₦airaland Forum

saintjoel: There is no way any agent will know the mind of every car dealer in Cotonou unless he/she is a wizard/witch and what is applicable to customer A isn't applicable to customer B.

For those who have been to Cotonou to purchase cars before,you may have noticed that all we give you are asking prices+expenses+custom duty.Many questions have been raised and we'll like to clarify them.

Let's use a benz 230(2000) as an example.

The asking price is 700K+220K(custom duty).

Now,everyone knows that in Cotonou,there are certain monies you've to pay to bring the car out from the park to the border and it's a standard charge of 165K irrespective of year.

Now,let's assume you pay 700K in cotonou,it's going to be 700-165K=535K(which is the actual purchase price).

Now let's assume you've a budget of 800K,all you need to do is so simple,deduct 220K(custom duty in Nigeria) from 800K,we have 580K left.

580K-165K=415K.

415K is your bargaining price when you come into Cotonou,this is what you offer the dealers.

If any agent tells you that you can get a car for 350K from Cotonou,it's practically a lie cos at least you'll spend 70K smuggling the car into Nigeria.

350K-70K=280K

Now according to our calculation,if we deduct 165K from 280K,we have 115K(345K CFA).Which good car can you purchase at that price.

All they do is trick you into Cotonou with your 350K cos they know greed is a factor which comes into play when it comes to some Nigerians,after you spend the 350K,your car is stuck in the parks because they'll keep demanding money for duty clearance and smuggling fee,before you know it,your car spends weeks in the bush before getting to your doorstep.

Please note that the 165K is a mandatory charge in cotonou but the beauty of it is that even when you fix it in your budget,if you're a good bargainer,you'll get quality cars.

smartchoice: as a beginner I believe the ordinary C class will do you good...then from there you can start moving ahead!

Trac: With all due respect, I won't snatch this from Au.Hansen. It will only make me childish and the main point will never be addressed to avoid further occurrences. I'll humbly take the comments as being egotistical plus the name-calls and move on. Being thread-territorial must indeed be fulfilling.

eaglechild: Infiniti is made by nissan i agree, but i believe you know it's a luxury brand.
Besides not all models of toyota are more reliable/durable than their nissan counterparts.
Nissan pathfinder for example is a very reliable SUV
Factor in our local mechanics who would ruin anything that is not a camry or corolla.

eaglechild: Infiniti is made by nissan i agree, but i believe you know it's a luxury brand.
Besides not all models of toyota are more reliable/durable than their nissan counterparts.
Nissan pathfinder for example is a very reliable SUV
Factor in our local mechanics who would ruin anything that is not a camry or corolla.

aikerism: So I went back to my trunk to inspect the container of the Mobil XHP I used last month and I saw that its truly 20W-50...

Hmmmmmm, buh all seemed to be in other... OMG... My Baby!!! I have been giving her food for thundra and Caterpillar...

Trac: If you don't mind me asking: why do you want to replace it? Your best choice is overhauling it. The peace of mind is there and you are certain of the intensity of effectiveness.

kalan: Ity Dee: I believe the customer has a right to protest poor customer service. OYEWOLE123 steps to deal with this without coming out to the forum, but as he claimed, Inspired ignored his calls and mails[Inspired is a nice person, but he should work on his customer service-i have encountered this too SEVERALLY].

However, moving forward, a good name is as good as CAPITAL in business.

@INSPIRED,

I know business is booming, but dont treat your customers with neglect. i know its difficult, but you need to find a way round this reoccurring. Build systems ard ur business. If u have to hire a Customer Rep, pls do, at least to pick ur calls and respond to emails- there is nothing as good as updates.

I love what Oyewole did, he exposed a major problem with small businesses in this country-AFTER SALES SUPPORT. This is the number one business killer.

Mr Oyewole123, on behalf of my friend-Inspire, we tender our apologies.
Inspire is a great guy, just that he has too many woods in the fire at the same time.

Hope lessons av been learnt.

lets move forward...please

Gee2728: its that part ot the supercharger that rotate. Wld post the pics if I can.

saintjoel: Sir,I clearly stated at the beginning that I am a custom licensed agent in seme and also have years of experience coupled with a masters in business administration.
That aside,if you check my profile on nairaland you can see I've a proven trach record of bringing in cars from cotonou but tHat aside,I will still tell you that if you've a good agent who is what his onions,you don't and will not have issues with what you've purchased in cotonou.
I started this post because we had a discussion in the office about customers who are scared of buying vehicles from cotonou and ways of proving to them that business at the border is unlike before.

saintjoel: Sir,please I wouldn't want you to misqoute my post and yes,we all agree buying from cotonou is 50:50.

If you as the customer has checked the vehicle out and there are parts missing,I'll still state categorically that you need to hold your agent responsible.I know an elderly agent who had to go back to Cotonou to buy an 03 toyota matrix for his client just because he got hit by a bus along agbara expressway.The responsibility falls on your agent to check and verify that everything in your car is attached before it leaves the park,like I have said and will continue to say,your agent has to be reliable.
On the issues of VIN check,that's where technology comes into play,I don't think checking VIN info should take hours if the buyer and agent connect each other via BB or any internet ready mobile phone and they also have access to carfax.Even if your agent isn't connected to internet and you want to check carfax reports,he can be in the parks and send the VIN to you and within minutes when you have the result,he can make deposits or outright purchase.
Buying from berger isn't failproof because seriously how can any agent leave the parks without verifying that parts that are meant to be in your car are in it,only dishonest agents do it and that's why we always advice customers to check the agents track record before giving him/her any job.

saintjoel: I'm going to use this post as a summary to all posts.

Like I've said in all my posts,what you need is a credible agent who actually knows what he/she is doing.

On the issue of prices,even when cars cost almost the same as cars sold in Lagos,you have you various choices/options to pick from.I have even seen occasions and I have phone numbers of customers you can call who will tell you they've bought cars which are 100-300K lesser than what you can obtain in Lagos.
On the issue of missing parts,it still points to the agent.If any part goes missing in your car/jeep before entry intop Nigeria,you've to hold you agent responsible.Purchase in Cotonou and custom duty clearance shouldn't take more than 48hrs,that's if the car is declared in abstensia to customs,which means as you're paying for your car in cotonou,you can pay for your custom duty papers and your agent start the processing a day earlier,so that when your car is coming out of the parks the custom duty is ready,I also have evidences.
On the issue of VIN,if you've interest in purchasing a vehicle from cotonou,you may tell your agent to supply you with pictures and VIN of the cars you need which you can check at your leisure time,if you're satisfied with any car,you give him the authorisation to buy.So even with pictures,you can see if any part is missing cos they're times when parts are removed to prevent theft,so he has to show evidence that the parts are available.

If any agent tells you that your vehicle may take five or days to get to Nigeria,it means there is something fishy,he is trying to smuggle it across the border,unless if there are public holidays in Cotonou or network disruptions in customs office.
Buying from Cotonou is by choice,it can only be done when you've a good and credible agent watching your back.
On the issue of car prices,many times when you as the customer enters a one chance bus in cotonou,it means you must have believed an agent who told you that you can get cars for next to nothing in cotonou,if you want to buy a grade one car,you need to spend money.I've customers who are buying even 2012/2011/2012 cars and they have no issues with them.
Imagine you're thrown in a park which covers almost 50hectares and you still have 4-5parks+thousands of car dealers,you have choices to make when you want to pick a car,I have evidences of a client who brought 20 golf3 cars for his transport company in katsina.

With these,I aslo hope that I've managed to clear some issues again.

joemenz: thank you Sir.....au.hanson, sorry to ask again, pls if am for the 2003 c230 naturally aspirated engine IS IT the i4 or v6,
And if am going for the 2003 c230 Kompressor IS IT i4 or v6....pls clear my doubts (novice trying to learn ).
cos i want to ship one by Dec
also America and Germany which country will be better

joemenz: Interesting forum, hv beening reading since 6am.....
Which of these will be Gooƌ 2003 benz. C 230, C 240 or C 320
2) Any diff in fuel comsumption among these 3 cars
3) Should i go for the kompressor of any of these
4) My main aim Good Fuel economy
Thank you all Benz lover.....Reply pls

tommysparks: thinner in fuel tank? wont it damage the catalytic cracking unit of the engine?
am really scared here.Hanson pls shed more light before i indulge
just came across this on nairaland
https://www.nairaland.com/129222/where-one-buy-premium-fuel/1

Jarus: Treated as as how? The debit and credit?

danadam: I noticed the same thing with my W203. manual indicates 62.01 liters but I unusually have to take more than that at the gas station.

Gee2728: the 1.8 or 2.5L has nothing 2 do with the car weight its just the cubic liter capacity of the engine. Since the 230K has small 1.8L hence the need 2 bolt a supercharger(kompressor) to it 2 give it a similar performance as to the 2006 C230 naturally aspirated. And about ur 160km/h matrix chasing a W203, bro 4get it cos even my W202 C230Kompressor can easy hit 230km/h on a streach from kaduna 2 abuja without trying 2 hard. About the engine sound, its a hum dat tells u the car wants 2 be driven hard its not noise its simply loud sweet music. The bottom line is these kompressor engine are simply meant 2 be driven hard and loud.

oranges: i have a 2007 E350,pls i need assistance on how to change the service meter, i ve done the regular oil change, but its still reads the days. pls instruct me on how to adjust the meter. thanks

nathdim: I believe u are more dan 5.9million only a fool will buy a car of 3.5m in Nigeria if his capital is nt more dan 10 to 15million

Gee2728: I drive a 2000 C230 kompressor, from my little experience I'll suggest u go 4 the naturally asperated 2006 C230 which I bliv is a V6 so u dnt have 2 bother urselfe with turbo charging issues of the C230K.aside the brake disc and pad then maybe Mass air flow meter for the C230K both cars are not heavy cost 2 maint. Pls just make sure u dnt buy a car with check engine lights ON or ESP/BAS. Make sure its fault free there's no such things as a small fault in this german machines. But honestly with each year go by the quality of mercedes built keeps droping. My over 20yrs W202 car still has its leather covering as if it was made 2 weeks ago both some of this W204 hav seats that's I worn out already I guess its profit b4 quality now.