How To Buy A Used Car
November 14th, 2007It is a testament to our times that the average Nigerian cannot afford a car. By car, I refer not to a brand new car but rather to some ageing relic of a bygone decade. These would range from the really old and pointless like a 1981 Toyota Starlet to a 5-year-old BMW car for the more “affluent”.
Regardless of the car we can afford, we prize them and show them off. We take them over to our parents/pastors/elders to be blessed and prayed over because they represent our yearnings to achieve, to be better. That is why the government’s assumption that we covet old dilapidated cars and should therefore be saved from ourselves is patronizing. I doubt you will find many people who will agree that given a choice, they would prefer to purchase a used car. It is more an indictment on how our country has been run that there is any kind of debate over used cars. We do not buy used cars out of choice. Having said that, with elections coming up soon, I am sure that the powers that be will soon find it in their hearts to indulge us.
Imported Used Cars are better because they are generally are better looked after. This in not because Joe Foreigner is a more caring owner, but because, firstly his government enforced car upkeep regulations like the MoT in Great Britain and TuV in Germany ensure that it is difficult to keep a badly maintained car on the road. Secondly, the portion of their income employed in car upkeep is relatively less. This allows them to purchase new replacement parts.
I have not bothered with cars brought across the land borders in the north or from our other French-speaking neighbors, as it is illegal to import across these borders. So you will be taking a chance if you go that route. Anyway, depending on the cost of the car you rarely save 15% on the average. This is without factoring in the inherent risks which range from outright seizure by the customs to the no less painful use of your pride and joy as surrogate rally car in remote jungles tracts of Aflawo and Idi Iroko.
I guess the best way of giving any kind of insight is to locate and describe the various car markets in Lagos. You will find the greatest variety at the seaport car parks of Tin Can Island. With the deluge of car imports in recent months and the ensuing congestion, several new car parks have opened in the Tin Can port area. Unfortunately, the seaports car parks is really the bottom of the barrel, here you will find anything from the merely bad to down right awful. The only real attractions here are the prices and the assurance that your import papers will be genuine and you will have little trouble with the police. It will be your responsibility to clear these cars so you will need a clearing agent. Car import “moguls” literally buy whatever they can put on ship, knowing that no matter the cars condition, it can be explained away as the wickedness of the handling company’s drivers or the depravity wharf rats. This market is not for the faint hearted, as you will find cars in various states of dilapidation. Sale here is strictly on an “as is where is” basis so what you see is generally what you get.
In deciding to buy here you need to wary of the following; 1. Meet the owner and ensure he has original papers before parting with any money. 2. The exact amount of port dues and demurrage (demurrage, because some of these cars have been there in the port for months so what seem like little sums can amount to quite a lot). 3. The cost of remedial bodywork. If you are on a very tight budget and have the time, then the port’s car parks may be for you. But remember that you will friendly terms with your mechanic and panel beater. Ah yes, your chances of getting any kind of warranty are NIL.
Next in attractiveness, at least in terms of price is the Berger/Sunrise car market axis along the Apapa/Oshodi expressway. Here you will find great variety. These cars are either from the port (because the importers decides he can make a greater margin on the car outside the port) or from across the border, though they will deny it on “pain of death”. Their own area of expertise is repairing the more obvious aesthetic flaws, fit air conditioners where absent but desirable and try to convince you there is no “cleaner” example in the market. Never settle for the first car you see. If you don’t find what you want, never fear, cars come into the market for sale everyday.
Do not let the market touts “assist” you in your search as they do little good and (with the tacit knowledge of the seller) add “their” premium to the price. To be fair, despite its chaotic appearance, this market is fairly well organized. There is a strong union who enforce a buyer’s fee. This means in addition to the cost of the car a certain amount is paid to the union. Get the seller to pay this levy if you can. The chances of meeting the seller of car after the sale are not good but much better than at the ports. So confirm alternate addresses outside the market. Sellers can also arrange registration if you wish but I would pass on that if I were you. As a result of the nature of the market, I would not advice going there on a rainy day at least not without knee high rain boots. Neither will I suggest paying cash for the car at the market. It is better to pay at some mutually agreeable other place.
It is also a good idea to take a mechanic along but remember the seller is not above offering an inducement to your mechanic to eliminate his objectivity. I once bought a car there and found the cylinder head cracked. After expensive repairs costing about N50, 000, a week of tracking down the seller and then complaining bitterly, he offered to pay N5000 towards the cost of the repairs. I refused, indignantly, to accept the money. Privately hoping this will spur him into offering more. In hindsight, I should have swallowed my pride and taken the money. There are better odds achieving world peace. I refer to this only as an illustration of a successful warranty claim.
Next, I will suggest a quick look at the Western Avenue car dealers. There you will find car dealers, suffering from delusions of grandeur occasioned by their close proximity to car shops offering late model low mileage cars, who slap on a ridiculous premium on cars available in the ports or in Berger and so are best ignored.
I will just lump together car dealers on Ikorodu Road and the Ikeja area. You will find a varied collection of shops offering really good examples of cars found in Berger but in better condition hence their premium. Others offer late model, low mileage cars. Here, one has to be careful not to buy a used car as new but as these dealers are more established they offer some measure of after sales services. I would rather just buy a new car- but that’s just me.
There is little recourse to the seller after one has paid for the car, it is incumbent on you the buyer to conduct what will amount to due diligence on the car and its papers. Some of the seller’s shenanigans are easy to detect for example the retrofit of an air conditioner. Others are more difficult to catch. Nevertheless, I will give a rundown of some of the more common things to look out for.
Regard unusually low mileage in your prospective car with suspicion. On average a car clocks 20-25000 kilometers per annum so with an idea of the age of the car, the odometer reading should check out. If it doesn’t, walk away, as you don’t know what else he may be hiding. That the mileage is displayed electronically is no assurance that it has not been tampered with. With the right tools it hardly take 20 minutes to bestow youth on these cars.
Look out for accident damage and the repair thereof. Proper repair should not be apparent. In places like the port car parks, where most of the cars have some damage and the chance of repair there is remote, shouting eureka at the discovery of accident damage is a bit redundant. Though, in Berger and beyond, you need to keep a keen eye out for the resulting over spray, ill-fitting body panels or evidence of shoddy chassis repair in the engine bay. Checking for chassis damage is especially important, as proper remedial work is expensive.
With the help of your mechanic, the more difficult to discover faults like cylinder head damage can be found. Before paying for your car, go for as long a test drive as the seller will tolerate visiting as many traffic jams and rough roads to discover over heating and suspension problems. Another problem area is drive shaft end damage, at least on front wheel drive cars. A clucking sound coming from the wheels on turning is usually evidence of it. Its repair is fairly straightforward.
Have someone rev the car hard and listen for any untoward metallic noise, this may indicate engine wear or damage. Cars that seem to have been “warmed” in preparation for your inspection are to be viewed with suspicion. A cold engine that lets out blue smoke from the exhaust on start up but stops when warms may hide valve seal wear. It is important to pay attention to the exhaust, as clues to most of the engine’s aliments are present in or around the exhaust. Pay attention to any kind of visible smoke from the exhaust. Colors will range from white (indicating steam and possible head gasket damage) through black (fuel over supply) to the most worrisome blue (oil burning). A common misconception is that an exhaust that drips water on idle indicates a sound engine. This is not necessarily the case as I have seen very many cars with the former but with damaged engines. From experience, the surest way of checking engine condition aside from striping it, is performing a compression or and leak down test but as this is expensive and difficult to conduct, sticking a finger or other suitable object into the exhaust and have it come away clean is a quick and inexpensive way of checking engine condition. This assumes the seller has not cleaned out the exhaust ends before hand. If you suspect come cleaning, check it before and after the test drive
Cylinder head damage is another fault that is difficult to detect but on return from the test drive, check the oil cap and dipstick for evidence of foaming or traces of water. Also check the radiator or its reservoir where there should be no traces of oil as this could mean either relatively inexpensive head gasket damage or the more serious cylinder head problems.
Owing to the poor quality of used cars that come to Nigeria, it may not be easy to walk away every time you find something potentially wrong with your prospective car so finding these faults and using them as bargaining chips is important. Knowing the estimated cost of the repair is important so you know roughly what it will cost to put the car right and there is always something to put right. The cost of repairs the sellers professes is more a figment of his imagination so I would accept them with a large helping of salt.
These tips are by no means exhaustive, they just offer the most rewarding results for time, effort and money expended. With a little luck and planning you could come away with a steal. In my experience, for a car that will be a daily driver, you should look to replacing it after two year’s use. This is the ideal time to sell up and buy another because by this time, you put in more that you get out. Cars that cost one million and above are best bought directly abroad, if you have the time and can take trouble as you will easily make a 25 – 30% saving but that is another story.
COMMENTS:
1. Hi Lanre, I just read your blog dated 14th nov 2007 on “How to
buy a used car” and found it really interesting.
Please where would you suggest I go in Lagos to buy a
car with a budget of N300,000 naira.
Just an everyday car with 4 doors, medium sized car.
Thanks.
Patrick.
Hi Patrick, Thank you for visiting our site. May I ask who refered you to the blog. It helps us to know.
I am also able to respond quicker if you sent questions to losoetan@individualize.biz
To your question, to find a reliable, four door car for N300K will not be an easy proposition.
I am also assuming that you would want low costs of running the car?
Because of your price constraints, there isn’t any particular place where cars of that range are sold. I can suggest types of cars though. You may have to consider a MKII Golf, a Toyota Corolla circ.1992, Nissan Sunny of roughly the same vintage. They will probably all have been used in Nigeria previously. If you can afford higher running costs, you can consider the following, 3 and 5 series BMWs and 190 and “V Boot” Mecedes cars.
It would not be a bad idea to increase your budget if you can. I hope this helps.
Lanre.
Thank you Lanre,
Your advise really helps, I actually just did a
google search about “tin can island” and got your blog
and it was really a nice article.
Please how much do i need to increase my budget in
order to have a primera or a toyota carina or
somthing decent in similar range?
Thank you once again.
Patrick.
You are welcome sir. In answer to your question,
I always advise buying a car unused in Nigeria.
They are generally less trouble. You may find cars of
the range you are looking for in ‘Berger’ but my
doing. As to price, I can only give a rough guide.
600-900k depending on condition. Please spread the
word about our blog.
Dear Lanre,
I really appreciate your valuable time which you
have
taken to answer my question. I am asking you this
last question out of curiousity and to educate myself on
this.
what would be the total cost of sending/ clearing a
car in nigeria, if i buy a car in UK, france or
germany? And would this cost depend on the age of
car
I will definitely spread word about your blog.
Thank you once again for your help.
Patrick.
Hi Patrick,
Costs vary. Cars from the UK are generrally right
hand drive and should be
avoided. There are no RORO services to Nigeria from
France and as to
Germany, shipping cost will vary with the vehicle.
You must remember you
cannot ship a car into Nigeria if its more than 8
years old.
I will need more detail to give a definate answer.
Lanre.
Hi Lanre
thanks very much for educating me on this.
Patrick.