Hey guys and gals, wassup from San Diego! If you go to SD, don't drive down to Mexico!

After work yesterday, I thought I'd sneak in a quick roadtrip before work the next morning so I drove down the I-15 and then the I-5 to Tijuana - damn what a mistake! After crossing the border, I almost got run over by one of like 5 buses cuz as soon as you cross the border, there ain't no damn traffic lanes and everyone like drives however the hell they want!

So I went to Costco (yeah, they look exactly like the ones in Calif. which look exactly like the ones in Hawaii - same damn layout and uniforms and food and everything) to turn around and damn, the smell was like a cesspool all around!

So immediately after deciding I wanted to get the hell back to the U.S., I drive back to the border crossing point and they had all these people peddling this crap and like weaving in and out of moving traffic - they had these little 4/5yr old kids like grabbing onto peoples' cars begging them for $$$ while the cars were moving! Also had this homeless guy with a sign in Spanish and I was like "Haha, can't read Spanish!" (ohhkaay, that was bad...)

So then I drove to LA, like straight.

When I got to work and told my "adoptive" co-workers what happened, they all laughed! They said that the border cities are like the worst part of Mexico and said I probably should've flown to like Cabo or whatevers. (Yeah, like I have time to "fly" there in 2 days.) Plus, they told me that if you get into an accident, they freaking arrest your a.ss and you have to post bail! And rental car insurance in the U.S. doesn't cover anything over the U.S. border!

Also, another thing you don't want to do in SD is buy a BMW cuz BMW of San Diego will give you a 2002-2004 (old taillamp style) Toyota Camry LE 4cyl as your courtesy car! (You spend like $70k on a 7 series or something and you get a 4cyl camry!) This boring a.ss silver camry courtesy car from the BMW dealer was in front of me!

Finally, if any of you Californians in LA are reading this, and IF I get my G35 for the weekend rental, let me know if there's any meets or whatevers so I can rip the car up!

 

Wow... what a roadtrip huh...

 

Now i could take this very personally, but heck...

It all depends to which border you go to... for SD there are two, one is somewhat nicer than the other one... However I'll have to agree with you that TJ is NOT that nice of a town... Not even sure why a lot of caucasians SP? whenever they go somewhere in Mexico they say TJ is the place to go???

You just have to drive a bit more to the southwest and then you can have some fun in Rosarito and a few other places around that area...

Yes, it takes an agressive/good driver to not get your car all smashed trying to get thru traffic with all of the buses and taxis and whatnot. All in all i have fun when i drive my sister's little corolla in and out of traffic... =) i'm sure it'd be even more fun with a car with power like the G... maybe next time... =)

All i ask dont generalize... every border town is different... some are (sorry to say this) crap, others are very decent looking places... =)

=D

 

Wow. You took a G into Mexico. You brave soul.. I woudln't ever do that!

 

Whoops my bad. Didn't mean to offend anyone and it wasn't certainly meant to be racial or stereotypcial or anything. For the record, the people at Costsco in TJ were pretty nice, tho I don't speak Spanish. Also, yeah, everyone at work (in my company's SD office) said to go to Rosarito cuz it's supposed to be really cool there. Also, I don't know if this helps but I think the traffic and driving conditions weren't all that much different in Japan than they were in TJ, buildings notwithstanding.

I was pretty uneasy after finding out upon my return that 1) rental car insurance doesn't cover accidents/damages in Mexico, 2) accidents are considered a crime in Mexico and they arrest and charge you until you prove your innocence, and 3) the Mexican police force has been known to be pretty corrupt. This is, btw, what my San Diego co-workers have told me. Also, they said that if a woman goes down there and gets arrested, the Mexican police force will almost certainly sexually assault them. So the post wasn't meant to offend or stereotype anyone/place (although it probably sounded like that), but just as a heads up in case anyone else plans on taking a U.S. rental car and doing the same thing. (I guess we Americans tend to take a lot of things for granted, and with that, a certain degree of naivete, I guess.)

Since this trip was strictly business, I didn't have all that much time to go around and really see the sights - I was in Mexico for like 45 mins. before leaving. Hopefully, time permitting, the next time in SoCal I can spend a bit more time going places, including Mexico (tho my SD co-workers recommended flying to Cabo and not ever driving there).

I didn't take the G down there. In fact, that rental car agency said their fleet of like 4 or 5 cars (2005 G35 sedans) were all out and none of them came back during my trip (I return to HNL tomorrow). One of my SD co-workers, who happens to be a U.S. born person of Mexican descent, drives an '05 Escalade EXT and he said to never, ever drive down to Mexico in a "luxury" car w/ Calif. plates cuz you could be targeted, but that's pretty much true of a lot of places, not just border cities.

 

I walked it over to Juarez a few years back. Not to offend anyone, it was totally different from what I had expected. Yes, those buses are everywhere. Well, I crossed the border with my gf and my dad's ex haole gf and everything turned rather third worldish to me. But as soon as we walked a least a mile in, most people were very friendly.
Bought a few momentos, I liked the wheel n dealin with the locals...and bought a hell of a lot of booze. Damn...WAY CHEAP! Anyways, we walked back towards the border and the place where we bought the booze from, the kid was waiting like he said he would and kindly gave us our 3 bags or liquor.
Returning to Texas was fun...each of us carrying one bag...I get stopped by the border patrol..they took me into a different room from where the others were being questioned, for some unmistaken idea, they thought I was sneaking into the US. Luckily, a customs agent was stationed in Hawaii for a few years and let me through...of course, I had to pay the tax on the liquor.
It was funny and quite an experience, and I'd do it again, but I think I'll fly over next time.

 

Nah, no worries... I know what you meant... =)

As far as insurance, yes, you need to get "special" insurance if you want to drive a U.S. car into México.

Who told you that accidents are considered a crime? As far as i can remember is the same as here in the US, either you settle on the side with the other party (which is usually better), or you can have the cops involved and talk to your insurance people...

I hate to admit it but yes, police can be very corrupt, which in some aspects may be good in others may be bad... i remember one time they pulled me over (long time ago) it was either have them write me a ticket, take my license and then have to go to the police station to pay the ticket and get my license back, or get rid of them by giving them a few dollars (less that a third of what the ticket would have been) to buy some "coffee" or something... lol... but then again that was at least 8 years back... supposedly from what i've heard they are cleaning up their act and they are more hosnest than before... but who knows...

Not sure about them sexually assaulting women that they arrest... i'm not saying it has never happened or that it doesnt happen... I just never heard of that... I know one of my female friends got arrested for "indecent exposure" (peeing or something) but she didnt say anything about the cops groping or doing anything else to her...

Although i do know that sometimes when they see cars with California plates, they may be a little more of a pain cause they know the driver has dollars... Other times if your ride is really pimped out (big SUV, blacked out tint and whatnot) they usually dont bother you cause they are affraid its drug dealers and dont want to get shot... If you drive further into Mexico with US plates that may be a different story, cause then you have to deal with Feds, and from what i know they are a bit more *ahem*... corrupt... Border states is OK, at least from my experience... never really ventured pass a border state with Cali plates...

All in all... its pretty much like any other place... depending on where you go is how badly you'll be harrassed... I've never had any issues, but then again thats just from my experience...

Just be careful if anybody decides to go to another country... =D