21 replies to this topic

[ahchihuahua]

Hello all,

 

My family and I are moving to Playas. I have never been, except twice when i was a kid, so it doesn't really count. We had been thinking of moving to TJ for a few years now. But, just now have decided to move out there. I am super nervous, but am looking forward to it. We are moving this weekend and will be needing to buy a bed, washer, dryer and a fridge. Any idea where we can get them (used )for cheap & delivery included? Our car is not working, I know, worse time for that to happen since the move is this friday and sat.

 

We have to leave our apt. in San Diego sunday at the latest and  have paid for our apt. in Playas so there is no going back now.

 

Any help is appreciated as we are not familiar with the area at all, I do speak spanish and am a mexican national so that should help us a little. We are moving with our toddler and an infant.

 

 

[Zoe J.]

Welcome, and I hope it all works for you. There are so many helpful people, both expats and Mexicans. Tons of segundas (second hand stores) in Baja and Playas has a mega swap meet once a week. Take it slowly, don't get stressed, everything will fall into place. Hopefully, you applied for a Sentri card  or at least a Passport card. Too bad about the car as that has to be a major negative. Any questions, there will be someone here to give you a leg up and answer your query.

[Keyno]

welcome and good luck with your adventure....

[tijuanahopeful]

Welcome, I'll be starting my move to TJ soon myself.

[Jansurf]

I am moving to Playas as well. Same situation. I debated whether to move my stuff or buy anew. Please keep an eye out for me. I know your feelings and I feel your stress. You must have a positive attitude; after all, what's the alternative?

 

If any one has even a remote idea of taxes and duties on a fridge, washer/dryer, bed and boxes, I would welcome any guesses. If you cannot pay the taxes and duties at inspection, do they confiscate your things?

[ahchihuahua]

Thank you for the warm welcome.

 

Can you tell me more about that swapmeet in Playas?, address and days it meets please.

 

Jansurf,  we are trying to keep a positive attitude. Keyword TRYING haha

A lot of people told us to just move our stuff with us, but we really don't have expensive stuff so we decided to just leave it all behind, we are having a yardasale this sat. and whatever we don't sell will get donated. Plus, we dont have a truck to move the stuff across the border, we had an estimate done by a guy we found on Craigslist and he would charge us $550.00 + the fee for Customs...would be too much for us right now. Not to mention the headache of moving all that...anyways this guy did tell us that for the stuff you mention we were looking at about $300 for Customs...don't know for sure but he would have an idea since he does this on the regular.

 

Anyways, I hope you guys have a smooth transition as well.

[Jansurf]

Good info. This helped with my decision. The guy from Craig's list gave me a quote of $250 +customs. I will be moving On July 2 for just a week 'til a cross back to the US side for another load. Please look for me in Playas. I'm at the end of Av Pacifico. I will be crossing with an ice chest, an old dog, a bike and my surfboard.

 

My dilemma now is whether to take my nice car of my clunker.

 

My nice car is a robbery magnet (robbed once so far). But it's dependable and runs great with good gas mileage. The only thing of value I own. I have good Mexican insurance, but I have a feeling no one has ever collected from a claim filed under any Mexican policy.

My clunker broke down in the border crossing line once, but seems to be okay now. I also have Mexican insurance on that one. I was told if you do not have a Mexican cell phone, you will have to find a pay phone to call the number.

 

So I can risk breaking down in Tijuana

or getting car jacked in TJ. . . . decisions decisions.  . . . . .

[tijuanahopeful]

I don't know what kind of clunker you have, but I have a good, honest mechanic here in San Diego.  If you want him to take a look at it for you, I can give you his name.  He keeps my Astrovan running, and I'll have him check it out before I start moving stuff.

[tijuanahopeful]

I'm estimating around $300, give or take for my stuff at customs.  But I'll check again when I call the movers.  Krista said that it cost $370 at customs for her stuff, and that was a two bedroom apartment.

[Keyno]

I got rid of my Cadillac, use taxi's and busses. Pay Fox Express $25 round trip for Santa Ana (next to Jack in the Box)when needed(to see my Doctors, Dentist, and Family). Have Sentri, walk across, no wait. I want to live a stress free life, I don't want to pay for gas(evil empire), and insurance and fear of car thief. I know men and women think differently about cars, but I can live without one. I buy all my stuff here in TJ, used and new, don't want to pay taxes on large items and have to return them if broken to the USA under warranty.

 

ahhh, living a life stress free.....love it!

[tijuanahopeful]

Unfortunately, I can't live without my van, and without it, I wouldn't be able to work, plus go out and do the things that I like to do.  Replacing my stuff would cost me just as much as paying duty on it, and I have no intention of replacing my TV, computer and freezer just because I'm moving.  You can still lead a stress free life with a vehicle, and I don't drive every day anyway.  I take public transportation as much as possible, and my $18 bus pass is well used.  I just reloaded it yesterday, and will be using it later today.

[Keyno]

I need to get my Disabled Card from MTS, somewhere in downtown SD.  Too bad I can't buy a Disabled one day pass like in O.C. I lost all my belongings back in the beginning of the great recession, by selling. Anyway, have a good day.

[tijuanahopeful]

You can get your card at the MTS Store which is at 1st & Broadway. I replaced my plain S/M/D compass card with a senior one with my photo on it for $7. That's what you'll get, because they don't issue separate id's anymore. Everything is on the compass cards now.

[tijuanahopeful]

My personal belongings aren't worth any money to anyone except myself.  I tried to have a yard sale, and made $10.  I live in City Heights, and no one spends any money there.

[Chamaco]

Duties on taking things into Mexico is 16% after a $75 per adult exemption.  Mexican nationals pay a lower rate (not sure what it is).  As an example- Cross with a $500 TV with one person, you pay 16% x $425 = $68

 

Not sure how you value used items.  I've heard of people placing ads on Craigslist for used items, printing them out, and using that as a form of reciept.  I've also used MS Word to print out recepits from Amazon (and other on-line stores) for things I've bought and brought across.  The prices somehow dropped by 75% during the printing process

 

One other thing- If you ever bring over expensive items with a total over $3,000 they consider it commercial importation and getting it across get's way more complicated.  I took a big chance by crossing with around $3,500 in gas furnaces for my house without declaring.  If you cross during rush hour (early evening on weekdays), the "rumor" is that there's a lower percentage of red light hits that get you sent to secondary.  Not sure if it's true or not.

[Chamaco]

One other thing- If you cross in a pickup truck (or van) obviously loaded with things in the back, you'll get flagged into secondary even without getting the red light.  Virtually everytime I've come out of la Aduana after paying, I've gotten green lights, but when they see something in the back of the truck, they automatically wave you over.  I just showed them my receipt for the import fee and was on my way.  If you're going to cheat, make sure the stuff you're bringing in is in the trunk.

 

Another thing worth considering is bringing things down in small bits of value (hopefully less than $75 per load) so you don't pay anything.

[tijuanahopeful]

I don't have anything that's worth even close to $3,000.  I can't put things in a car trunk, because I don't have a car.  I have a 1994 Chevrolet Astrovan, and the blue book value is $500, but I've put close to $8,000 in repairs into it.  I'm not worried about getting stopped, because they can stop me all they want - they won't find anything interesting - it's all household stuff. It's really hard to print out receipts from the furniture that I bought at Salvation Army five years ago, but I guess I can print some out from Craigslist.

 

Everything that I own is of small value, and when I start moving, I'll have a loaded van.  It makes no sense for me to move a few things at a time.  I crossed accidentally last week, and had to reschedule my Sentri appt, and got stopped even with noting in the back of my van.  It's probably going to take four trips in my van to move everything that I can move myself, and I'm prepared to pay each time, plus when my furniture gets moved, I'm prepared to pay then. 

 

When I moved into the place I live in now, it took four van loads, and there was no furniture - only boxes. 

[HK70]

You can buy a cheap phone at Oxxo for 200-300 pesos so no reason not to have a cheap cell in TJ.  The pain in the butt part is doing the registration.

[tijuanahopeful]

I expect all I'll need is a prepaid cell phone, though.

[Jansurf]

Thanks for all the great info, here.

I do have a really, really good mechanic in San Diego, already. I wonder if we have the same one, B & B auto. This guy is so good. My car is so old, they no longer make parts for it. So this guy actually makes the parts and puts them on my car. My car was running great, but the mechanic warned me that the engine was solid, but if other things like the transmission or things other than the engine break, no one will be able to fix it. Well I drove it to LA. Yep, transmission. I'm hoping it doesn't pass smog so I can surrender it for $1000.

 

I highly recommend B & B auto. They go out of their way to save you money on parts and repairs, but still give quality service. I actually had to force the guy to put a new battery in my car. He kept insisting that the one I had would last, but I said I didn't want to take a chance.Check B&B Auto's 'yelp' page.

 

I am doing small loads, as suggested.

I now have to figure my items based on the good helpful calculations here. I actually have a TV from 1989. Maybe they

will pay me when I bring it across.

 

I somehow got my 3-wheel bike into my station wagon. What a miracle! I put my dog in the front basket with her sombrero on, and the people of Playas look at me as though I just disembarked the spaceship. Apparently no one has ever seen a 3-wheel bike.

 

I only drive my car to work. Everything else is bike.

 

I ride my bike so much, that I was looking for a good bike repair place down her in Playas. As I was looking, some kid peddled up to me and handed me a flyer: Bike Repair 20 % off. Wow, now that's service.