that is really bad, i dont knw y ppl have 2 lie 2 get what dey wanted

I luv d brotherly justice system on this section, d OP should know that people are with him and there are more good dealers here than the shady ones. am following the thread cos am also about to make a car deal with someone else on this forum.

At all: let's not underestimate what money can make people do. The only thing is that,I'm disappointed by dr's brother for collecting the bribe. I know mechaanics do that but your own relative?.... Selling a car should not be a do or die affair. Just be truthful about it and the real buyer will come for it. However,most dealers are usually not honest(even to their colleagues) not to talk of buyers. My advice for you is that you stop spending to fix that car(at least for now) until you get a competent mechanic who would check it and tell you what the total cost will be. Then you can make up your mind on fixing or selling off! Wish you the best and congrats on your baby.

chronique: At all: let's not underestimate what money can make people do. The only thing is that,I'm disappointed by dr's brother for collecting the bribe. I know mechaanics do that but your own relative?.... Selling a car should not be a do or die affair. Just be truthful about it and the real buyer will come for it. However,most dealers are usually not honest(even to their colleagues) not to talk of buyers. My advice for you is that you stop spending to fix that car(at least for now) until you get a competent mechanic who would check it and tell you what the total cost will be. Then you can make up your mind on fixing or selling off! Wish you the best and congrats on your baby.

many thanks, i already spent a regrettable amount to the size of my pocket, but have stopped spending for now. i plan to sell off at cheaper rate as i know the buyer will have to do some fixes, however, until now no any sign of remuneration from the sellers.

@OP pls what has been the outcome of your ordeal? have you fixed or sold the car? any aid from the sellers?

991: @OP pls what has been the outcome of your ordeal? have you fixed or sold the car? any aid from the sellers?

nope! not yet. am sticking to my policy and abiding by the advice of good people here. just wana get the issue of the car off my head at the moment. I believe time will heal my pain!
thanks for your kindness.

chiebube: Dr Joe,

i feel for u but dont allow this car to haunt you so much. I was a victim of this type of ordeal some years ago. Foolishly, I didnt know much about cars compared to now. I even trusted the judgment of a close friend that was a car dealer then. I paid N440,000 for a car but the car was not worth more than N250,000. I can count the number of times the car started on its own in the morning. Tapping glasses stopped working now and then. I changed over 5 fuel pumps, clutch discs, etc. it was a rip off. Bought new batteries like twice. they ran down. Bought fairly used batteries about 4 times. Finally, after 18 months, the timing belt cut. I replaced it about 4 times within a space of one wk with the grinding of valves and huge costs. I finally sold the car for N200,000 when I was fed up and I gave a friend of mine N5000 for helping me get a buyer and I gave N5,000 as thanksgiving offering in church. That relieved me to an extent. I was without a car for a month. I was spending about N2000 on transport (cab/taxi) cos my kids had to go to school and so on. After a month, God gave me a tokunbo car and i didnt have to pay at once cos it came thru my uncle.

The most important thing is that you have learnt your lesson.... It is well. Just move on. You will get a better car very soon

Thanks Chiebube, I really appreciate your support and counselling. i have ur contacts, i will keep in touch.

Well, Ive tried to hold dis but I think for d sake of others who are LIKELY to tread d same path, I hv 2 come up. Infact, a very close friend of mine (henceforth referred to as Mr. X) had a very similar experience with dis same guy, FRANCISMIC. Dis write-up is not to spite Francismic any further BUT to enable my fellow Nairalanders exercise enough caution in their dealings on NL these days. Also to re-consider those we call our friends, how true they are and where their interests really lies.

With all facts & figures, I boldly add 2 dis thread dat:
D wife (a Nairalander) of Mr. X sighted an advert here on NL placed by Francismic abt a naija-used RAV4 2000. She contacted Francismic making a very meticulous enquiries abt d ride & d conclusion boiled 2 d fact dat Francismic maintained d ride is PERFECTLY OK. Wt dis facts, she convinced her husband (Mr. X) 2 get d ride 4 her. However, Mr. X also made further enquiries frm Francismic abt d ride & got d same answer dat d ride is JUST PERFECTLY OK. Well, to him that is just, all things are just. Not having any cause 2 doubt Francismic integrity, Mr. X detailed a friend of his (henceforth referred to Mr. Y) on all d info gathered so far frm Francismic & later sent him 2 Benin 2 check up d ride & if ok as attributed by Francismic, make arrangement 4 d purchase. He had 2 delegate dis cos of d situations of things around him at dat moment.

D long story short, when Mr. Y eventually bought & drove d ride down to Mr. X, d real meaning/definitn of PERFECTLY OK (in d new re-branded Naija dictionary) is:
- over-heating (evident on some Ragolis bottled water cans dat littered front passenger side filled wt water)
- serious heat inside d bonnet & underneath d dashboard frm inside
- radiator heating up while in idling
- engine sound terribly high
- SRS/Airbag light permanently on
- seat belt indicator flashes continually whether d belt is used or not
- central lock not locking all d doors
- odometer (milage meter) not working. Francismic had said d milage is 150,000 (I wonder where he saw dis)
- driver side door handle hooks
- 1998 model instead of d 2000 acclaimed
- nothing like keyless entry
- d ride is atleast 5-year used already by d owner as against acclaimed 2yrs. No wonder he hid some documents initially
- dents/scratches here & there (a few manageable though)
- putting on d a/c button d engine quenches & on motion d engine speed retards while d a/c is on
- fuel hose leakage at d tank mouth, etc.

Challenging Mr. Y (a so-called friend) if all these problems just developed in his 4-hr trip or how, on earth, he could hv done dis, he relunctantly & diplomatically said he made issues wt Francismic while still at Benin on d following:
- No tyre jack?
- A/c not working?
- no sighting of original vehicle documents (only a few photocopies) b4 paying?

And dat Francismic gave him jack, flashed d original vehicle papers once & they both drove d car to a/c technician close to them there to check up d a/c. Doing cut & sew job, instant bill of 6k was incurred (dis was shared 50:50) yet d a/c not still working optimally.
So, its like every other problem was conceded. WELL. I WOULDNT KNOW ON WHAT GROUND. Infact, up till now, I find it difficult 2 believe dat A FRIEND can concede critical aspects of a ride like dis & still convince A FRIEND buyin it.

Now, while sitting 2 really analyze & probably judge d case: in d first instance, it was glaring dat Francismic was/is just an unscrupulous Nigerian. Despite he never presented himself as d owner but a broker (an agent) yet he shouldnt have sounded too sure over some things abt d ride: dis could have bn directly tackled wt d owner. Another possibility is d graft which could hv made Mr. Y to easily concede 2 buying d ride wt all its immediate observed problems.

And of course, on d part of Mr. Y, he was/is just a fraud and not a sincere friend at all.

Portion of d blame also to my guy, Mr. X to have sent somebody for dis kind of sensitive matter. Just like someone has rightly pointed out above dat no matter what, nobody can see things exactly as u would have seen if for yourself.

I know u may want 2 know what has now happened thereafter. Mr. X, being an easy going person (a Force man for dat matter) saw d whole thing as what he can bear (rectify) & was ready to bear d cost. Of course, he hs all what it takes to pinch dishonest Francismic even in d heart of Benin at no charge but rather, he eventually established a relationship with d actual owner of d ride who they often communicate to have d true picture of d history & previous usage of d ride. Even in conjunction wt Francismic, d owner had sent down extra key of ride later found around them.

Well, all said. I think somebody would hv learnt some lessons here. SHINE YA EYE O!!!

@Francismic. To remain in biz, u dont need to misrepresent facts. Just be straight & honest. Who will buy will surely buy. Dealers/Brokers like Calculux, Sunnycoolmotors, etc will even tell u or post VIN dat dis ride is accidented or dis or dat. Afterall, a buyer has his/her choice 2 make. Im sorry u may not go far if u continue dis way: think of ur reputation lost here, integrity at stake, etc. If d owner of Nairaland has been dis fraudulent Im sure u would not have had a FREE platform 2 even advertise ur stuffs here. He would not also have had responsible Mods/Advisers/Contributors here like Ikenna, Siena, Cretin, etc. Pls go & correct all ur advert captions: e.g Keyless entry, perfectly ok, etc.
Above all, see what u can really do to assist Dr. Joe in dis mess. MODERATORS & ALL ARE WATCHING & WAITING otherwise .

@Drjoe. Congrats on ur baby. Sorry 4 d stress but try out d useful pieces of advice pple have dropped here. I wish u GEJ (chuckle!!!).

@All. Lets start 2 make Nigeria a better place for all right frm ur own end. And come think of it, if u dont, then who will?

mrhello:
@Francismic. To remain in biz, u dont need to misrepresent facts. Just be straight & honest. Who will buy will surely buy. Dealers/Brokers like Calculux, Sunnycoolmotors, etc will even tell u or post VIN dat dis ride is accidented or dis or dat. Afterall, a buyer has his/her choice 2 make. Im sorry u may not go far if u continue dis way: think of ur reputation lost here, integrity at stake, etc. If d owner of Nairaland has been dis fraudulent Im sure u would not have had a FREE platform 2 even advertise ur stuffs here. He would not also have had responsible Mods/Advisers/Contributors here like Ikenna, Siena, Cretin, etc. Pls go & correct all ur advert captions: e.g Keyless entry, perfectly ok, etc.
Above all, see what u can really do to assist Dr. Joe in dis mess. MODERATORS & ALL ARE WATCHING & WAITING otherwise .

@Drjoe. Congrats on ur baby. Sorry 4 d stress but try out d useful pieces of advice pple have dropped here. I wish u GEJ (chuckle!!!).

@All. Lets start 2 make Nigeria a better place for all right frm ur own end. And come think of it, if u dont, then who will?

Thanks for your concern. I see myself as i have no car because am still paying for taxi to go to work and run other family errand/affair now. i have waited for any sign of assistance from both francismic and his colleagues but all in vain. my job makes it difficult for me to advertise for buyers or even contact buyers, but i wish i could see someone i can explain the problems to who is also willing to buy in that condition then he will fix it, i can sell the car at a ridiculous price because i dont want to be seeing it around my house considering the stress i went through.
at the moment the car is packed at my little cousin's place because i hate seeing it.
i have moved on. by the grace of God i will launch a tokumbo car before the end of the year.
once again thanks for your concern.