₦airaland Forum

@ poster,

The world of salvage cars is a terrain that has to be navigated very lightly and carefully. The two major reason(s) that can salvage a car is Theft and accident. Others include, water damage, fire damage etc and the list goes on. Insurance company will decide to salvage a car when the amt to fix/correct the problem exceeds a particular % of the car's worth (Lets say 50%) for the purpose of this discussion.

In the US, insurance companies are not allowed by law to fix ur car with used parts. A private individual/dealer can do that. In case of accident, by the time they add the cost of fixing, it may be very economical (businesswise) to salvage the car. They will pay the owner the worth of the car and take the car to the auction for sale.

On the other hand, in theft cases, the insurance company will pay off the car to the owner. If the car is later found, it is then the property of the insurance company. Some cars may be found intact while others may have minor or major parts stolen.

And that is where your work begins. You wanna make sure that u inspect the car very well before buying. Most cars these days are made on UNIBODY platform. (Camry, Maxima, Accord etc). This means that they lack a solid frame that typical trucks/lorry or older cars have back in the days. So when they get in an accident, if its severe enough it might bend and damage.

A Unibody frame can be straightened but it usually not advisable. You might as well walk away from the car. You need a highly experienced people and expensive frame machine to do it. Even then, its not guaranteed that it will be perfect.

You might also be lucky to find theft vehicles with no damage. These vehicles, however attract other competitive bidders also which might end up driving up prices.

So, the moral of the story there is that you need someone who knows what they are doing to inspect the car before bidding on it. I am sorry to tell you that its not something that can be done from the computer screen in your living room. If a brainbox is missing, you will not know from the comfort of your home. How much do you think a brainbox on a 2005 BMW 750il cost? Or Infinity or Audi Q7? I don't know nor want to find out either. You wanna "feel, smell, taste, eat and shit" the car before you even know what  or how much to bid.

Don't get too attached/emotional with any car when evaluating the car's damage and repairs. Don't fall for the fancy color or leather seat or Navigation system. Remember, that profit is the end goal here.

Also, things like airbag, sensors, headlights, grill etc might need to be replaced (can be very expensive for newer cars). So be careful.

After all is said and done, you wanna make sure that the car is fixed properly. Are you fixing in US or Naija?. Either, way no shoddy work allowed (At least if you care about your reputation as a dealer). And you wanna disclose to your potential client. At least that's what i will do. Document your work and repairs to give confidence and calm to the buyer. Don't take a chance on them finding out on their own especially these days that most people are very accessible to VIN reports.

The salvage car deal is highly profitable and dangerous at the same time if you are not careful. Don't get swept up in the current. If you will be dealing with late model cars, it might be better to get clean title, ready to go car rather than the salvage route. Especially if you are not based in the US or at least have good connection and knowledgeable people to handle that end for you here. You will then have to hunt down the parts to fix it and give to good people to fix.

There are so many wild story in Naija how you can get late model 2007/2008 Jeeps/cars with "small dent"  for $500.    Please if you happen to know such place, pleeeeeaaaaaase pass me the address, i will be there tomorrow and will help you buy too. Dont believe the hype. Some of those rumor mongers have never even been to the Airport in their entire life.

Let me know if you have any other questions or how you plan in doing your project. The least i can do is tell you what i see from my Vantage point.

Good luck in your endeavor.

ayodeji1:
@kunle-A,
chief there are so many things you dont know about cotonou.fine,when u fly a car in without paying the duty,its adviceable to stay away from customs check points for a while.since the car and the registration number will still look new.but when you pay the duty at seme border,u can even drive it to there office in ikeja without plate number and ask of their oga.NO SHAKING.lol!

ayodeji1,
ONWA NA-ETILI OHA, of nairaland
OTUNBA/SERIKI of nairaland autos._{your secured link to all automobile transactions.}

Well understood sir. However, may be i am beside myself or learn slow. Theres only a reason to take a car to Cotonou. That is if it cant enter Naija in the first palce cos of the year. The cost of buying them here will be same. The cost of shipping is ALMOST the same (The same ship that offload in Lagos will offload in Cotonou first on same trip).

That leaves us with the cost of Customs. You will actually be paying Customs twice on same car. Once for Cotonou and the other at Seme if you dont "fly" it in. So the question is why not just brave the Lagos wahala and be done with in the first place.

I am not sure the price difference from taking to Cotonou and Lagos. But if the car enter Lagos, why hussle backwards? 

I know that Cotonou may be faster in Clearing and stuff but if you ship RORO and use a good agent, u should be fine. May be i am wrong. As a matter of fact, I HOPE I AM WRONG but you can shed a little more light on that.

Eagle1:
who go bring am? For this Boko Haram?

Why u dey fear na? I think say dey don kill them finish

Dear Forumites,

Does anyone have price info for MF240 or MF260 agricultural farm tractors? How about its daily rental cost?

Looking forward to helpful info from anyone out there.

Thanks in anticipation.

Dear Forumites,

Does anyone have price info for MF240 or MF260 agricultural farm tractors? How about its daily rental cost?

Looking forward to helpful info from anyone out there.

Thanks in anticipation.

Why dont you pre-order it from any of the dealers in the house. Cotonou car might be giving issues with customs later. especially since its a 2002. it can come thru Lagos. No problem for u later.

BizBooks:
To all NLanders,

My subscription to CrFx has expired. Will let you know once I find 40 bucks for a new one.

You are doing a stellar job!

DOW:
Have you considered spare part for mack?, my advice is to go for Daf XF 430 0r 480 (44tons). I am speaking from experience, I present have two mack dump truck in Lagos and spare part is killing me (expensive).

But a Mack is more durable than a DAF

CWW:
Hi Biz,

Thanks for the report.

I see 'Loan or lien reported' twice.

and also the current owner , 'Failed emissions inspection'

The reason I am interested in this vehicle it that it is available through our barter group for $6,900. Hence, I do not have to pay cash.
If cash, they are asking for $3,900.

How do I make sure the loan/lien is taken care of?
Is expecting a current Texas Inspection Sticker good enough, I should I ask for what failed and proof that it was fixed?
Any other thoughts?

Thanks, CWW

The lienholder keeps the title to the car (not the registration mind u). So if the title is available to you signed, then u have nothing to worry about. The lienholder wouldnt have gave it up otherwise.

davidylan:
Good point Kunle, i thought about that too. I was actually surprised by the low mileage.

Well its either that or this - 1HGCG66552A015168

Thanks BizBooks.

2nd owner only used the car very briefly too. So the mileage is believable, if you ask me

davidylan:
thanks BizBooks! What is your opinion based on the VIN report?

If you dont mind me barging in. I thinks it should be a good buy. Why?

The vehicle was sold as a "certified used vehicle" after the 2nd owner. The third owner only put about 40k miles on it in 3+ years. Which falls in line (even slightly below) the norm of 15k per year. Physically inspect the car and see if you like it and clean enof for your liking. I will jump on it myself. No shaking at all.

This is before the third owner

Listed as
a dealer vehicle
04/25/2005 45,526 Honda Certified Dealer Offered for sale as a
Honda Certified Used Car

Would be nice.

betnibills:
I have already given my Album out to people but never signed anything with anyone yet and wont for now,I hope given my Album out to people does not matter.

NO. U just have to realize that success is hard no matter where you live. There's a price to pay. Just forge on anyway. But dont make a mistake of signing any legal documents away on your album. You can sign out the distribution contract (suppose you find an entity whos willing to sell your albums) but not your complete right to the whole control of the album.

If you do, and the song becomes a hit, you cannot profit from the sales of multiple albums and reap the rewards. You only get paid once when you sign it off and thats it.

You need to consult an entertainment attorney. I am not one sorry.

Good luck in your endeavors.

Baba J

1N4BA41E14C825689

Igwe.:
@Kunle-A
More grease to your elbow,  your works on this site aren't going unnoticed, God will surely bless you and your family abundantly for assisting and wishing others well .

Amen. Thanks my brother. Wish you the same from my end here.

OMOSOFE F:
Will somebody guide me on the purchase of a trailer for haulage business.
How much should I prepare for such.

Trailer or trailer head?

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[size=18pt]I attended this Classics Car show at Pomona Fairgrounds, California on May 25, 2009

Just took me a while to post these pics. I was only there for about 90 minutes. I could have got more pics.Classics and Old School cars are not for Everyone. But whichever the side of the fence you are, these cars are simply beautiful.

I have a soft spot for a well restored (NO BLING! BLING! ALL ORIGINAL) Old cars. I am still learning everyday. My benefit of living in California. 

A very strong car culture here. It also happens to be the state where the most number of vehicles are registered in the USA!

Just the state is broke right now    Might be a good time to cop u one of these timeless classics![/size]

[size=20pt]Enjoy![/size]