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You can telephone them at 968-0904, but a command of the Spanish language
is necessary. A tropical style of rattan furniture is made in a town called
Macias, just south of El Rosario--about an hour from Mazatlán.
Custom made furniture can be made from either pictures or drawings in a
reasonable amount of time. Some places will even deliver free. It's not hard
finding the factories, once you enter the towns. There are also custom furni-
ture makers right in Mazatlán. One who has many good references is Susan
Silva and her husband. They can be contacted at mazgal711@yahoo.com.
Good furniture is also available in Guadalajara, Tonalá (a suburb, which is
particularly known for its rustic, or rustico style furniture). Linea Castores is a
reliable shipping company that will get it to your home in Mazatlán. We
checked all those places, and then furnished 80% of our new house from a sale
at Fábricas de Francias, a huge department store in Mazatlán for the same price
as having the furniture custom made.
Leaving a vehicle in Mazatlán: You would need a FM-3 visa in order to
bring a car from the U.S. and leave it year-round legally, unless you plan to
nationalize the vehicle. There is a thread on http://www.mexconnect.com that
will take you step-by-step through the process to get a Mexican license plate.
While some have said it is relatively easy, more have said it's like the Texas two-
step. It is like a dance that you're doing and you don't know how it is going to
turn out, especially when it comes to length of time and amount of money.
Mr. Rigoberto Murua at the Aduanas, near the Immigration Office, stated
there is a requirement that the car permit must be renewed at the same time as
your FM-3 is renewed and the form carried in your car at all times. There is no
charge for this service. The following documents must be carried to Mr.
Murua:
-Four copies of the request form duly completed and signed.
-Two copies of the Car Permit received at the Port of Entry.
-Two copies of the FM3 letter you get from Immigration office.
-Two copies of an ID document with picture, ideally your passport.
As a snowbird, I usually drive a car down, but since I stay six months, I do
not need a FM-3. Frankly, I don't use my vehicle much except to transport vis-
iting friends and relatives to and from the airport.
A warning about parking your vehicle in Mazatlán is offered for your con-
sideration. If you see either a transito cop walking around with a screw driver,
or you happen to notice one day that your license plate is missing, you can put
two and two together and discover that you must have illegally parked your
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Char les A. Hall