prince_onx:

. . . .I have 3 cars that are all fixed now but i can not get a title for them because they have to be inspected by highway trooper in about 3 weeks time. . . .And in 3 weeks if anything is found wrong with the repair, you will go and fix it and reschedule for another inspection again! now tell me how many people do that in Nigeria?

BizBooks:

Although you are trying to have an argument with me, you and I are basically saying the same thing. A few days ago, I wrote an article here titled "Why Quality Tokunbo Cars Are Scarce In Nigeria". In that article, I specifically stated that the difference between Salvage cars shipped to Nigeria and the ones used in the US is that the ones used in the US have to go for inspection before they are certified road-worthy. On the other hand, nobody inspects the ones shipped to Nigeria.

In your statement above, you said the same thing. Our only disagreement lies in the cost of replacing a deployed airbag. I'm still waiting for your estimate and any evidence you have to back it up.

prince_onx:

" Secondly dealing with our naija people is hard! Very hard and everyone think you want to step on them to get over and I don't have time for their game "
An average Nigerian buyer doesn't care about the safety of what they are buying cos majority of them are more concerned about the exterior part of the Car. I buy and sell clean and salvage cars but Nigerians forget salvage cars are also used in USA and also forgets that a Salvage Title can also be cleaned in USA to make it Clean Title.
As someone has rightly said, there are so many reasons why a car can be labelled Salvage or Total Loss by insurance company and many of them will cost less than $300 to fix. I believe someone who had worked with insurance company in USA has enlighten us more as to how cars are labelled Salvage.
I have seen 2011 Honda Crosstour labelled Salvage simply because of hail damage. I believe buyers and seller need to be more enlightened as no knowledge will be lost. As for air bag deployment, it doesn't come cheap to fix especially the driver side air bag and most airbags may deploy when fixing it if the technician isn't careful.

BizBooks:

It is not enough to say the prices I quoted are outrageous. You should have given your own estimate of what it costs to replace an airbag[b]. Remember, the $1000 estimate I gave is per airbag. So if the driver and passenger airbags deployed, you are looking at around $2000 to replace both.[/b]

An airbag is not something a roadside mechanic can replace. It requires a highly trained technician. A friend of mine was recently given a $2000 estimate to replace the airbag for a 2006 Infiniti FX35.

The larger point I'm trying to make is this: when an insurance company declares a car as salvage, they usually have very good reasons for doing so. So there is nothing like a minor salvage.

BizBooks:

Relying on the flickering air bag light maybe a mistake. The only way to know for sure if your air bag is working is to hit a fixed object or another car at speed and see if it deploys. Since this is an unrealistic way to test an air bag's functionality, one can safely say as I have said that there is no easy way to test an air bag.

The auto section is filled with used cars purporting to include air bags. Since we know that most of those claims are likely to be untrue, the moral of this thread thus is: drive with care even if you think your air bag is fine.

oyewolejos:

Oga send me your address and i will send both airbags to u for less than $500 provided u have someone to fix it. Maybe in your state it might be more expensive but where i am labor is cheap. . . .

werepeLeri:

OP.
I dont sell cars. But where is your prof that "It is a well known fact that a majority of tokunbo cars brought into Nigeria are salvage or “accidented cars”.". . . .A used car is a used car. If you buy a used car, you will be a dunce if you think or assume that everything, including air bags, will be working perfectly.

onyxo76:

so whats wrong with a car whose airbag indicator is constantly on?

werepeLeri:

OP.

I dont sell cars. But where is your prof that "It is a well known fact that a majority of tokunbo cars brought into Nigeria are salvage or “accidented cars”."

Majority? 90% - 45% - whats the definition of your majority?

If you dont have a proof we can see, then, you might as well close down this thread.

It should not be allowed for anyone to just come in here and make claims that can not be verified.

A used car is a used car.

bfire:

Opinion we make are not facts.

We know little. The assumption that the little we know should represent the truth is misleading.

Buying and re-setting of airbags are not that expensive taking your FX model as example. It's obvious to those that are in the trade that dealers quotes more than the auto shop technicians. And in some states and regions in USA and Canada, you are only allowed to buy airbags from dealers. . . .

omanzo02:


Most of the cars shipped to Nigeria are road worthless in europe and cannot pass MOT test, In western europe, if a car exceed 4 years it's bound to undergo a yearly MOT test to accertain it suitability and safety on European roads, especially the exhaust emission, If it does not meet specification on the identity forms, u have 14 days to either repair the damages or take it off the road, failure to do so it would be impounded, u get a fine or go to jail. Then its term as "Export" to third world countries. I only visit the workshop once in a year for regular service work to be done at every 30000km depending on the type of vehicle.

@ topic, every vehicle has an airbag indicator, if it does not illuminate/indicate, the airbag is faulty. period. U can't manipulate it.

@werepeleri,

U need to see a used cars in showrooms here in europe, They call it "nearly new cars", u can used them for years without experiencing any problem till u buy another, servicing is done once in a year, and u get a full year garantee and insurance from the garage or dealer. and guess what? they sell for about the same prices they sell those worthless vehicle in Nigeria.

bfire:

Check these items: one is a salvage  accidented bumper only. The other is accident clean title.

bfire:

I understand your point.

What criteria then was used by the insurance company to arrive at the clean title for the CRV?

BizBooks:
I know by now I must be sounding like a broken record. But let me say it again: an insurance company will not declare a vehicle as salvage because of a mere broken bumper. To the nake.d eye, the Pathfinder you pictured above has only a broken front bumper. But there must be other damages that caused the insurance company to declare it a salvage if that's what it is.Remember once an insurance company declares a vehicle as salvage, they must give the insured enough money to buy a similar vehicle. So for instance if you crash your 2007 Camry and your insurance company deems it a salvage, they will give you money to buy another 2007 Camry at the going market rate. They will then take possession of the crashed Camry and sell it at a salvage auction. So it is not a decision they make lightly.

prince_onx:

Bros you're not only sounding like a broken record but like broken one under water! I seriously don't want to comment on this topic again but you kept saying all kind of things that you have no clue or idea about at all. You obviously don't know about salvage cars and you don't know anything not even one about insurance. Like I said before insurance is too complicated and someone like you can not get sh.it out of them. Why do you think people contact lawyers when they want to file insurance claim? You don't think they know the damage to their car? why do you think lawyers start writing you once you're involved in an accident? why does the car rental have like 3-4 types of insurance to offer when you lease their car? have you heard of bumper to bumper insurance? third party insurance? or full coverage insurance? Do you even know that if you rent a car with a major credit card that you really don't need insurance because whatever you buy with that card is automatically insured? I can go on and on till tomorrow.
I don't see how you think you can or know the answers to 400 questions about used or salvage cars! they're used and anything is possible! they can come worst than you're saying or 10 times better! An insurance company can write off a $30,000 car just for a broken headlight! Yes they can. They will not only give you a $30K check but they will also lease another car for like a week for you before you buy another car! why do you think people try to take advantage of insurance company? haven't you heard of insurance fraud? what do you think it is? Personally I've been paying over $300 every month for my insurance for the past 6yrs ($125 from 2000 to 2006) and i have never made any claims! now do the math, how much have they made off me alone? Insurance company don't lose/pay money unless something bad happen and when that happen people want all they can get! I have bought an insurance salvage car without a single dent and all the car needed was an ignition key. You can have your insurance payoff your car just for a broken bumper or headlight if you have full coverage but the catch is, the same insurance will put accident in your driving record and your monthly insurance can go from $70 a month to $190 for the next only God know how long. That's one of the reason why some people don't file insurance claim. They will scare you with all that disadvantages especially the raise in your premium, the point in your drivers licence for 4yrs in my own state and the accident on your driving record for 5yrs in my state. Finally they might offer you $1,500 to $2,000 to fix the car but still turn around and increase your insurance by lets say $30-$50 a month or even drop you completely. men i don taya