I have been advised that your US car insurance (none of it) is not valid in Mexico. You must have Mexican 3rd party liability insurance or you will be escorted to a very undesirable location and possibly held until the liability issue is fully resolved. Some credit cards cover physical damage to the rental car but none cover your 3rd party liability, towing, medical, legal, etc.
I drive down 2 or 3 times a year and get a policy covering damage to my car, medical, towing, legal, 3rd party liability, etc. You can buy these from places such as AAA, and locations just before you cross the border (usually several) or on line which I do. I use a company in California (Farmers Insurance) and have an AIG policy called Mexipass all done over the internet. I am sure there are many more agencies you can get a policy for you trip duration on line as well. But do consider all the coverages mentioned above to avoid serious legal problems. If you want to contact the insurance company I use this is the email
staff.emoreno@farmersagency.com
I almost always drive at night which is contrary to the opinions of most and have been drivng from Laredo to Mazatlan or Celaya for over 10 years. However, I am usually on the toll roads which are much less prone to have cows, etc on the road at night since they are fenced liked our interstate highways. In Indiana we have more deer accidents than Mexico has with cows-those deer are fast and come out of nowhere and really mess up your vehicle.
If you are stopped for speeding, etc you can often ask to pay the fine on the spot to avoid having to go to court. You can ask how much and sometimes bargain a little/lot since this is still quite common in some areas.
Someone mentioned topes-these can be anything from small ones that are like going over a bump to ones which will certainly damage you care if you go over them faster that 3-4 mph. The warnings never say big or little but I have learned to watch for those signs and assume they will be the bad ones since you don't want to be disabled and stuck for days waiting on parts.
I must reiterate the above :
I have been advised that your US car insurance (none of it) is not valid in Mexico. You must have Mexican 3rd party liability insurance or you will be escorted to a very undesirable location and possibly held until the liability issue is fully resolved. Some credit cards cover physical damage to the rental car but none cover your 3rd party liability, towing, medical, legal, etc.
This of course, mostly applies if you are in an accident, but trust me, if you are in an accident without all of the above, and even with you will go to jail if any blood is drawn or if you are at fault and cannot pay on the spot. The legal aspect of the insurance, is just so they can get you out of jail, as quickly as possible until liability issue is resolved. Also keep in mind that this pertains to an accident with a car, person, horse, cow, donkey, and even maybe a chicken or rooster,dog, cat, wild horse, you could be liable...a chicken well pretty cheap but a rooster of course it will be a cock fighter, very valuable , a cow also very valuable possibly a means of survival for some. A father of a family, main bread winner, oh boy!!!
I too drive at night, but only when traveling then we drive like starting at 3am, only where we know or cuotas.......but it is unadvisable. Let alone animals there may be cars without lights, etc. it is definately dangerous but when you live somewhere at some point you do drive at night.....in my area I drive at night a lot, but it is still dangerous.
Yes, many times you can pay on the spot or bargain and such, it is considered a bribe on your end and mordida on the cops end, be careful as if you do this with a federale, it is illegal and they will arrest you for bribery!
Topes are not always marked.......and some are extremely high and dangerous at high speeds so again caution....
As you can see......it is quite complicated and frankly make sure you are prepared......I have had an accident in Mexico , one and only in ten years, was rear ended, have all required insurance went without a glitch. My dad had accident, fully insured, but was hit by a cop, not in cop car, and well got more complicated as his car was totalled, but without friends and a bilingual grandson he would have spent minimum of 15 hours in jail and if wanted to fight the whole issue a minimum of 15 days in jail......he served no jail time, nor was he hurt badly, but one month later we are still dealing with the astronomical paperwork and such. ( one and only accident in Mexico in 30 years, and only accident in 50 years of driving). Have friends who just recently also had accident and yes they had insurance and yes spent time in jail waiting for adjuster, so do not fool around with the insurance aspect of driving in Mexico.....it can be a terrible nightmare or maybe you will never ever experience it, but what if....
. The officer says we have a tail light out. Driver gets out of the car to verify this. We say we will call the rental company immediately and have them come and fix it. Offficer hems and haws, keeps telling us about the fines, so we get our phone and start to call the rental co. He lets us go. We called the rental co immediately and they brought a different car to the resort for us.