₦airaland Forum

You say the car is full option: 1. does it have 4x4 option? 2. is it an automatic. 3. What is your asking price. 4. What has to be repaired?

@ everyone: Seasons greetings. I hope you all a beautiful X-mas. May you have a blessed & peaceful New Year. My special thanks go to Madam L & Kabarka - keep! up the good work in 2012 and may your dreams, hopes and plans be exceeded!

Is the Audia A8 still for sale? If so is it the quattro (AWD) version? Is it automatique/ manual transmission?

Is your Ford Van still available? What is your phonenumber?

Does it have windows to the side?

How many seats does your Vanette have? Is it a diesel or a petrol car?

I would like information concerning the production of the plastic sachets of pure water:
1. What is the cost of this blowing machine?
2. What is the cost of raw materials (plastic grains) + how much kg of plastic grains produces 1 kg of PE film
3. What is the cost of a printing machine (to print the roles of PE film)
4. What is the cost of ink per liter + how much liter is needed to print 100kg of PE film

@ DEBOLABI
This was my bill: - 1X Dingli sealing machine 310.000N,
- 2X Stainless tank 110.000N
- 4X Complete filter housing 22.000N
- 1X UV sterilizer 20.000N
- 1x filter hanger 2.000N
- 2X 1.0 water pump 32.000N
- 2X AW sterilizer 10.000N
- 10X Bags of Chemical 35.000N
- 1x pH Meter 12.000N
- 1xTds meter 12.000N
- 1x Beakes 3.000N
- 1X lab cylinder 3.000N
TOTAL: 569.000N
Also needed for pure water company: - Transport vehicle (I bought: Toyota Dyna 1.2M)
- Borehole (was already in place)
- the first down payment for pure water sachets (my supplier recommends
210.000N which is 500kg [about 2 weeks for 1 machine] or 420.000N which
is 1000kg [about 4 weeks for 1 machine)
- Company registration, lab analysis of water/ borehole, vaccinations of staff,
fumigation (against pests) + application report, university trained manager:
I actually payed someone
to handle all this paperwork: 250.000N - I believe you can do all this
yourself, but be prepared for a lot of hassle (all test results of fumigation/
borehole/ water/ vaccinations may not be older than 3 months when you
submit your application report. I actually met a guy trying to do it himself,
but had to redo everything because the reports had expired (his university
trained manager was not accepted, because this person was already working
in too many other water companies - and he ran out of time in finding
another person). Because of the stress I did not suffer I am happy I payed
someone to do the paperwork for me (and I am university trained),
although it did not come cheap.
I believe cheaper products can always be obtained. They have advised me that cheaper products will not last as
long. I'm happy with the service my supplier of equipment offers (I bought everything at the same company): he
can give me all the explanations that I need, make all the changes/ repairs I ask for, knows all the players
(NAFDAC, cellofilm, suppliers, labs, requierements, etc.) in the fiels, responds within
short notice, keeps to his words and has several qualified assistants who he can send. Today (about 9 months after
I first started) I am wondering if I hadn't been wiser to buy a second hand Dingli sealing machine and a cheaper
transport vehicle to start with.

@ Madam L: my current supplier is claiming that he can make 24 bags per 1 kg, but that the sachets will break easily - so he recommends me sticking to the 20 bags per 1 kg. I saw that you contacted Sundid (Sunday) - did you actually order his cello-film? How many bags per kg does he deliver? Where your customers satisfied with the quality?

point of correction: my current supplier is offering me 20 bags per kg, while others are offering 24 bags per kg. These 4 bags mean and extra 60.000N per month for me!

@ madam L: Thanks for your advice . I will implement your suggestions as will as I can. I will keep everyone posted on the progress. But I can allready testify that in reading all the pages of this thread last night (I did not sleep at all, since it revealed so many interesting points) my view of the business has already transformed. I believe my business would have lost vital assets to the point of collapsing, but now I am alerted and will apply all shrewdness to make sure that sales will be up and costs will be down. It seems simple enough, but I did not realise there were so many angles in which money can be lost. The fact that there are companies selling their pure water sachets 20% cheaper (see earlier thread of tunapa4dem, June 07, 2010, 06:50 PM) as my supplier was offering me 20 bags per kg while other suppliers are offering me 20 bags per kg for the same price in using a better quality material. It first I thought what is four bags, but 4 bags extra out of 20 means 20% more, which for my tiny company with one packing machine will save me 2500N per day, 15.000N per week or 60.000N per month! Also the advice to understand the mechanics of your car, in particular the balljoints is vital. In waiting for my NAFDAC number (nearly 9 months) I had to change the CVjoint 7 times of my nissan Primera. Nobody told me that simple cleaning and greasing of the rubber cover of the CV joint would prevent it from ripping, send entering the balljoints thus breaking it prematurely. Imagine the money I would have saved (and this Nissan was only used occasionally, without any heavy loads on the very bad internal roads of Benin City) , but imagine more the headacke of a broken DYNA that cannot deliver (and I have only one car), just because the mechanic wants my money and doesn't give any hints on maintanance. I will also try to sell locally in as much as possible to avoid much physical strain on my vehicle and hassle with roadsafety, etc. I will not sell under credit and will also no go under the price, as I realise now that this will ruin all my survical chances. Lastely I also not rely merely on integrity of my workers, since inexperience can be very, very costly. So thanks again a million of the practical advice, that has allready has saved me tens of thousands of naira per month.
A new point I would like to raise. My packing machine (Dingli) consumes relatively little electricity, the UV lights consumes practically nothing. It is only the borehole pump and the filtration pumps that consume much. I will therefore will experiment with generators. My big (Tiger) generator uses fuel (not diesel) and can easily handle the pumps. When I put this on for 8 hours I expect to use about 1000N a day (but the pumps are only used for 20 minutes and this 3 times a day). For the packing machine I am planning to use a very little (Tiger) generator (that uses fuel at about 200N a day). This generator costs only 18.000N and if it works (and I think it will) I will use 5 times less fuel than the big Tiger. The fuel is 65N instead of the very high diesel prices (is it 150 or 160N?). So I believe much money can be saved there. Should the company grow in having more packing machines I will evaluate which will cost less fuel: 1 slightly bigger gen that can handle all the packing machine, or just using 1 little (noisy) Tiger seperately for very packing machine. As I start my company I will put this plan into practice. I have gotten much resistance from the people on ground and the electrician who all claim I should only use the big (money consuming) generator, but a small business owner in the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) had brillant results in using this little Tiger for appliances that uses little electricity and has no maintainance/ breakage issues - when Neppa fails his generator is only eating 200N from his profits! Please ask me about this generator issue, should I fail to report on this in a few months.

@ Madam L & Kabarka (your comments were vital eyeopeners for me). Our Pure Water business just got it’s NAFDAC number and is housed in payed off premises (in Benin: bag of pure water sells for 50N/ 80N in raining/ dry season) with:
- 1 packaging machine
- 1 Toyota Dyna (4 tyres)
1) Why should there be a sales man among the workers? What does a sales man exactly do – since I thought the truck will be driving around and selling as it goes?
2) How can I team up with an excisting company to gain experience whilst having the Nafdac number and all machinery available to produce?
3) @ Madam L – at which vital points in your company did you place your two trusted people? I have 1 trusted person (in terms of integrity and diligence, but not in terms of hands on pure water business knowledge) and would like to know where exactly to place this person. What are the parameters you check to monitor the performance these trusted people?
4) What about setting up distributors- other than selling to them at a low price are there other incentives you can give them?
5) @ Kabarka: could you state the areas were you believe your e-books will be an added value to the information found in this thread?
Thanks philsappmp@gmail.com

@ebuka_king: does the Ford have leather seat -wheel drive?

@Biggoozz: is this a van (no seats except the two ones in the front,) a bus with windows to the side (if so how many seats) or a vanbus (1 row of seats behind the front seats and after this the storage compartment). Do you have some more pictures?

@ Siena: what about the transmission coolers (http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/towing/equipment/accessories/transmission-coolers1.htm ). I have no mechanic abilities like you. Should this not do the trick in preventing overheating problems in automatic transmission?

As to my preference in manual vs automatic I believe both camps are right. In the automatic cars I have driven (Hyundai Sonata 2008, 2.0 4 cylinder diesel and Ford F150 2004, 5,4 V8) the automatics where not responsive enough therefore not allowing dynamic, active, high speed driving in turns. Only manuals respond quickly enough allowing for breaking on the motor (because of downshifting) before entering a turn and picking up speed in the second half of the turn (whilst being in a lower gear). This may not be the case of tiptronnic (allthough the Hyundai Sonate had a tiptronnic interface) automatics of near-luxary and luxurary cars in the Audi-BMW-Mercedes and RollsRoyce-Bentley category. Since I have never driven these type of cars I cannot comment on the responsiveness of these high-end automatics. I also would like note that driving in a frontwheel drive (both the Hyundai Sonata and the Ford F150 (in the 2WD mode) is much different than a rear wheel drive (Baby Siena: please give me some tips on this, because when I used to drive a 1992 BMW725i in those days I was not able to adjust to the fact that I was being pushed forward instead of being pulled forward. I allways had the feeling the back of my car wanted to drive a different direction than the front - thus giving me a very unstable feeling. I am sure this was due to my inexperience in back wheel drives, but even in my Ford F150 I do not like driving in the 4WD hi mode on the highway (unless it is raining) because I get the same feeling the back car is pushing me in directions I do not want - this also happens when the truck is fully loaded): so how do you drive a back wheel drive actively?
Here in Niga I however only have driven manuals. SUV and nice cars seem to be magnets to armed robbers so to my great dismay I am driving a manual Nissan Primera 1.6 (is at 1996?) - the car gives me no problems except 5 X a changed tirerod in 9 months due to very bad roads (allways changed for 2500N or less). Personally I would much more prefer to drive a automatic SUV (as the Lincoln Navigator I so on Nairaland foor 800k) - but these vehicles have a yuppy image and in certain parts of Nigeria it will definitely lead to robbers following the driver leading to robbery, obduction or far worse especially when other factors (outward appearance, type of job, type of house, etc) reinforce this image.
Therefore in my opinion the choice to drive manual or automatic depends on a lot of factors. I believe automatic cars are easier and more comfortable to drive. You however cannot push an automatic to start it unlike a manual. Because automatic transmissions have more parts there can potentially be more problems, but I do not know if a transmission cooler can bypass this. When however you live in parts in the world where image means everything either because it can promote you (e.g. your carreer) or it can kill you (armed robber magnet) you may not (like in my unfortunate case) may not be free to choose automatic or manual cars because of your preference. Bearing in mind that certain cars you can only buy in automatic versions and lower end card may only be bought in manuals. Allthough I prefer automatic cars (since I prefer comfort over dynamic driving capabilities) my surroundings dictate me to drive a low-end manual car

@ bart korte: Hoeveel kost de vrachtwagen? Is deze vrachtwagen al in Nigeria? Zo nee: wat zijn de transportkosten naar Nigeria?

@ crispgg: before I can make an offer: 1) what is the VIN number, 2) what is the year of the car 3) are there any repairs (mechanical, electrical, bumps/ dents/ accidents) needed, 3) can the car drive long distances, 4) how many miles/ kilometres has the car done? Thx

Do you have a diagnostic tool for a 1993 Mercedes S420 that at least can diagnose the gearbox and motor. If so could you give me the description of machine/ models and the price? Thx

Thx Siena for the info
@ IT Guru: is the car still for sale?

@4everGod1: I would have offered your asking price if the Merc had been the 1996 model which has the Brake Assist Control (BAS), Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and Parktronic as usefull standard safety options. For the 1993 model I can offer you 300K (I will arrange inspection in Lagos and transport back to Benin). ** Off the record: Should you happen to visit Benin in the mean while I can dash you the transport costs of 20K on top of it that I would have spent anyway (which I will pay you if you can present the car in the advertised state, even if I would decide not to buy the car [but I wouldn't know why, I will not be too picky since the car is 18 years old]). ** So hopefully, lets role

Hello! Does your diagnostic kit work on a 1993 Mercedes-Benz S420? If not, is there a kit that can diagnose this older car?

@ 4everGod1: Thx for the report. My two last questions: 1) Is the left side mirror broken (or just folded to the car). 2) What is the actual motor in the bonnet: a 5.0 or a 4.2? Thanks!

@ 4everGod1: could you e-mail me this full VIN-report to philsappmp@gmail.com or post it on this blog? Thx

@ 4everGod1: by the fruit we shall know them, you tried - the pix have given me much more insight of your car, But what happened to the Mercedes Star (was it temporarily removed to avoid theft?). Since I only got a summarized VIN-report that was confusing to me (since this report states the car has a 4.2 V8 motor, while the S500 suggests a 5.0 V8). I am waiting the results of a full VIN-report before I can make you an offer as you earlier requested. I am not saying this is a salvage car, since I do know that sometimes the rear badging of cars get changed for higher prestige . Can you shed light on this motor issue? Thanks!

Sir, could I have an extensive VIN report on this number: WDBGA43E2PA096369 .
This is the summerized info I allready have (if you could e-mail me this info to philsappmp@gmail.com that would be great). Thanks in advance:

WDBGA43E2PA096369
Vehicle Summary
• We found 33 records for this vehicle.
• VIN: WDBGA43E2PA096369
• Year: 1993
• Make: Mercedes-Benz
• Style / Body: Sedan 4D
• Engine: 4.2L V8 MPI
• Country of Assembly: Germany
• Model: S Class 400SEL

@ 4everGod1 - are you sure this is a S500, since the VIN-summary states otherwise (was the motor changed?)
Vehicle Summary
We found 33 records for this vehicle.
VIN: WDBGA43E2PA096369
Year: 1993
Make: Mercedes-Benz
Style / Body: Sedan 4D
Engine: 4.2L V8 MPI
Country of Assembly: Germany
Model: S Class 400SEL

@4everGod1: This is the first time you voiced out your objection to my proposition. You should be more clear in your COMMUNICATION and state clearly what you want: this is what phone calls are meant for. Booking funds in your bank account that only will be released upon delivery of the car is done more often, if you browse this auto section.  If you are not able/ not comfortable to transport the car to Benin, as I requested, you only needed to say it was not possible.

I myself would not like to be accused of being a fraudster, so I understand your vigorous response. But if you promise on Monday to get back on me on Monday and on Tuesday that you will give me the info on Tuesday, you cannot blame me for asking questions on Thursday as to why a simple information (VIN-number) of a car you daily use cannot be submitted. If you just had told be that you were busy the doubt in my mind concerning your integrity would have never emerged.

I hope a few smiles   can take away every tension that you might have experienced. If you read my previous post detailed you will see I have never accused you of being a fraudster. I even stated that mr Famo (fattyboy02) confirmed that you bought his car. Since serious questions were raised, I believed it right to state them clearly, to give you the chance to refute them. Which I believe you have.  

So mr Sam: before I send some people to view and testdrive your car, I would like a clear view of the vehicle - this will avoid wasting of time on both sides. In which time frame can realistically you e-mail me some detailed pictures to philsappmp@gmail.com .

@4everGod1 --- WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU. mr Famo / fattyboy02 confirmed that you mr sam (4everGod1) bought the car . I smsed and even spoke to you through GSM on monday. You however refuse to send me the VIN number of this car or the recent pictures even though you promised it too me TWO DAYS AGO after I called you again on tuesday. ARE YOU A SCAM ARTIST THAT GOT AFRAID now you are seeing that I am checking every angle carefully making sure that everything is 100% clean. If I want to buy a car I have a right to check the legitimacy of the seller (stolen/ accident car, etc.)!!

@ Siena: how much do you estimate the cost of the parts + postage from UK to Benin City?

@ IT Guru: does the car actually drive? Since I live in Benin City I would be intrested to see/ test drive the car

Sir, is your car still for sale? Is it driveable or must it be towed?

Can you have the car delivered in Benin city? Payment of the money via First or Union bank - the money will deposited on your account, but will not be released yet. Then you will have the car transported. The bankmanagers of your office in Lagos and my office in Benin will be in contact. If the car is in the stated condition: drivable, windshield needed to be replaced and slight crackling sound going to second gear , the funds will be released: you keep the naira's and I will keep the car. Can we have contact via e-mail?

Hello!Is your car still for sale? thx