Move to Mexico: Have 2014 Leaf Shipped? Or buy Newer there...

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

theboltons4

Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2017
Messages
10
Hello Leaf Fans. I will be moving to Mexico in Nov 2019. Trying to plan ahead.
I have had my leaf shipped to Florida once before with no issues.
I was a caregiver of my mother and couldn't take the time to drive it down.
Shipping 2500 miles including through customs might be more challenging.
I asked some Lake Chapala groups and all I got was a lot of ignorance... no knowledge based answers.
It occurred to me none of them have ever driven a leaf let alone owned one.
I know all the technical stuff like your residency determines your options for bringing a car into Mexico.
I am asking if anyone has ever done this and what their experience has been.
My car will be paid off in 2020. So that is part of my thoughts.
We will be living where I can trickle charge it conveniently and will use it as many people use golf carts there.
Any personal experience would be appreciated.
Thanks!
 
Unless you will be living in one of the coolest parts of Mexico, I would suggest a 2015 Leaf, for the more heat resistant battery pack. If it will actually be Hot there, I'd look for a different EV. IF you will be in the mountains, then it's worth exploring getting it shipped...
 
Hi LeftieBiker. Thanks for your imput about the weather. We will have very moderate temps as we will be at 5000 feet there (40 as an absolute low and 90 is uncommon. Here in Baltimore we get much worse extremes and of course my winter heat and summer ac really kill my mileage gotten.
With the average daily high of 75-80 and lows around 50-60, we think "Hugo" will do quite well.
The roads aren't the best there, and side roads are cobblestone, but I don't expect to be off the main road very often.
Thanks again for your imput!
 
You're welcome. You might want to get the car fully serviced before you leave - brake fluid and pads, 'transaxle' fluid change, new 12 volt battery (I suggest an Optima Yellowtop or similar deeper cycle battery), cabin filter change, even a coolant change. It may be hard to find mechanics to work on it in Mexico.
 
By the numbers of wrecked but still repairable cars I see being towed south on I-5 towards the border with "In Tow" scrawled on a piece of cardboard attached to the back window, it doesn't appear that folks in Mexico are having a tough time finding mechanics to work on cars that were never officially sold there, at least ICEVs.

For anything not involving the car's propulsion system, it would be trivially easy for a shade-tree mechanic to work on it. 12 v battery replacements, cabin filter changes, coolant, brake pads, even the transaxle fluid are no different to work on than an ICEV.

Parts may be a bit harder to come by, such as finding the exact 12 volt battery, or even the cabin filter. You may want to make arrangements with someone still back in the US to buy these parts and ship them to you if you can't get it locally. Coolant should be the same as you can get in any auto parts store.

But I would recommend having a Nissan dealer in the US take a look at it, to include the battery check, to make sure there's nothing wrong, and if there is to give you time to get it sorted before it gets shipped out. You may even want to grab some extra parts like cabin filters while you're there as they don't take up a lot of room.

Is Mexico on 120 or 240 volt power? If the latter you won't be able to use the OEM EVSE unless it's been modified to accept 240 volt power.
 
Ahhhh Chapala. Great area. Perpetual spring time temps, close to Guadalajara which is probably one of the nicest cities in the Americas, and generally a nice place to live. I don't think you'll have a hard time finding a Leaf dealer in Guad but depending on your spanish skill level you may want to get the maintenance done before you go. Although Chapala has english speakers generally not too common in Guad. Are you going to become a resident? If so the import procedure is different. It changes fast enough that you probably want to talk to an immigration lawyer. Wait till you get there and talk to your neighbours in Chapala to see who they are using. Be careful taking advice from other expats as many are probably doing it wrong or even illegally. Importing cars is a bit confusing for Mexico.

Enjoy your move. Have you ever been there (Guad I mean).

Disfruta su estancia.

On edit. I just checked. NISSAN GUADALAJARA VALLARTA is a Leaf dealer. They have them in stock. They are on the west side of Guad. Take the ring road...trust me TAKE THE RING ROAD. :) The address is.

Av. Vallarta 6600, Ciudad Granja. Zapopan, Jalisco. México, 45010

Cheers.
 
For anything not involving the car's propulsion system, it would be trivially easy for a shade-tree mechanic to work on it. 12 v battery replacements, cabin filter changes, coolant, brake pads, even the transaxle fluid are no different to work on than an ICEV.

Yes. What I meant (but didn't write) was that it might be hard to find mechanics with Leaf-specific experience in the mountains of Mexico. If the OP can afford it, it probably makes more sense to have the car fully serviced before transporting it. From what I see above, there are apparently Leaf Techs available, although their quality is an unknown. So if the dealer they use now is good, I stand by my suggestion. If they can find out that the dealer near their new home is fine, it might make more sense to give them the work and establish a relationship.
 
LeftieBiker said:
For anything not involving the car's propulsion system, it would be trivially easy for a shade-tree mechanic to work on it. 12 v battery replacements, cabin filter changes, coolant, brake pads, even the transaxle fluid are no different to work on than an ICEV.

Yes. What I meant (but didn't write) was that it might be hard to find mechanics with Leaf-specific experience in the mountains of Mexico. If the OP can afford it, it probably makes more sense to have the car fully serviced before transporting it. From what I see above, there are apparently Leaf Techs available, although their quality is an unknown. So if the dealer they use now is good, I stand by my suggestion. If they can find out that the dealer near their new home is fine, it might make more sense to give them the work and establish a relationship.

My general experience with mechanics in Mexico are they are top rate. BUT...I agree that getting things done before going is a good idea, As well, having a good grasp of a language you are negotiating or explaining a problem in is really important. Guadalajara is a great city, second biggest city in Mexico) but english is rarely heard.
 
RonDawg, WeBeLeafOwners and LeftieBiker: your information is very helpful. As I certainly have time before I need to make a decision, i will take all the ideas I can get.
I can’t figure out how you figured out which Guad Nisan dealer has Leafs (Haha not Leaves!) available but I am impressed! I also hope that means used ones might be found as well.
The biggest thing we have yet to decide is our resident status. Perm Mexico Residence does not allow us to bring our US car without paying heftily. Temp Residence gives us a few better options as US car owners.
As to the Electric in Chapala, what we have seen was 110. So I have no problem trickle charging as public stations are non existent at this time. The only issue would be if we chose apartment style living. Definitely a consideration...
Service here has a following of its own. People are always telling Happy stories about their experiences. Parts is another story: we have heard about parts taking weeks to months to arrive. That’s a bummer, of course, but there’s always a glitch somewhere.
I look forward to any other advise anyone has to offer. Wish this was 2019 we were heading into. We are so ready for this move!
 
Can you move there as temp residents, and then apply for permanent status later? One last suggestion from me: see if you can get info on used Leafs in inventory near your new home. If they have 2015 cars that have resided only in that region, that might be a better long term bet because of the better battery chemistry. Do you have any LeafSpy info on your car's pack?
 
LeftieBiker:
I am not so tech oriented. What is Leafspy info on my car pack ? I have an iPhone and from my just now search this is beyond me.
The gist I get is it can diagnose the details of the car’s battery life. I have a tech friend I can ask for some assistance next week. Thanks! I learned something new today.
 
LeafSpy can tell you, via the "SOH" (state of health) reading, what percentage of the original capacity your pack has left. If your SOH is still in the nineties it's probably worth keeping the car. If it has dropped into the eighties then you have lost substantial capacity. You need the LeafSpy app and a compatible (with the Leaf's diagnostic port) diagnostic reader, called an "ODBII" dongle or reader. There are several topics here on using these to get vital info on your pack.
 
Our spanish is not conversational yet. We are working on it with Duo-Lingo, but I can't say we are even 25% effective yet. Mine is high school and college spanish which apparently was Spain spanish.
When we were in Ajijic in September, I was amazed how much came back but not enough to ask questions or even have a first grader's conversation. Catholic School education... lots of commands, not a lot of conversational give and take. We hope that by Nov 2019 our spanish skills will have improved so that calling the dealer isn't so intimidating. :shock:
 
theboltons4 said:
Our spanish is not conversational yet. We are working on it with Duo-Lingo, but I can't say we are even 25% effective yet. Mine is high school and college spanish which apparently was Spain spanish.
When we were in Ajijic in September, I was amazed how much came back but not enough to ask questions or even have a first grader's conversation. Catholic School education... lots of commands, not a lot of conversational give and take. We hope that by Nov 2019 our spanish skills will have improved so that calling the dealer isn't so intimidating. :shock:

You tube is your friend. Watch videos from "notes in spanish" and read at the same time. Use your smart phone to download podcasts from lacasarojas.com Download the pdf.s print them off and follow along. Its a peruvian dialect but very neutral. Liten to each podcast minimum 50 times. The rythym of the language will begin to set in. Every minute of downtime is available to practice with podcasts. I speak 4 languages fluently and am working on the 5th. And yes, duolingo has its place. 3 or 4 exercises a day. When you are ready AND NOT BEFORE THEN feel free to get in touch with me and we can try a skype conversation. It is important to not start conversing before you feel ready as it tends to kick the self confidence.

My wife and I are in our mid fifties. Age changes how you learn a language but not your ability to learn a language .
 
Thanks for all your help! My husband and I are also in our fifties. These ideas are wonderful. I just read them to my husband now. Will be looking for them shortly. Muchos gracias!
 
We have been planning retirement abroad for about 2 years. Have read many books and numerous articles. We found out about Chapala as a retirement location and our first trip there was this September. We went for two weeks and could not get over how wonderfully accessible it is. We walked everywhere for the two weeks. Met welcoming Mexican people, great gringos and had the most amazing chill time. Since we want to become less reliant on automobiles and find a place that was neither warm nor cold most of the year it really fit the concept. We got used to the cobblestone roads and simplicity of walking or taking public buses around town. Our goal was to find a place that was welcoming and affordable.
My husband is going to take early retirement so we needed somewhere that fit our budget. There has been an explosion of Americans in the past year or so, and housing prices are on the rise but we are committed to taking the journey. In many ways we feel as though Ajijic and the Lake Chapala Communities are a step backward in time. We have heard live examples about excellent health care and very involved community members. People there are less leary of strangers and more helpful than anywhere else we have traveled to.
Sorry if I am rambling. I guess you could say we fell in love with the people and the place.
 
Back
Top