How To Get Around During A Pandemic: Making Moves In Merida In These Covid Streets

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When we moved to Merida, we had no intention of owning a car here. Uber is so ubiquitous, inexpensive, and we could simply hail a ride and 2-3 minutes later be on our way. There was also the added benefit of not learning how to drive in this foreign land of crazy roundabouts. Also, even cheaper than Ubers are the 9 peso bus rides that would take you to wherever you wanted to go if you could figure out which one to catch.

Now fast forward to the era of the pandemic. Ubers have been severely restricted in the service that they can offer. For instance, you can only have one passenger per car, and both you and the Uber driver need to wear masks. The passenger must also ride in the back seat to prevent the spread of Covid-19. From a safety perspective, it is just risky to take ride-sharing services and public transportation in the era of a pandemic.

Therefore, when I returned to Mexico on June 23rd, I decided to purchase a car. I had received a referral for a guy who could assist me with this process. His name came up 4 times from different sources. I connected with him about a week before arriving. He told me about two different cars that he had on consignment. One was a fully loaded Mazda 6, and the other was a Nissan X-Trail mid-sized SUV.

Well, after hearing about these two cars, I immediately went down the Youtube rabbit hole of looking at every detail of both models and comparing them to things I saw on FB groups. I also made comparisons to several new cars and SUVs of the same class. I learned about some significant differences between buying new cars in Mexico vs. buying in the United States.

The day after I arrived, which was a Wednesday, my guy met me at my house to show me the Nissan X-Trail first. He was on time, which is a big plus in Merida. He showed me the car, gave me the keys, and let me go for a test drive. He then returned about 30 minutes later with the second car, the Mazda 6. My heart wanted the Mazda 6, but my Daddy mode said the SUV was more practical. So I told him that I wanted to look at new cars and decide later that day.

After visiting two new car dealerships and deciding that the price, style, appearance, and features of the used Nissan X-Trail SUV fit what I wanted to spend better than a brand new car, I called my guy told him that I wanted the Suv. Now, this is where things got really interesting.

So I headed back home in my Uber for the last time. Meanwhile, my car guy purchased the car from the owner with his own cash, prepared the sale agreement, called his buddy, an insurance agent, and got insurance added to the car, and then he drove the car to me at my house for delivery. This was better than Carvana, Car Max, and Geico all combined. But the service didn’t stop there. Upon delivery, he showed me all the paperwork. He made sure to point out that the Title matched the seller, the VIN matched the service book, and the engine block. The services had all been done at the dealership and were stamped and verified by the dealer. Man, this guy was super thorough.

All in all, we got a great car, the day after I arrived with no hassles. I’ve since recommended my guy to 3 other friends who also purchased cars and had the same experience. If you want to see the exclusive interview I did with this MexPert filled with valuable information on buying a car in Mexico. Get the Mexconnect subscription and access the exclusive video and the name and contact information of this great resource on the MexitList.

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Until Next Time, MexitPlans Monte