I really dont understand the rationale behind my country people buying scrap cars and selling thesame @ high price to unsuspecting Nigerians.
I think there should be a general campaign against selling/buying accidented cars.
Believe me, in my quest on getting a new car, i've come across alot of accidented cars. Does anything actually work in this country?. You see, even those outside the country are not making it better.

Even if the whole country drop their money on such cars, i surely wouldnt add/drop my hard earned money on that. And i believe any sane person shouldnt.
Maybe if we stop buying their scrap, they may be forced/pushed to start sending good cars down here.
N1.5m-N2.0m is equivalent to $10,000-$13,500, which is alot of money by any standard in the world. That kind of money shouldnt go into buying scrap.

My friend, you need to shut your big mouth. Do you know how much it cost to ship a vehicle to nigeria? or how much it costs to clear it? You sound like an educated illiterate. Both cost about 600,000 naira. So you want a free car? enter plane come take am.
Do you think those of us in America are here to do charity work for people like you?

deluxek:

I really dont understand the rationale behind my country people buying scrap cars and selling thesame @ high price to unsuspecting Nigerians.
I think there should be a general campaign against selling/buying accidented cars.
Believe me, in my quest on getting a new car, i've come across alot of accidented cars. Does anything actually work in this country?. You see, even those outside the country are not making it better.

Even if the whole country drop their money on such cars, i surely wouldnt add/drop my hard earned money on that. And i believe any sane person shouldnt.
Maybe if we stop buying their scrap, they may be forced/pushed to start sending good cars down here.
N1.5m-N2.0m is equivalent to $10,000-$13,500, which is alot of money by any standard in the world. That kind of money shouldnt go into buying scrap.

Its a free country. Why don't you just go to new car dealer and buy one? Why do you decide to buy used ones when you know that they can be accidented? 

You always have a choice you know.

The irony of it all is that all these men that say that NOTHING works in this country are thesame set of guys that will buy scrap and send it home.

SCRAP is SCRAP, our country men don't deserve the horror and risk SCRAPPED cars has to offer.

OP, I understand your point clearly.

.

@Poster.

Gud point. evry dealer and buyer shud say no,  dere r loads of unsuspecting buyers out dere. am new here, but ave noticed the truthfulness of a few people like german007, inspired, kunle-a, and fhemmy, the thread below by german007 really impressed mi,  check it out. wish evry dealr on dis forum follows their example,

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-404602.0.html

Hello Poster, with 1.5M to 2.0M Naira, you dont have to buy scrap, you might just have to be real and cut the coat according to the material.
I do understand how hard it is for any buyer to come about the money, especially those that are salary earners . . . . . .
However, let us be real and call a spade a spade.
Depending on the kinda ride you are buying, shipping and clearing could be as much as 500K and that only left you with 1M to 1.5M to buy and other miscellenous expenses.
With 10,000$, do you think it will be possible to buy a 2007 Honda Accord with the following?
Non accidental
Low Mileage
Alloy
Sunroof
Leather
And some other kinda toys?
I am sure we all know the answer to that will be NO . . . . so why would a buyer now be asking the dealer for such a deal?

With that being said, not all accidental cars are bad at all . . . . . There are some accidental cars that only the bumpers was affected, so minor that they dont have to do much to the ride, so for such ride, as long as the buyer is aware of what he is buying . . . . . . It is a deal, i think you were the same person that said people are selling Nigerian used pretending it was fresh from yankee . . . .I think you need to deal with people that are willing to protect their names and not people that just wanna sell one car and move on.

Just my 2 cents and wish you the best in your shopping for a ride.

@deluxek,
don't mind all these peeps spewing crap here. so because it costs an arm and a leg to ship cars down here, we should be content with spending hard earned money on salvage cars, eh?

like you, i would have fallen victim to these smart alecs but for people like jenju, bizbooks who revealed their secrets with their vin check jobs. unfortunately many other innocent buyers fall for their tricks and buy accidented cars as clean titles only to discover months later that the car they bought was not as 'clean' as suggested by the seller.

we all just have to shine our eyes well, well and avoid them like the plague. i know a couple of them here on this forum who specialise in this kind of shady practice: buy accidented cars at giveaway prices, take pictures of their shiny exteriors, present them as 'clean' titles and sell them off at high prices.

since i know what they're up to, i just skip their threads and go on to trusted names with a reputation to protect. if everyone gives them the same treatment and they post cars up to 6months without a buyer then they'll be forced to make a change!

I think we need to explain some things to ourselves here and not JUST make very harsh or extreme views and statements.

IF there is a vehicle involved in an accident say in the US for instance; I know of places - basically any good shop - will put it back together with factory parts and accessories, this will drive like new. I know of people who will buy brand new vehicles and take them in for customization (pimping) - If you see how these vehicles are being torn apart for the customization, you will understand that vehicles are simply a shell of parts and accessories. This gives me the confidence that accident or no accident, ONCE A CAR IS REPAIRED OR PUT TOGETHER IN A STANDARD AUTO WORKSHOP OUT THERE, ITS AS GOOD AS NEW.

On the other hand, there are some people in Nigeria that call themselves "Salvage Buyers" - you are better off buying ONLY parts from them NOT CARS. I have seen how they put together a 2009 Honda Accord that was involved in an accident. They did not change most of the affected parts, they simply straightened most of them - even the engine seats, they fabricated rubber bushings for it and worked on the radiator (these are very vital parts that should be changed)

They replaced the headlamps with brand new ones and some brand accessories. After doing all that, they now did some very serious body work to the front part and a baked paint job - So on the outside, it looks brand new BUT IF YOU BUY, after a week, you will have vibrations from the engine, leakage from radiator, front struts are gone already, etc

For me, a standard rebuild in a standard workshop (Overseas ONLY) guaranties a buyer of even a better ride than an outright second hand because you simply have new parts and accessories replaced. ANYTHING APART FROM THAT (LIKE A NIGERIAN REBUILD) IS RUBBISH. STAY AWAY FROM THEM.

@George D, let me tell you one fact u need to know about all these so called dealers of repute in the house, i know people like brandishing a set of about four names which i dont intend to mention here; of this four names i know two for sure who are not what pple thought them to be. People see them like saints but they are not, they ve sold salvaged cars on here too, they ve sold cars without VIN on here, they use multiple i.d on here, they buy their own vehicles(as if they ve gat a wide customer base) just to create the false impressions that they are making sales. They know themselves, these same people hide under fictitious i.d to attack fellow dealers that they see as competing with them. The list of their attrocities is endless, some other dealers that are mentioned as part of the big 4-6 advertise cars at a rate they know is never possible just to create what is not. So make these guys stop deceiving us ooo cos we know dem. Whoever wants to sell salvage should sell it, but the person should be bold enough to post the VIN. If the accident or defect is front end and has not affected the chasis, to me its still okay. Whoever wants to buy can buy and whoever is not interested no be wahala now. I love this forum, i ve learnt somuch and seen the good, the bad and the ugly.
@Owan, thanks for your explanation jare, you do well.
If you are a civil servant you will know how tight it is to raise money out of a tiny take home pay that cant even take you home.
This forum will be a better place if people learn to be sincere to demselves and to others. Salvage cars are not as bad as pple are making them to be. I say it and stand to be corrected that with Nija roads i will rather buy a salvage car than buy one yeye expensive kia that would only last me 2years. Camry 2k don spend 10 years and the car still dey shine imagine, it will spend another 5-10 years in Nija before it runs down if its well maintained, i cant give same guarantee of any kia or any of those new products in Nija.
Dealers be yourselves and stop being fake, if you deceive me, you no go deceive yourself now! I rest my case.

@ALL

You guys should all of us good by mentioning their names. What is the use knowing those who specialise in importing accidental cars and hide under the guise of trying to assist those who cannot afford non accidented. If anybody is selling any accidented, he/she should be able to state the true condition of vehicle. Gbam! I still doff my hat for dealers like Inspired and German 007. They've been checked and investigated. Trust me!

Me i no duff any cap for any dealer. Most dealers on NL arent saints, we dont expect them to be one. They are here to make money and thats fine. What isnt nice is when you reap pple off their hard earned money. If you are selling salvage, say it and lets know what we buying. I know this matter will get to a point where pple would be pushed to say what they know with concrete evidence and name calling.

IF anyone has bought any car that is not what the dealer said it was, I think its only fair that such a person should expose this sort of act, and people will find a way of taking necessary action OR at least prevent such criminals from doing that to trusting nairalanders - I personally believe things should be simple and straight.

Like I explained earlier in my post above; a standard re-build overseas in any good shop out there is by far better than most toks BUT ANY local re-build or conversion is rubbish. Also, its very unfair to sell an accident vehicle without telling the person (Imagine buying a ride worth over NGN2,000,000.00 - only to find out that the chassis is bent or has been worked on; the car will never work well, NEVER)

Dealers who will not tell you what you are buying are simply criminals, please expose them here, its not fair.

We should do ourselves good by exposing them. Also, all dealers who demand deposits or preorder vehicles should be able to post a profile (including pictures) so that potential buyers can check them out before trusting with their hard earned money.

@Ayusman
Thanks for this post. I know it will even benefit the dealers themselves to do this.

If you are a dealer and take this kind of steps, then people will only ask you for a brochure of what you have and make their choice. Keep it open and simple, it reduces stress for you and puts you in high demand.

instead of buying cars from people shipping go to the brand approved dealers!

they dont need to pay the ridiculous amts people shippin on a low scale pay

and they are endorsed by the carmakers themselves

im sure thier cars are much cheaper!

ive seen alot of recent good cars in naija

so im guessin they are cheap

and after the credit crunch car prices have really gone down!

What the poster said is right, dealers should always post the VIN for cars they are selling but lets be sincere with ourselves here most nigerians like afuu(not should if thats how to spell it) too much. Whats my reason for saying this, if we use NL as a typical example most people here knows about accidented cars and that there is a site called carfax.com to check car history but I don't see people talking about a site like kbb.com where you check the value for a car. Am sure somebody will ask me why that is necessary, simple, if a dealer list a 09 Accord for lets say 1.3m if kbb says a car like the one listed in worth 1.5m which you now have to had additional cost for shipping and clearing to get it to nigeria thats a simple red flag for you that something does not add up.

has much as dealers have the responsibility for disclosure buyers should also do their due diligence, if you work hard for your money then should should be able to do some research not just for cars but anything you are putting that money into but honestly most nigerians are just plain lazy they want cheap stuff and they want it delivered to them on a platter of gold.

My two cents.

@Macdealer
Well said. People should make researches and ask questions (this is very vital - asking is always very very helpful) before investing a dime in anything. And one more thing, drive a car for at least 2KM on a test drive before paying IF you are set on buying that vehicle. Buying 2,000 fuel to test drive is cheaper than paying 2,000,000 for junk.

MacDealer, once it looks shiny outside, most accident Nigerian rebuilds are being sold for just 200k less the going price. The guy that staged the accident 09 Accord is asking for 2.8M, while I was there a guy came with an 04 Accord and offered him 1.5M plus his and he refused, his shop is in Owode, just drive through and you wont mistake it - Thy have about 3 of those "New" rides there. I have bought a ride from him in the past and I don't even want to go into it.

People should wait, review and post questions before paying so much. Its not worth it.

@Poster

Take a look at this thread

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-403243.0.html

you just went in there and try to derail that guy's sale now without any concrete evidence, the car listed on that thread according to kbb, a dealer in the US will try and sell for about $14k so lets just assume the guy was able to get it at the auction for $9k plus shipping and clearing that will put the landing cost for that car in Nigeria at about 1.8M and the guy is asking for 2.1 am sure you expect him to make some profit and given the Nigerians I know they will want to get that car for 1.5M

Again you were only interested in the price you did not question the fact that the car is a 2005 with 19k miles which to me is a bigger red flag.

@ Onwan
You are absolutely right, if it is too good to be true it usually is

In the US, used car dealers are counted among the most dis-honest people. I have no doubt this is the case in Nigeria also. We all engage in a certain amount of hyperbole when we advertise used cars as if they are perfect. Knowing this fact, the burden of proof now rests with the buyer and not the dealer.

To be safe, assume that everything a used car dealer (including myself) tells you is false until proven true. In this day and age, if you unknowingly buy a salvaged or junk car, do not blame the dealer alone. You share a major portion of the blame.

@bizbooks,
true talk there. but for you and chief jenju who helped me out during my due dilligence, would have been biting my fingers by now.

@ayusman16,
most pre-order car dealers on nl will not take the risk of selling you a salvage car becuase of the processes involved in such a deal. i know because i'm currently on one such deal with inspired.

those mostly guilty of this shady practice usually import these salvage cars directly without any input from the buyer and put them up for sale after doing all the necessary touch-up jobs. and one thing: they will post all the shiny exterior pictures of the car but will never post the vin. when asked, they will prefer to send such vins to private emails of inquisitive buyers and ask you not to publish it. what rubbish! 

There are some dealers that will tell you exactly what it is. These are the kind of dealers we should encourage on nairaland.

If you are importing, kindly tell us the state and what has been done on the vehicle. People will trust you even when they find out that what you said is exactly what the VIN said.

A friend told me during a recent flood - some dealerships were affected AND 70% of those vehicles were routed to West Africa - So people buying from Kotonou should beware. You don't have much time and space to test drive those vehicles there.

Dealers, help us like some of you have been doing already by keeping it real.

onwan,
you just mentioned one important point: cotonue! the risks involved in buying cars from that market is rather too high. imagine just walking into a marked crammed full with cars of different shades and colors from different parts of the world. some are accidented, some are even roll over damage, and a few are clean titles. but how do you know which is which by mere physical inspection and test driving within a 5meter radius?

that is why you hear all sorts of complaints everyday: somebody gets to cotonue, buys a so-called clean ride which ends up breaking down on the road before even getting to its final destination. i know because it happend recently to my friend!

@George_D
When in Kotonou, no matter what you complain about, they will tell you "Its just bosch - servicing".
The most painful was for an agent that was bringing in an 06 Touareg for a friend, by the time he got to Igolo (border area), the gear seized. I personally introduced the agent to the guy at Owode-Onirin that sold him a used gear (from an accident 05) for 520k. You can imagine IF the owner had taken delivery.

I think its better for our local dealers to come correct, so people will have enough confidence to buy here or import directly from overseas.

onwan, it's surprising how similar these stories always appear to be. that was exactly what happened to my friend's car. the agent bought it at cotonue and was bringing it down for delivery only for it to develop gear problem shortly before getting to benin! it had to be towed back to lagos where the gearbox had to be replaced at a staggering amount!

same market, same sad stories!

The solution to this would be "Truth in Advertising". If you have a car for sale, let potential buyers know the flaws. Unfortunately some buyers are not reasonable and will then want to get the car for next to nothing.

As I am writing this, I have a 2006 Accord in almost perfect condition. But I am reluctant to list it on NL because it has a 6" crack on the windshield and some scratch on the bumper. $250 can take care of these problems. But if I list it on NL, somebody will price it 1M.

Here's the 06 Accord for any interested party. The crack on the windshield is only visible on close inspection. It can last for a long time without replacement, but the buyer gets $250 to fix it if he/she so chooses.

BizBooks:

The solution to this would be "Truth in Advertising". If you have a car for sale, let potential buyers know the flaws. Unfortunately some buyers are not reasonable and will then want to get the car for next to nothing.

As I am writing this, I have a 2006 Accord in almost perfect condition. But I am reluctant to list it on NL because it has a 6" crack on the windshield and some scratch on the bumper. $250 can take care of these problems. But if I list it on NL, somebody will price it 1M.

True  talk  my  broda

@Bizbooks
Thanks for your contribution here, This is progress. That small crack is just a cosmetic issue, It is not an engine or gear problem. You know what the car is going for so you simply keep it in the range and give an intending buyer the option of changing the wind-shield before shipping (which will be preferred to avoid leakages when its done here locally)

We really appreciate people like you.

@Beecrofty
Someone priced a vehicle for 50 Naira once on nairaland. Its all in small minds.

well done bizbooks. pls keep up the spirit of 'truth advertising'