akanxpress: Hi Siena, sorry 2 derail this topic. Please kindly check your hotmail for my enquires on Chrysler Stratus. i've mail you twice on this. God bless

Siena: Jucol, an interesting thread.

The fact remains, the majority of automobile owners in Nigeria simply refuse to educate themselves. They will buy an automobile, yet never do the simple thing, carry out online research. Most don't know the engine size of their own vehicles! If you ask, they'll simply say "4 plug" or "V6". That's it. I find it unbelievable that in this day and age, one wouldn't know what they're driving.

And this is nothing to do with the Nigerian Government. Yes, there should be more records, but the onus lies with the owner of an automobile to know what they drive. Some don't even know the trim level - L, GL, XL, XLE, SLX, GTI, GT etc. Little wonder one would go from driving a Nissan Sunny 1,4L for 5 years, then switch to a Nissan Maxima 3,0 V6. Then complain of poor gas mileage. Ask what engine size their automobile has, they can't tell you.

a 16-year-old kid, male or female, shopping around for their first car they'll be legal to drive when they turn 17, know exactly what they're looking for. Yet grown men in Nigeria with access to the internet have no idea if the automobile they bought 9 years ago has a 1,4 / 1,6 / 1,8 / 2,0 or even a 3,0 engine. Which of course leads to confusion if ever they wish to order parts from Europe or the US. If you don't know the basics of your vehicle, how would the faceless person 7,000+ miles away be able to help you?

stagger: I thought the emphasis of the article was on why the Nigerian Police make it a habit to always want to look for things to use in trapping vehicle owners, an why it is mandatory to get a police permit when changing the engine of your vehicle in Nigeria if you don't want to be branded a robber or distributor of stolen engine parts. It has nothing to do with the car owner knowing about his vehicle.

Siena:

It has everything to do with this, Stagger. Half the time, the members of the NPF are clueless. If half the people they pull over at least know what their vehicle details are, they can point the officers in the right direction. An officer sees a car as a 2,2L, the owher of the car says it's a 1,6L. What happens then?

Folk buy cars with an "alternative" engine fitted, but because they're not clued up, assume it's the 1,5L their model should have been fitted with, so they tell the officer so. And it turns out the Mazda 1,5L is actually a Toyota Camry 2,2L. At least if they're automobile savvy, they'll tell any officer EXACTLY what's under the hood, rather than insist it's not what the officer says it is.

Who gets held up then, when the engine number doesn't match the vehicle registration documents? Sure, engines get replaced, but these are things the owner should be aware of, to avoid lengthy delays when he / she is pulled over.

trix!:



while I agree that many people don't take time to really know the kinda engine they have, I think this thread has more to do with police obsession with engine number, than engine type. It seems you don't live in Nigeria, so you haven't gotten a clear picture of what the OP is painting.
when you get to a police check point, they don't look at the engine type, what they look for is engine number, and woe betide you if the 5 written on your papers look like S.

qualified:

i really dont think d Sienna guy lives in Nigeria or has experienced this police madness over Engine no.

trix!:
while I agree that many people don't take time to really know the kinda engine they have, I think this thread has more to do with police obsession with engine number, than engine type. It seems you don't live in Nigeria, so you haven't gotten a clear picture of what the OP is painting.
when you get to a police check point, they don't look at the engine type, what they look for is engine number, and woe betide you if the 5 written on your papers look like S.

Siena:

If I understand you correctly, we're saying the same thing.

If they're looking for an engine number, they're indirectly looking at engine type. Because if your Peugeot 407 1,6 petrol engine has been replaced with a 2,0 version from the same Peugeot family, the engine number will change! Because the engine number also contains the code that specifies engine size.

Can you see the relationship here? Engine number and engine type / size are linked.

qualified: i really dont think d Sienna guy lives in Nigeria or has experienced this police madness over Engine no.

chucky234: No Nigerian policeman would allow you to leave with your car without dragging you to their station if they spot 1.4L on your vehicle license as engine number because they always expect the engine to be a 12 digits thing.

chucky234: Policemen only ask of your engine number in order to trap you into parting with some bucks,engine number in modern cars is certainly not crested in a conspicuous position where it can be easily notice and those greedy policemen are aware of that fact that's why they always want to use it into trickling dumb drivers.

trix!:



while I agree that many people don't take time to really know the kinda engine they have, I think this thread has more to do with police obsession with engine number, than engine type. It seems you don't live in Nigeria, so you haven't gotten a clear picture of what the OP is painting.
when you get to a police check point, they don't look at the engine type, what they look for is engine number, and woe betide you if the 5 written on your papers look like S.

Siena:

My point exactly. Which is why the uninformed driver's end up getting fleeced. So it still boils down to having basic knowledge of the automobile you own, and are driving.

stagger:

I thought the emphasis of the article was on why the Nigerian Police make it a habit to always want to look for things to use in trapping vehicle owners, an why it is mandatory to get a police permit when changing the engine of your vehicle in Nigeria if you don't want to be branded a robber or distributor of stolen engine parts. It has nothing to do with the car owner knowing about his vehicle.

Jucol: @OGOJOHN: THAT'S THE POINT.THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCE.NICE ONE. THOSE OF YOU IN OTHER COUNTRIES KINDLY TELL US WHETHER OR NOT ENGINE NUMBER APPEARS ON YOUR REGISTRATION PAPERS.

Jucol: @ Siena: Good to know. In Norway, it is immaterial cos engine can be replaced. Do you have to amend the papers or get an authorization from the authorities when you change your engine?

Jucol: A good look at most discussions on this forum shows that most of us know very little about the cars we have spent so much to buy. Most of our leaders do travel abroad. Don't they look around and learn?