On Buying A Car In Mexico (Part 1)

Pretty much as horrible as buying a car in the U.S., with a Mexican twist.

A Trip To Gringolandia

It is an unavoidable truth; some tasks can only be accomplished in Gringolandia.

The Home Depot in Gringolandia. As in America they began promoting Christmas in October.

Gringolandia—a term I did not invent!—is the colloquial name for the part of Oaxaca city (Oaxaca de Juárez) that houses the city’s shopping malls, car dealerships, and big box stores. It’s about a 45 minute drive from our home, just far enough away to be truly inconvenient, busy enough to be miserable, and requiring navigation through parts of the city with the least pleasant traffic.

Gringolandia is the part of town where you can shop in a store that is deliberately, specifically not local, a type of consumption which in a lot of ways is antithetical to why we moved here. Our hope, our goal, is to live a life a bit less American. But Gringolandia is also somewhat unavoidable. While an American-style shopping experience is decidedly more expensive than buying local (and thus, in Oaxaca, carries very unambiguous class associations), it also offers a variety and quality of products you might not be able to find in your town or village.

When it came time to buy a car we had to go to Gringolandia, as that’s where the dealers largely are. But buying a car in Gringolandia isn’t just about having access to choice, though. It’s important, if not essential, to go to a licensed dealer because of the title.