I've rented a car a half dozen times in Mexico without a single problem.

Feb 20, 2024
8:11:45am

BerkeleyCoug All-American

I am prepared for this though. A $20-$40 shakedown is a small price to pay for an awesome vacation and wouldn't rattle me at all.

This message has been modified

Originally posted on Feb 20, 2024 at 8:11:45am

Message modified by BerkeleyCoug on Feb 20, 2024 at 8:12:00am

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BerkeleyCoug

Bio page: BerkeleyCoug
Joined: Aug 12, 2008
Last login: Nov 13, 2024
Total posts: 8,756 (71 FO)

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Messages

Author

Time

My co-worker was in Tulum with his wife and got shook down by police

RockyBalboa

Feb 20, 7:54am

I knew a mission president in Mexico that had this happen.

Mister P

Feb 20, 7:57am

Has anyone ever recognized any of the cops in church? tic

Ripliancum

Feb 20, 9:22am

<< Deleted >>

SoValleyCOUG

Feb 20, 11:04am

Yes. Happened to us twice on family vacation 25 years ago.

AggieWeekendCougar

Feb 20, 7:58am

Happens all the time. They should have demanded to go to the police station.

volleyjiver

Feb 20, 7:58am

Pay the bribe and move on--especially if you're with wife/kids. There's no

Mjolnir

Feb 20, 10:05am

I ran into trouble with a border guard on the Belize border at Chetumal.

Choke

Feb 20, 10:10am

Generally, but not always. Know someone that was locked up for something similar

NYC and Japan

Feb 20, 12:01pm

The issue is that police are some of the lowest paid professionals in Mexico. The only way they can get to a decent

airwolf

Feb 20, 7:58am

different part of Mexico, but that happened on my mission, cops love the bribe

Avery

Feb 20, 7:59am

Coima was one of the first words I learned in Argentina.

ochobeeguy

Feb 20, 9:08am

The traperos were the ones that killed me.

BlueNtheFace

Feb 20, 11:09am

It's 'mordida' in Mexico

mobicurious

Feb 20, 9:55am

Yeah. Happened to me as a missionary.

TexanY

Feb 20, 8:01am

I had a buddy who was driving down to rocky point

Gunga Galunga

Feb 20, 8:02am

This happens to tourists daily in Mexico

chismoso

Feb 20, 8:03am

I want to post the bribe scene from We're The Millers. but can't. IYKYK

crimedog

Feb 20, 8:04am

RE: I want to post the bribe scene from We're The Millers. but can't. IYKYK

IGlowInTheDark

Feb 20, 8:06am

Near Tijuana. I don't think it was even a real cop though and he didn't have anybody with him so I just drove off

mokelembembe

Feb 20, 8:05am

5k pesos are $293

RSL

Feb 20, 8:05am

I just have zero desire to ever go to Mexico.

jxncoog

Feb 20, 8:07am

That's fine i guess. There are places in Mexico where I would love to retire that are perfectly safe.

RSL

Feb 20, 8:08am

I know it's really close minded of me

jxncoog

Feb 20, 8:10am

Nah, I don't think it's close-minded. It has to do with familiarity, certainly.

RSL

Feb 20, 8:13am

THIS - it is all about your comfort level. There are many places in the world I would not go or live. Yet many people

airwolf

Feb 20, 8:15am

We have friends who retired there. Been there for 7 years and love it.

Supercoug

Feb 20, 8:53am

What part? San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato City, Oaxaca, or even parts of Mexico City would be amazing.

RSL

Feb 20, 8:58am

Lake Chapala. Tons of Americans and Canadians there.

Supercoug

Feb 20, 8:59am

I was all in until you said Canadians were there. I have standards.

RSL

Feb 20, 9:02am

A bigger question: Does anyone from Orem live there?

The Farm

Feb 20, 10:51am

Nowhere in Mexico is perfectly safe

mobicurious

Feb 20, 10:06am

never call the cops no matter the crime? Yikes, that doesn't seem safe at all.

runnincoug

Feb 20, 12:56pm

That instruction used to be part of the formal training for all missionaries

mobicurious

Feb 20, 12:59pm

So who do you call if there really is a problem?

runnincoug

Feb 20, 1:00pm

Pray, flee...

mobicurious

Feb 20, 1:56pm

My son called the cops when he was in Juarez (las Casas Grandes)

jxncoog

Feb 20, 1:55pm

Plenty feel like you, but this is the real truth:

mvtoro

Feb 20, 8:24am

Crazy that there are still members down in Colonia Juarez &

gopman

Feb 20, 9:07am

Yes, it happened to me once. I pulled a bold move and asked the cop for his

Yucatan

Feb 20, 8:07am

User name checks out.

sethj250

Feb 20, 8:24am

Do they even have amendments down there that you can cite?

Q-grr

Feb 20, 8:48am

No idea, and I doubt the cops know the law that well either. Haha

Yucatan

Feb 20, 9:12am

No, and if they did, it still wouldn't matter.

Mjolnir

Feb 20, 10:06am

This is exactly why I would never rent a car and drive in Mexico.

Superkid

Feb 20, 8:09am

I've rented a car a half dozen times in Mexico without a single problem.

BerkeleyCoug

Feb 20, 8:11am

I do it all the time. I probably wouldn’t if I didn’t speak Spanish, though.

Yucatan

Feb 20, 8:12am

I don’t speak Spanish.

Superkid

Feb 20, 8:18am

Then yeah, I understand the hesitation.

Yucatan

Feb 20, 8:29am

I don’t even understand why you would want to rent a car in the tourist beach towns.

TCuz

Feb 20, 8:15am

Because the best stuff in Cancun isn't in the hotel zone

volleyjiver

Feb 20, 8:17am

Have you ever heard of hiring a driver or taking a resort shuttle?

Superkid

Feb 20, 8:18am

Nope. Never heard of such a thing.

volleyjiver

Feb 20, 8:35am

Have you ever heard of going where you want, when you want without supervision?

ochobeeguy

Feb 20, 9:12am

Same. And also why Hawaii is the superior vacation locale.

Superkid

Feb 20, 8:17am

Literally any place is a better vacation locale than Mexico or Disney.

beantownblue

Feb 20, 8:26am

Has never vacationed in Mexico other than a tourist trap city or a cruise.

airwolf

Feb 20, 8:42am

These vacationers too cowardly to venture into "dangerous places"

vegas guey

Feb 20, 9:02am

It’s great if you want to go explore the center of the peninsula.

Yucatan

Feb 20, 8:19am

<< Deleted >>

TCuz

Feb 20, 8:25am

TCuz with the typical vague laughy-face.

Yucatan

Feb 20, 8:31am

I got stopped in playa del Carmen. Didn't pay a dime.

rad dawg

Feb 20, 8:10am

Exactly this. If you speak Spanish and tell them that you know they can't do

volleyjiver

Feb 20, 8:15am

Yeah bro.

-C9-

Feb 20, 8:17am

Happened in Tijuana when we made some wrong turns. Drove us to 3-4 different

cougaman

Feb 20, 8:19am

Happened to me. Exactly the same M.O.

RugbyCoug

Feb 20, 8:25am

I have rented a car three times in Playa/Tulum and never had a problem.

El Careeb

Feb 20, 8:26am

Tulum is over priced slum

byukarl

Feb 20, 8:30am

If you want a safe vacation spot go to Oaxaca. Beautiful beaches if you go to the coast and wonderful colonial city

airwolf

Feb 20, 8:45am

Nowhere is immune now - poverty and corruption is everywhere

mobicurious

Feb 20, 9:59am

Brother in law was shaken down for $5,000 in the airport at Cancun

Greg Kite's 'stache

Feb 20, 8:32am

Why on Earth was he carrying that much cash to begin with?

gopman

Feb 20, 9:05am

So much of this story sounds shady. And not from the Mexican side.

HugoStiglitz

Feb 20, 9:52am

That guy is lucky they didn't ask for all of it

mobicurious

Feb 20, 10:30am

You'd get busted for coming into the US with $30k in cash and not declaring it.

Japan Coug

Feb 20, 11:50am

He's lucky the Chinese authorities didn't bust him! Over $5k needs a declaration

morningcalmcougar

Feb 20, 9:44pm

If you do some googling on driving in Mexico, this is pretty common

justAnotherCoug

Feb 20, 8:40am

2x. Once with a van of 10 brand new American Elders on the way to get Visas

LCcoug

Feb 20, 8:48am

RE: My co-worker was in Tulum with his wife and got shook down by police

arizonacougarfan

Feb 20, 8:51am

Notice how Campeche and Yucatán are at the bottom of the list. Mérida is safer

Yucatan

Feb 20, 8:54am

I would love to get lost for a couple of weeks in Oaxaca, too.

RSL

Feb 20, 9:04am

Same. I have been to 8 states, but not to Oaxaca yet. I'll get there eventually.

Yucatan

Feb 20, 9:08am

I lived in Mexico for a few years, and was stopped twice by traffic cops. Both

Japan Coug

Feb 20, 8:58am

I went to visit my wife's family in Mexico a couple of years ago. My wife's aunt

25mphman

Feb 20, 9:04am

Exactly.

Japan Coug

Feb 20, 11:44am

Spend much time anywhere in Mexico and it would be unusual to not have experienced it.

Byron McNertney

Feb 20, 9:06am

On his mission in Argentina, my brother was pulled from the train by the police.

mccledg

Feb 20, 9:20am

Family member in Cancun

Choke

Feb 20, 9:27am

My sister got arrested a few years ago at the border of Mexico.

ldssdl

Feb 20, 9:32am

That is super strange. Were they in an RV or something?

rad dawg

Feb 20, 9:41am

I'm pretty sure it was just a sedan. Probably just a random inspection.

ldssdl

Feb 20, 9:55am

<< Deleted >>

SoValleyCOUG

Feb 20, 12:11pm

Happened to me on my mission multiple times. Got to a point where I just wouldnt

EDthoracotomy

Feb 20, 9:41am

That’s crazy, Mexican cops are traditionally well known for being honest and never shaking down tourists for money

JohnnyComeLately

Feb 20, 9:47am

Who drives in those places?? That’s a terrible idea

pink22

Feb 20, 9:55am

Happens all the time

Real Men Wear Blue

Feb 20, 10:06am

I've been approached for shake-downs hundreds of times while in Mexico

mobicurious

Feb 20, 10:13am

Tulum was once a quiet safe place. Last year a shootout in the Starbucks

pspcres

Feb 20, 11:02am

Hundreds of times? I've spent a ton of time in Mexico: lived there for 3+ years

Japan Coug

Feb 20, 11:57am

On my mission - probably 50+ just in 2 years

mobicurious

Feb 20, 12:45pm

And I should add, I'm 6'4 and the whitest-looking gringo you'll see in Mexico

mobicurious

Feb 20, 12:48pm

Read that as "shot down" and still wasn't surprised…

ochobeeguy

Feb 20, 10:25am

that pretty much happened to me in Montana

LHA

Feb 20, 10:28am

My companion and I got shaken down by a cop in Germany.

cheezedawg

Feb 20, 10:46am

This story costs 5 BYU students $6,000 EACH

SoValleyCOUG

Feb 20, 11:06am

Your daughter and my sister might be friends.

ldssdl

Feb 20, 11:46am

Probably so. I thought it was $6,000 each. So you paid $12,000?

SoValleyCOUG

Feb 20, 12:12pm

The parents of the kid who drove the car paid for everyone.

ldssdl

Feb 20, 1:58pm

Yeah that

SoValleyCOUG

Feb 20, 2:03pm

Yeah that's lame they are not paying the other parent back who bailed their

SoValleyCOUG

Feb 20, 2:04pm

This is Mexico. Notice the colors.

KCFan85

Feb 20, 11:37am

Happens all the time there. Make sure you have the right amount in your wallet.

Hill4Heisman

Feb 20, 11:47am

I was in Cozumel last year our last day my buddy and I rented scooters to drive

Sircumference

Feb 20, 12:57pm

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