Realizing a consensus here is unrealistic, I would welcome feedback on allowing my US

tags to expire. We have two cars here and my wife is urging me to go with the South Dakota option, if any are familiar with it. It is much less expensive than the cost of renewing in Georgia, which requires US insurance.

Anecdotal stories I've heard range from driving for years on expired tags with no problems to having vehicles seized. I suspect the truth is the familiar it's ok until it's not refrain, but any comments are welcome.

I have been here for seven years. I agree with your assessment that everything is okay until it is not.
I know people driving with NOB plates that expired many years ago, others with South Dakota plates, still others with permenente status and foreign plated cars they still drive. Others can be comfortable only with everything legal and proper no matter how difficult and/or expensive it may be to accomplish that.
I do not personally know anyone who has gotten into trouble for any of the above, even those stopped for one reason or another. There has never been anything that could not be talked or bought out of. I have heard of others not so lucky. You know yourself better than anyone else does and what you can be comfortable with. Life is too short to do something that would make you edgy or nervous as you drive around each day.

Get the SD plates.

elevator wrote:tags to expire. We have two cars here and my wife is urging me to go with the South Dakota option, if any are familiar with it. It is much less expensive than the cost of renewing in Georgia, which requires US insurance.

Anecdotal stories I've heard range from driving for years on expired tags with no problems to having vehicles seized. I suspect the truth is the familiar it's ok until it's not refrain, but any comments are welcome.

Depending on which state your tags are from: I sent for a "non-operation form" from CA when our tags were about to expire, which means that when the car was sold, there were no fees due for non-renewal over seven years. CA requires not only insurance current in CA, but also getting smog inspection. (Unrealistic if you don't go back there with the car yearly.) At that point, we drove the car for seven years in Mexico with the old CA plates. Were never stopped on that issue, so can't advise on what would happen.
What you "should" do depends on your level of tolerating risk.
Personally, I would advise selling the car/s and buying Mexican plated, which one has to do eventually if becoming a "permanente" resident.

If your car cannot be legally driven where it is registered NoB, it cannot be legally driven in Jalisco. Look it up!
If it cannot be legally driven, your insurance is probably no good.
The importation papers only allow it to BE in Mexico, not necessarily used on the roads.

Many, many Mexicans driving "chocolates" around with the former and expired plates on them from various US states including California.  They have never been nationalized, bearing expired plates, no insurance and probably the drivers don't even have valid driver's licenses.

If you don't have your vehicle legal in all respects, don't waste the money on insuring it - just "self-insure" like many others on the roads here and pay what you can if you are ever involved in a situation where you need to pay to get out of it.

The day may come, but until such time as Mexico starts to get serious about enforcing the laws it has on the books about this, the odds are in your favour.

Note that when an accident happens, you may sometimes see everyone in the car jump out and run for the hills. Probably, as you described; no license, no insurance, no valid ownership = running to escape responsibility. The car is forfeit.

My tags expired in 2009 and I've been stopped by both transitos and federales a number of times since then,they didn't care about them,but by all means if you're worried about it get the SD plates.

the only reason you need the sd plates is if you have a tourist or temporal and plan on driving NOB. if you only drive in mexico ya don't need the sd plates.

and get the SD plates.

Thanks to all

Never a bad idea. If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

nm

elevator wrote:and get the SD plates.

Thanks to all

I applied for South Dakota plates, and they wanted to charge a sales tax, cause it was Oregon Plated.

I thought the new immigration laws made you permanent in 4 years and then you cannot drive a foreign plated car. I paid $20US for the pales and $69 for tabs the next 3 years. At the end of the time I have something to legally sell in the US.