Canada to Mexico!

[Dominik Erne]

Me (Dominik) and my friend (Austrians, 22), we are planning a 2-3 month trip
from Canada to Mexiko! We will start in Montreal end of July. Should we go
through Canada (to Vancouver) or through the US (to Seattle?? From there we
would like to go south to Mexiko...

But we don't know yet if it will be better to buy a cheap old car, or if we
should rent one. Is it a problem for strangers to buy a car in Canada and
sell it in the US or in Mexiko??? We still not know how much this trip will
cost us. We are planning to camp a lot, and try to save money in
accomodation for spending it in fun-bringing things!

Any Idea about the
budget we should expect? Does anybody have suggetions for the route? ...??
Please send me any tip, hint, idea, important things to know for the first
time in america, laws and restrictions which would belong to us, do's and do
not's, simply every information you have.
Please help!
Thanks a lot in advance and nice regards from Austria!!!

Dominik

[Mark Sedenquist]

Both routes from Montreal are very cool in their own way. I think if it were my dime, I would go south to NY and tour some of the Adirondack Park. Lots of wonderful lakes and streams in the area. As you can probably imagine it is nearly impossible to see everything in the US in 2-3 months, without even including Canada and Mexico.

The car issue is challenging, however, in general identical cars purchased on the west coast will sell for more on the east (lack of salt damage).

Money and budgets -- You could have a really good time if you allowed US$2500 per month, but I've known folks who spent as little as $300 per month. It really comes down to what you want to do.

Don't plan too much.

Mark

[Don Woodmancy]

They have a word in Mexico they use to describe people who bring a car into the country and then sell it. The word is --- CRIMINAL. Mexico has very strict import laws. Basically, unless you pay very high customs duties, anything you import must either be used (food, drink, etc) or exported when you leave. I don't beleive you will have any trouble selling a car bought in Canada in the US as long as it meets US air quality requirments. As far as your route is concerned, that's one of the better problems you'll ever have. Whichever route you choose, Canada, US northern, or US central, they are all superb. I would lean slightly toward the Canadian route since all of them are great and it should be a little less expensive in Canada. Have a great trip.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Hey, I didn't know that -- I have never been in a situation where I intended to sell in Mexico -- But that would be a really rude awakening at the end of a holiday. Thanks for the posting!

[Dominik Erne]

Hi!
Thank you very much for your postings!!!

Is there a good book about roadtrips in the US, oder maybe from Kanada to Mexico??
And which maps you could recommend??

Thanks again and nice greetings from Austria!!!!

[Mark Sedenquist]

WE have a page of them at: http://www.roadtripamerica.com/read/guides.htm