₦airaland Forum

Buying a used (Tokunbo) car?

Click on this link below before you make the biggest mistake of your life.

https://www.nairaland.com/3244787/before-buy-used-car-look

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Car-doctor

Reasons why you should be careful when buying a used (Tokunbo) car nko?.

Click on this link below before you make the biggest mistake of your life.

https://www.nairaland.com/3244787/before-buy-used-car-look

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Car-doctor

5 steps to consider why you should be careful when buying a used (Tokunbo) car nko?.

Click on this link below before you make the biggest mistake of your life.

https://www.nairaland.com/3244787/before-buy-used-car-look

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Car-doctor

5 reasons why you should be careful when buying a used (Tokunbo) car.

Click on this link below before you make the biggest mistake of your life.

https://www.nairaland.com/3244787/before-buy-used-car-look

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Car-doctor

Rumin8:
What's a PPI? I know PPE.

PPI means Pre Purchase Inspection.


Click on the link below for more information.

https://www.nairaland.com/3244787/before-buy-used-car-look

PriNceNova:
You are correct but na only god go safe us. Some of This things mentioned cant be detected by some auto engineers, how much more just any one

Yes you are right. Only a competent auto technician with many years of experience in the field of car sales, repairs and Pre-Purchase Inspection would be capable of detecting any anomaly in a car that is being presented for sale. This post serves as a pointer for any lay person to take a bearing from short of hiring a professional technician to do that for you. It simply encourages you to make a checklist before going through a car that you intend to buy. A simple thing you overlook on that car could plunge you into a huge money pit. BEWARE!!!!

You can also share your experiences here on a lemon you mistakenly bought.


Car-Doctor

Serves him right.

Kudos bro.

These cars are not meant to be easily converted. Think about the mountains of wirings that have to be re-configured and the weldings and so on and so forth. This car is not a Peugeot 504 or volkswagen Santana. If you dont want to die of a heart attack, just simply abandon this project. Look for an original LHD version and save yourself the head ache. Read all the things the big bosses here have adviced you on and consider it.

Na stubborn fly dey follow dead body enter grave.

Car-Doctor.

VEHICLE PRE-PURCHASE INSPECTION:

Purchasing a used vehicle can be risky. When excited buyers get emotionally caught up in the vehicle purchase, they often overlook mechanical, electrical, cosmetic, and safety issues during visual inspections and test drives. These problems are compounded if the vehicle being purchased is located in a car sales parking lot where testing is restricted until the vehicle has been paid for purchased prior to being seen in person. Fraudulent car dealers that may have covered up technical or body cosmetic issues would prefer that you pay for the vehicle before testing or hope that these issues would not be detected until payment has been made or better still, after the vehicle has left their car lot.

Check the general condition of vehicles that you wish to buy with a fine tooth comb as well as with a “magnifying glass” “stethoscope” or even better, with a “microscope” to ascertain if there are any underlying engine or transmission issues or if the vehicle had been involved in a minor or severe collision and repaired prior to it being sold.

Thousands of imported vehicles, especially from the USA have been bought as salvage auctioned cars that may have been involved in a severe accident, flooding or fire damage. In most instances, these vehicles would be shipped into Nigeria and cleared through Nigeria Customs for a lower Import Duty (Due to the accident conditions) and repaired in back street panel beating workshops with minimal attention to details. They are then resprayed and sold on to unsuspecting buyers. These vehicles pose serious danger to the end user on the roads and would certainly become an uneconomical asset investment.

Check if the mileage on the odometer has been tampered with or too low for the age or condition of the vehicle. Most Imported used cars (Tokunbo) may have had their mileages tampered with to increase the value of the cars or cleverly modified to reduce the Year Of Manufacture. (For example a 2011 Toyota Prado TX-L could easily be modified to look like a 2014 model) the price difference could well be over 4 million Naira.

Others may have been stolen and being sold off with Chassis (VIN) Numbers that have been tampered with and have had the paperwork faked.
Some vehicles cleared through Seme border in Cotonou, Benin Republic, may also have had lesser duty paid for the value of the car and then sold with Custom Clearance documents reflecting that full duty was paid. Running into a Customs Checkpoint would reveal that Full Duty was not paid and could easily result in the impounding or outright seizure of the vehicle.

I have also observed that many cars coming in through Seme and other border crossings may have had the Catalytic Converters (Commonly called Indomie) removed and/ or stuffed with wire mesh to muffle the sound of the exhaust. This causes severe fuel consumption and a host of other engine malfunctions. Replacing a missing catalytic converter could cost over 30k each.

Other vehicles may have been “Flown” across the border through the bush where the access roads are usually very rough bush tracks that may have damaged the vehicle’s suspension, underneath, tyres and body work. Most, if not all of these vehicles are sold with fake documents.
Another clever gimmick by unscrupulous car dealers is the selling of Nigerian Used cars as Tokunbo. Old vehicle documentation are discarded and erased from the Government Database and replaced with new ones reflecting that the car has never been registered. Silly stickers of Shipping companies and Clearing Ports are stuck on the wind screens and windows to create the semblance of a Tokunbo vehicle that has never been registered.

Some cars may also have electrical or electronic issues and have had the Warning Lights on the dashboards that are meant to indicate Faults within the vehicle permanently removed.

These lights may include:
CHECK ENGINE LIGHT (ENGINE OR TRANSMISSION) MALFUNCTION
SRS (AIRBAG) MALFUNCTION
ABS (ANTILOCK BRAKE SYSTEM) MALFUNCTION
TPMS (TYRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM) MALFUNCTION

A lot of cars have become so rusty underneath and below the surface of the paintwork and not usually visible on normal inspection. Exhaust pipes and pots may have corroded severely as well as chassis, brakes and suspension components. Buying such a car would certainly lead to breakdowns or accidents and would cost a lot of money to repair.

To eliminate much of the anxiety and get an accurate picture of the condition of the vehicle, buyers should have a Pre-Purchase Inspection (PPI) done before the sale is final.

When should I get a PPI?
A pre-purchase inspection is highly recommended when purchasing a vehicle without a warranty. If there is no warranty, the buyer is immediately assuming all the risk in the event of a breakdown or major mechanical issue. For this reason, a pre-purchase inspection makes financial sense.

What would be inspected?
A thorough panel by panel and external visual inspection of the vehicle paint condition including Rust, Tyres, Evidence of body filler and poor panel alignment. Also check for signs of body flex stress or cracks resulting from weakening body frame. Inspect the under carriage and look for evidence of major or minor collision repairs, corrosion, fluid leaks from the drive train, belts, oil and water hoses.

A visual inspection of the interior carpet, headliner, seats, signs of water infiltration or flooding, condition of floor pans as well as a check of all instrumentation and electrical equipment.

A test drive of the vehicle if possible to evaluate any detectible problems in the engine, transmission, steering, suspension, and brakes under various conditions.
Get details of the vehicles current appraisal value in comparison with other models of its kind.

For more information on buying used cars, click on the link below.
http://www.donbriteautocaresolutions.com/

The saga continues.

Chai!!!. See the amount of replies on this thread.

Mad(e) in Nigeria.

They love for money. God help them.

Ohaneze ndi igbo.

Same as they will do with all the others.

Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing. R.I.P

Its got to be nah. My Alumni.

Are we invited?

Ok. thanks

Like father like son. Just taller.

Somebody should wake this woman up from her deep slumber.

Money wan enter ground again.

Aren't they too old for this?

Tell him that you are cooking Ofe owerri and pounded yam when you dont even know how to boil an egg. Gerrrarrahia joor.

Which town be this?

In biology, its termed as cross breeding.

Pretty babe.

Stale news. We all know about it.

The height of insanity. What would the real babies say when they see this man?

He is preparing for fatherhood. Leave am abeg.

So what?