Upgrading of cars have become a common practice in Nigeria's automobile industry. At one point, you must have come across ads or people saying a car has been upgraded from a particular year (older year) to a more recent year. What does it mean when this is said?

WHAT IS CAR UPGRADING?
Automobile manufacturers launch a new generation of a model of a vehicle every 3-5 years. For instance, the Toyota camry 1997-2002 (popularly called pencil ) is a generation of the toyota camry model ,while the toyota camry 2002-2006 (popularly called big daddy ) is another generation of the Toyota Camry model. Cars, being a consumer good that need to be upgraded regularly, what manufactures do to bridge this production gap before producing a new generation is to facelift old model in the same generation to create a new design. For instance, Toyota face-lifted a 1999 Toyota Camry to a 2001 Toyota Camry; they both have the same frame, the minor changes are in the lights and some other things. Same with the Toyota Camry 2002-2006. Most car owners for different reasons rather than buy the new model face-lifted by the manufacturers, prefer to do the facelifting themselves.

Facelifts or upgrade (like it's popularly called ) is the modification of a car from an older design or year to a more recent year or design. This is done by replacing the old parts like bumpers , lights etc., with parts from a more recent model of the car to give it a more recent look. For example, replacing parts of a toyota camry 1999 with parts of a toyota camry 2001 to give it a toyota camry 2001 look.

WHY YOU SHOULD NOT UPGRADE YOUR CAR.
Upgrading your car is a more attractive option than buying a more recent model because its a cheaper option, it also saves the buying process for a new car. But it is not the best option.

When you upgrade your car, the old parts on the car are replaced with newer parts to give the car a more recent look. The new part most times are substandard and not of the same high and tested quality as the parts formerly on the car. This puts the safety, functionality and longevity of the vehicle at risk.

Upgrading, if not done by a very good technician can be a nightmare. Most car owners in Nigeria especially in Lagos prefer to upgrade their cars in Ladipo (a popular spare part market) and this is a place filled with uncertified technician who do shabby jobs for quick money. The result of these bad jobs most times are structural defects, electrical isssues, etc. There are reports of cars getting burnt from a wrong wiring done during upgrades.

Also, when you upgrade your car, most times you are not getting the complete package. There are cars that only the exterior parts can be upgraded and the interior can't be upgraded. Especially in cases where car owners do extreme upgrades like upgrading of a car from an older generation of a model to a newer generation of a model, which has also become a common practice; you won't get the full package. For instance upgrading a Toyota Hilux 2010 to a Toyota Hilux 2020; the only thing that can be done is body modification. The interior, engine, gear system, and other functionalities will still be that of a 2010. So it's still like driving your 2010 hilux but with a 2020 face. Most car owners go as far as upgrading from a brand of car to another .

Another thing most car users need to know is upgraded cars are not easy to sell. Most car buyers prefer not to buy an upgraded car because, they are not sure of the quality of the upgrade, and when they do want to buy, the price they offer does not reflect the price of the upgrade in most cases.

All in all, upgrades are a welcome option if it is not too extreme, that is, within the same generation of a model ;2002-2003,2003-2004. This has its disadvantages too but they are limited if it is properly done. Extreme upgrades like from a generation of a model to another generation of model or between different models of car should never be considered. It puts the safety of the car and its occupants at risk.