₦airaland Forum

0955eb027:
Kinda scared o, cos of the huge price difference. Ma bro priced the g3 for 48k at computer village. Hw s the g2 u bought? Is it stil in perfect condition?

the g2 is doing good so far. battery life is splendid. although I'm not too impressed with the camera.

0955eb027:
Are you for real? 28k! I dont know the plaza you are talking about. Is it ikeja along or the gsm village at pwd?

the gsm village before PWD busstop if u heading to oshodi. i also saw the LG g3 for 37k. but i went for the g2 cos it comes with non-removable battery. iv had serious battery issues with a UK phone and i suspected that the seller replaced the original battery with a fake. since then, if im not buying new, the UK used must have sealed battery.

let me share my experience.

i bought my car, 2012 bmw x3, from cotonou last december. the agent charged me 650k to clear it. in january, i travelled to the east for a burial with my wife and son. i was stopped at benin by customs. they told me that my papers were genuine, but grossly underpaid. it was there that they showed me the actual duty paid was 160k!!! for a 2012 bmw x3!!! me sef i shock o. cos that is way toooooo small.

my saving grace that day was my wife and crying baby. they let me go, after 5k. if i was travelling alone, my car would definitely have been impounded there and then.

when i got back to lagos, i got in touch with a custom officer at zone A, ikeja. i wrote a letter explaining my case and requesting for duty reevaluation of my car. they charged me 2.4m duty and 560k penalty. well, after days and days of negotiation (i made it clear to them that my car was not impounded, rather i reported myself as a law abiding citizen of nigeria), they reduced my duty to 1m and removed the penalty. but i was to bring 200k cash for office boys .

so, a new duty was generated for my car, and i paid 1m at the bank and 200k for boys. the same day, i got my duty papers.

i have travelled twice since then and i have been stopped at shagamu and benin without any issues. they will just ask me to do weekend for boys, normal 1k.

i called the agent that cleared the car and he was giving silly excuses, i just hung up on him and didnt bother calling him ever again.

0955eb027:
Abeg ehn, where can i get Lg G3 or G2, Xperia Z3 or Z2(uk used o)?. What is the price range?

I just bought LG g2 for my wife last week (uk used). I got it for 28k at the phone Plaza near ikeja under bridge heading towards oshodi. If u live in lagos, u should know where in talking about.

OP, im not callin u a liar o, like colossus2
my own is that ur story doesn't add up. lots of easily verifiable information deliberately omitted.

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the road is very narrow.

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OK

when I bought my sports coupe last year, I specifically requested for the 666 number. I like the look on people's faces when they see my plate number. its no big deal.

angelinvestor:
I was in Owerri, Imo state on Friday to do business. Since i was in close proximity to the Imo State command of the Nigerian police, i went in to get the new tinted permit for my car. Guess what?? The police man in charge asked me to pay N15,000 for it. I told him it is free and he laughed, saying that the free announced was just in the media. I had to walk away, as i don't have a farm where i harvest money.

im quite sure he was referring to the old permit. most police personnel dont even know about the new permit.
but wait till march 18, they will be the first to mount road blocks.

on the other hand too, i aint surprised, in the SE and SS, we always make things difficult for ourselves.

good news, i just picked up my tinted permit today.
the crowd is growing by the day, so happy i dont have to pass through this ish.
my friend spent 6 hours to get captured yesterday.

MrChilaka:
[size=13pt]Oh really Urs is ready?

He guy at Plateau state HQ SIB unit says; since the process started, non of the application he has done is yet to be approved but all data has been submitted. [/size]

if you log on with your ID, u will see your status as either AWAITING APPROVAL or APPROVED.
if APPROVED, just go back to your point of submission and the guy will print the permit. of course, with a little token of appreciation.

finn:
Please. For those of you in Lagos where is one exactly supposed to go to. I have gotten the printout already.

after uploading and printing my application, I went to the lagos state police command, off archbishop vining church, oba akinjobi street, ikeja.
took me less than 15mins to complete the biometrics. mind you, the officer-in-charge will ask you to pay a minimum of 2k for the service.
takes 2weeks to process, mine has been ready since Wednesday, but Im yet to go pick it up.

well, i didnt intend to share that info, but since u asked, here is a breakdown of total cost.

actual cost of purchase; 14million cfa @N392/1000cfa = N5,488,000
cotonou clearing; 500,000cfa = N196,000
nigeria clearing; N550,000
agent fee: N30,000
total cost; N6,264,000

i wouldnt include the alternator (N80,000), oil cooler (N25,000), labour (N20,000) and towing (N60,000) as these are miscellaneous expenses.

JustGuy:
That's serious! And please how much did you spend in whole acquiring the car? Alternator inclusive. Thanks.

lazeal:
Thanks for the info on Cotonou clearing. What about the NCS clearing which allowed you take the car to Nigeria, how much did you pay for that? Thanks

the Nigeria clearing varies based on the year, type and model of the car. for example, a 2010 Toyota highlander will cost more than a 2010 Toyota corolla to clear based on the size of the vehicles.
in my case, I paid 550k to clear my 2012 BMW X3.

[quote author=kudzyauto post=41239748][/quote]these agents don't do office per se.
more of middle men/hustlers for custom.
we just met at badagry and we left for cotonou.

iguita:
By that 6am, you for call me sef make I join you pray. That you baby deserves all the joint prayers she can get to hit the road. Glad all your efforts are not in vain. Biko, invite me come owanbe thanksgiving make we block the next road wey bruatai go pass.

thanks bro, na me glad pass o.

tooltip:
how did you go about the dealer's fees , is it a fixed rate?

na fixed rate o. hiliary no gree shake body. he charged me 30k flat for his services. the guy no dey smile wen it comes to his fees.

freshvine:
I'll open my Cotonou experience thread tomorrow for those of you that need a laugh

pls do, we all need some humour this harsh economic season.

CeterisXVII:
Hilarious!! I nearly laughed my head off, when I got to this part! Are you sure a German-speaking witch did not escort the car into the ship that brought it to Cotonou? Bia, you must write a novel on this experience and get it published. You will win an award by the time it gets into the bookstores. If you want to release it on Kindle, just gimme a call so I can point you in the right direction.



Me sef, I join you inside the thanksgiving. Can I get an Hallelujah from somebody?? From what you have told us, buying a car from Cotonou needs to be accompanied with heavy fasting and prayer, so that there would be no delays and unbudgeted extra expenses that might accrue, due to one fault or the other.

In fact, let me start my own fasting and prayer right now as I am planning to buy a car early next year. Holy Ghost fire..!!

Thanks for the compliment. Right now, I need cash. So u can appreciate me better. Make I send my account number? I believe u guy

tooltip:
Join you and thank God with ?, contact octavo sharply and have him give me 1gb of data for my troubles as I dont take alcohol

Happy to know that it ended well

Me sef, I no dey take sugar. How we go do am?

lukman22:
@Biggiyke. Am thinking of going down to Cotonu to pick a ride nxt yr January. Please I need clarification on some issues. Did you withdraw cash at the boarder and carry it to Cotonu to pay for the car? If yes,how did you mitigate against the risk involve of carrying physical cash?
Thanks

When i had settled for a car and made 50k deposit, we headed back to Seme in the car of the Cotonou agent. There, we met all these abokis that change money. We agreed on a rate with one of them. He gave me his First Bank account number and I went into the First bank branch at Seme to transfer the naira equivalent to his account.
Once he got an alert, he gave me the cfa equivalent. I also withdrew the Nigerian custom clearing fee and gave to Hiliary. We went back to Cotonou and paid to the Lebanese dealer.
I had doubts too carrying such huge sum of money around. Infact, at a point, I left the money for the car with Hiliary and the agent when I had to go back to the bank to withdraw the custom clearing fee. A big risk, but i just had to trust. I havent stolen anybody's money, so I dont expect anybody to steal mine.

Finally, 8 days after I embarked on this journey, it came to an end in a mechanic workshop.
I learnt a lot of lessons. The most important being that sometimes God lets things go out of control so that we recognize the fact that we were never actually in control in the first place.
A lot could have happened, but at the end of the day, I am lucky and blessed.
Now, the essence of this story was not to discredit HiliaryAutos, none of these was his fault per se. This story is just what it is, a story.
If you now ask, will I recommend HiliaryAutos to nairalanders, I will say YES.
YES, because he delivered my car to me, maybe not in the state I expected, but a car is a machine and can breakdown at any time. Even brand new cars are recalled due to factory defects.
YES, because he left his business for one week just to ensure that my car was safe and secure.
Could he have done better, maybe yes, but we are all human.
I have recommended colleagues already and I am sure we will still do business together in the nearest future.

Concluded.

lalasticlala, mynd44

7am, Hiliary called, they were at Egbeda.
I gave them a location to wait for me. I kissed my wife, hugged my son, gave my cousin a hot slap, ignored my mother-in-law and left to meet them.
I paid Hiliary his balance, and I left with the towing van to my mechanic. We used another battery to start my baby, we topped up the engine oil and coolant and drove her down the towing bed.
To cut the short story, I bought a tokunbo alternator for 80k, a brand new oil cooler for 25k, labour 20k.
Time to test my baby.
I didn't allow anybody to start her for me. I closed my eyes, prayed to God, and pushed the start button. She answered me like a long lost lover. The mechanic removed the borrowed battery and put my own flat battery, she was still running fine, no oil or water leaks, she was purring like a cat.
I wept with joy and thanksgiving. Finally, my prodigal baby was back in my arms.
I revved her to 6,000rpm and she screamed, GIVE ME MORE!!!
Brethren, pls join me to thank God. Praise the Lord!!!!!

tonie123:
Was thinking of going to contacting hilary too oooo.... mk I just find any car shop for here enta wen I knw say I fit beat d dealer.

My story is almost coming to an end. But I can say at this point, go ahead and contact Hiliary. U have nothing to worry about. Never mind how I'm telling the story.

Wednesday morning, I was in Badagry with the towing van by 8am. He charged me 45k!!! I was willing to pay anything to get my car out of Badagry. I suspected the watermermaids were on my case.
By now, I realized that the small village off the Badagry-Seme highway was actually a resting spot for cars that have been cleared and awaiting delivery to their owners. Right before me, different cars were arriving and leaving. No one get problem. Na only my own carry French-speaking witch cross border.
We managed to couple the alternator, borrowed battery from one of the waiting cars and started my baby again. Still not charging, and now, oil and water oozing out from the ruptured oil cooler. We took a risk and drove it up the ramp and into the flat bed of the towing truck. Im still amazed at how lucky I was, cos this operation could have resulted in a blown head gasket at best, or a knocked engine at worst. As soon as my baby was parked on the bed, we switched off the engine and secured her.
Oya na, oga Hiliary, wey d custom paper make I carry my wahala dey go? He called the driver with the papers, switched off!! We couldn't reach the driver from 10am till I left Badagry by 4pm.
I came back home again, without my car, 7 days after I bought her.
Words cant explain how I felt. All the initial excitement of buying a car had dissipated.
Well, the towing van had no choice but to sleep over at Badagry, of course we renegotiated the price to 55k.
Around 11pm, Hillary called me. Hillary, o gini kwa? Will you deny me sleep at night as well? He said the driver with the paper was back from Cotonou and with my permission, they can start coming down to Lagos that night.
I agreed and despite the towing driver expressing his discomfort with towing an unregistered vehicle by 12 midnight, they hit the road.
1am, sleep no gree come.
2am, I wake my wife, we begin pray.
3am, I wake my son, he join for prayer.
4am, I woke my cousin, he join
5am, I woke my mother-in-law, she join.
6am........


To be continued

The hefty guy got down and went into a hut.
Seconds later, he came out with the key. Behind the hut was my precious baby. She was just like I saw her at Cotonou. Ever so sexy.
We tried again with the battery of the Avalon and my X3 started. Slowly but surely, she drained the battery and sputtered to a halt. Hiliary called a roadside 'rewire' that claimed to know BMW. I was not in support of any roadside tampering with my baby. But Hillary assured me that the guy knew his onions. Reluctantly, I accepted.
He said it was the alternator that had gone bad. Said it cost 15k at Ladipo. Hillary offered to bear the cost of the alternator and I would deduct it from his outstanding balance.
I left back to Lagos. Soon as I got home, I checked the price of a 2012 X3 alternator. The chepest I saw for a refurbished one was $600!!! Where this rewire wan see alternator for 15k? Hope he doesn't intend using a pencil light camry alternator!!
immediately I called Hiliary and expressed my reservation. He once again assured me of the rewire's expertise.
I had a very dull sunday. Church sef no sweet me. My mind dey Badagry.
Monday morning, the rewire said the alternator he bought was not the right one. Na there I begin doubt the guy true true. I asked him to stop all activities and return my alternator to my car. I will tow it down to Lagos on tuesday.
To my surprise, Hiliary called that the guy had gone back to the market. I called the rewire and he said he had seen the right alternator but the cheapest he got was 70k. That was reasonable to me given that it cost $600 for a used one in USA.
I asked the rewire to return my alternator as e bad.
Tuesday morning, I waited to hear that alternator has been fixed so I could arrange for towing. Na so I wait till night. The rewire couldn't fix back the alternator. While trying to force the alternator with an iron bar, they ruptured the oil cooler.
My clean carfax certified 2012 BMW X3 was gradually turning to an abused Badagry condemned 2012 BMW X3.

To be continued....