilla. A really easy one is the one at El Naranjo (Peten) , but it's way off the shortest route to Costa Rica. And then you would still have several other borders to cross before you make it to CR .

Suerte !

[panavalk]

many countries including the UK & I think Canada, do not issue titles. I used to travel on my UK registered bike with only a registration document.
As others stated try another border or hope there is a different official working as they tend to change what they ask for hourly, whether it is the law or not!!

[wheatwhacker]

Every border we crossed in CA bar Costa Rica and Panama asked for our titles.
They love original official "looking" documents. Its going to get worse as you head south.
I recommend playing around on photoshop for a while and make an official document.
These border crossing are a complete joke and some guy on a power trip whose only english is "original document" makes the whole process even worse. That and paying to spray insecticide all over your bike.
It may be worth paying the touts an extra few bucks to ease the process.
A friend of mine could not get his bike "out" of Nicaragua as he lost his paperwork. He had to use photoshop to make new doc's.

[wandermoto]

Originally Posted by panavalk

many countries including the UK & I think Canada, do not issue titles.

In the UK we have the V5 Document. And whiles this quire clearly states no proof of ownership, it is accepted worldwide as proof of entitlement to use the vehicle.

In well over 5 years of worldwide travel, including 8 separate renewals on the my Guatemalan temporary import papers (same permit/sticker at La Mesilla) I never had any problems. Whenever I have been asked for Tittle document in all of Central America I just show them my V5.

I know of at least 2 UK bikes where the riders name was not on the V5 that successfully entered Guatemala. Both had a "use agreement" typed up and notarized in Mexico. A canadian rider without papers used the same tactic, but I don't know them personally.

La Misilla sees a lot of traffic. The aduana offices there are very efficient but also very well versed in what to check etc.

I would suggest that you might have better luck at another border. You may be tempted to just ride across as some riders have done in the past. From experience, the problem will come down the road, leaving Honduras to Nicaragua. With a bit of negotiation you should get yourself and the bike out for 100-150 bucks.

A friend who recently left his overseas registered bike in Honduras for an extended period, no permit renewal for a couple of years, didn't negotiate hard and still paid less than 300.

Cheers,

Andrew