CARS & CURVES

LEARNING curves, that is. The past several weeks have been full of learning curves. All the logistics of putting a household together (or taking one apart!) barely apply here in Ajijic. Everything is slower (I’m told mañana actually means, when I get to it) & more complicated here. Which is a good thing for someone like me who wants to spend less time/money buying stuff. (Read my earlier blogs to see my feelings about that.) But tougher when it comes to things like buying a car (& being an impatient gringo).

Our first effort at buying a Honda CRV, Ben’s choice after much research, was thwarted by a gut feeling that the car we looked at/drove just wasn’t quite right. Most likely it had been in the heavy rains in Puerta Vallerta & was brought here to be “dumped”. Getting our downpayment back from the guy who’d been recommended to us created some bad feelings so we decided to look elsewhere. But before we did we followed that person’s advice to set up a Mexican bank account & get an “RCF” number (akin to a US social security number). The bank account set up took weeks as we consulted with the local banker & followed the steps she laid out for us. Each step required another visit to her office. Move money from a US account to the Mexican account & wait for it to clear. Return to her office to apply for checks & a debit card. Return to her office to pick them up….

Meanwhile, we found another local person recommended for his honest car deals. We liked the white CRV on his lot & talked to him at length before putting down a small amount of money to hold it. (There was actually someone in the driveway who planned to buy the car right then if we decided not to.) Turns out Rafael flies to Merida where his family lives then drives the CRV or RAV 4 for many hours to Ajijic to sell it. They don’t sit on his lot long. Short of this, or the one “gringo” car lot in town, folks go to Guadalajara to buy a car. Not ready for that yet. Fingers crossed.

So next you write a MEXICAN check to the dealer & go to the bank…oh, wait. First you have to call the bank 2 days ahead of time & tell them how much cash you need (& why) so they can GET IT from ??? Then you go to the bank, write the check to the dealer, he takes it to the teller who then verifies the transaction & gives THEM the cash. (OK by me). THEN you can take the car. You go buy insurance. You take it back to the dealer so he can take it to Chapala for local tags. Then he takes it to Tonala to check the VIN numbers, etc. Then you go pick it up again the next day & pay them more money for the tags. Then, & only then, you wait in line for gas because the Mexican Presidente known as AMLO has slowed distribution to a trickle to try to prevent theft/crime by… We have our car now but the next step is to go for an emissions test in Chapala, though that may have to wait based on the last letter in our license plate & the corresponding month. What???

All that being said, I must tell you that for the most part I did not want a car. Especially a nice car. I believe that it sets me apart from the local people. That it makes me another gringo living in Paradise. It seems like gringos speak/wave to me now & Mexicanos do not. Now I have to worry about-or do I?-the nice car getting beaten up. Because with narrow cobblestone streets that’s what happens. We paid a lot of $ for that car. How does that first scratch/dent feel??? I miss the bus & taxi rides where I learn so much about the people & their language. The plus side is that we have already seen areas we would’ve had to pay a driver to take us to, if we’d even known about them. And we can gradually extend our exploration to nearby mountain towns & the coast. And my shoulders don’t ache from carrying heavy loads of groceries up our hill from the market. OK, I’ll adapt.

You can drive here on a US license. Nonetheless, we’ve signed up to get our Mexican licenses. (Can I drive in the US on that license? Don’t know yet.) The car dealer’s wife pointed out exactly what papers & tags to show to a policia if they stop us. She is Mexican & was followed by the Federales on the highway from Guadalajara, for no particular reason. Trafficos (traffic cops) rarely speak English & love it if they give you a ticket & you pay it on the spot because you don’t speak Spanish & you don’t know what else to do. There’s a sticker gringos have created here for your car that tells the cops you will take your ticket & go, thank you, because you don’t want to pay more than you have to. My joke about driving here is-There is no road rage in Mexico. But there is also no hesitation. I haven’t driven in over 2 months. Not sure when I’ll start. Pull far right to turn left if you’re in a line of traffic??? Whew! Learning curve.