₦airaland Forum

nurey:
After papers as number one, the body should come next before even starting the car. Once you test drive a car you can be whaoed and pay without body check. If you buy a rusted car, accident damaged azonto dancing chassis, you have just insured your money in a quest of no return.

And if you buy a non-rusty car with a DEAD transmission, nko? You never see anything.

By the way, just because rust and body check feature further down the list DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD NOT CONSIDER THEM AS WELL. A scale of preference for order of inspection is so-named only for establishing a sequence. The onus is on you to FINISH the test from start (papers) to finish (others). If you check only items 0, 1 and 2 and pay for the car, you are on your own with suspensions and rust problems.

I never said go ahead and buy the car with rust. Besides, RUST can also be classified under the section on Body / Paint. Isn't rust a "body condition?" Sure it is.

Certain cars are notorious for rust. Check the fuel tank most especially for perforation. You don't want to pay for a car, fill up the tank, and while going home, you water the highway with fuel leaking from your "new car".

Pray you get home safely.

FIRE HAZARD!

rose54321:
Very helpful.
Though when buying a car i doubt the dealer would allow you take it for a scan though.

Are you kidding me? Running a scan on a car is as simple as plugging a portable, handheld, scan device into a socket usually located under the steering area.

No need to "take (the car) for a scan" anywhere. You do it ON-THE-SPOT. And no dealer can ever stop you from scanning a car. Only a fraudster.

Simply go along with your scan device (roughly the size of a large smartphone or phablet), plug it into the car, and voila! Almost any problem with the car will be available to you instantly.

There are many scan tool models in the market. Some models are even Bluetooth enabled, and can turn even your smartphone into a scan tool, once you install the appropriate app on your phone. There are hundreds of them out there.

Check your App Store for "auto diagnostic tool".

No-one should buy a used car WITHOUT running a scan on the car. It makes the inspection process a lot shorter and more effective.

rose54321:
Very helpful.
Though when buying a car i doubt the dealer would allow you take it for a scan though.

Are you kidding me? Running a scan on a car is as simple as plugging a portable, handheld, scan device into a socket usually located under the steering area. No need to "take (the car) for a scan" anywhere.

Simply go along with your scan device (roughly the size of a large smartphone or phablet), plug it into the car, and voila! Almost any problem with the car will be available to you instantly.

There are many scan tool models in the market. Some models are even Bluetooth enabled, and can turn even your smartphone into a scan tool, once you install the appropriate app on your phone. There are hundreds of them out there.

Check your App Store for "auto diagnostic tool".

No-one should buy a used car WITHOUT running a scan on the car. It makes the inspection process a lot shorter and more effective.

Waiting

Waiting. . .

Originalsly:
Sticking to topic..... repainting a car can either add value or devalue the car. If it's a car that's "pimped"... the value goes up. If it's a regular stock car... the value may decrease since the seller has increased the price by adding on the paint job while the buyer would not consider the cost of the paint job and would think the seller painted to hide something . The buyer would now want a reduced price since he would think he is taking a risk! If it's an old did car...a classic. ... the original paint plays a bigger part in the price!
.

Must vintage cars are re-painted (professionally, of course). You won't expect a 1952 Benz to look "sharp" enough for the price quoted.

Two reasons:

- AGE: normal environmental degradation over decades
- PAINT QUALITY: you have to admit that the quality and durability of paint obtainable 60 years ago, even if the best of its time, is still inferior to what obtains nowadays.

Vintage cars are not expensive because of their intrinsic value, but because of their age (= scarcity / rarity).
They're a status symbol.

I've never seen a vintage in photos or in real life WITHOUT a shiny, fresh-looking paint job. Every last one I've seen looks like it rolled out of the factory line just last week!

'Nother bump.

Bump

So many people place a little too much value on the "aesthetics" of a car, especially the paint. But in my opinion, the paint is one of the last things you should look at when buying a used car in Nigeria.

Used car buyers should focus on these critical items, which, in my experience, should be considered in THIS PARTICULAR ORDER:

0 - Papers, papers, papers!
1 - Engine condition
2 - Transmission condition
3 - Electricals (run a scan)
4 - Suspensions & tyres
5 - Body dents / paint health
6 - Wheels health
7 - Everything else

This is my personal scale of preference.

The engine and the transmission are usually the two most individually expensive components in a car. If either of them (even both) is bad and you unknowingly buy the car, then you're looking at an expensive fix later on.

If you're wandering why I began my list with zero (0) instead of one (1), you should know that nothing else on the list should matter if the car's documentation is not in perfect order.

Customs, CMR, Proof of Ownership blah blah blah. Check these (and more) first before you even ask to hear how the engine sounds.

If papers are in order, then proceed to the following items on the list.

Items 1 & 2: ENGINE & TRANSMISSION

In some modern cars, the transmission health should be #1, particularly if the car uses a CVT transmission (as is the trend right now). Those gearboxes are extremely easy to destroy by using the wrong fluid (common in Nigeria).

For example, the CVT transmission of a 2008 Nissan X-trail costs upwards of N400,000 (I already checked with Ladipo). And that's minus the cost of installation. Which may cost you another 50k or more.

Remember: A 2008 vehicle. And this is 2016. Imagine if your prospective car is a 2010+ model year and the transmission is bad.

These modern gearboxes are delicate, their fluids are very expensive, and Mechanics have not caught up with them, and...did I mention that they are delicate?

Meaning: easily damaged.

So read up very, very, very well on the symptoms of a failing gearbox in the particular car you intend to buy, and watch out or listen to its performance during your test drive.

Engines these days are far more tolerant of "fluid abuse" than transmissions.

You may mistakenly use the wrong engine oil, realise your mistake three weeks later, and then change it back to factory spec engine oil. Chances are that there may be no damage to your engine.

Maybe.

But put the wrong fluid into your modern gearbox (CVT or not) and drive it for just one hour and you're far more likely a customer for a new transmission in the very near future!

If it's a car purchased brand new here in Nigeria, your powertrain (transmission/engine) warranty is already kaput. Sorry. Wrong oil.

Furthermore, have you ever noticed that engines use "oils" while transmissions use "fluids"?

It might sound insignificant and trivial, but therein lies the reason they have vastly different tolerance levels when the wrong stuff is poured into them respectively.

Ask me why.

Item 3: SCAN.

Running a scan would normally reveal any problems with item #1 (engine) and item #2 (transmission). But it doesn't end there. One potentially expensive fix that you might save yourself from is the possibility of having a BAD or even ABSENT catalyst.

And catalysts are not cheap. The funny part of it is that most (in my experience) cars without a catalyst do not have it because it was deliberately removed (= stolen).

A lot of mechanics do it to unsuspecting car owners. They sell it off, make good money, and your car suddenly becomes more fuel thirsty than it used to be.

A scan can save you a lot of trouble before you buy the car.

Item 4: SUSPENSIONS & TYRES

Good suspensions are expensive. Good tyres are also expensive. It costs up to 100k to buy quality (original) shocks for all four wheels of a relatively modern car (2007 - date).

Four good (new) tyres may cost up to 120 - 150k.

But the issue here is not only about the suspensions themselves.

If the suspensions in a car you intend to buy are bad (usually the front shocks), chances are that some other wheel components might have gone bad as well.

Depending on how long the owner had driven the car with bad suspensions, there may be damage done to the ball joints, tie rods, drive shafts, and stabiliser linkages, and even the wheel hubs. If shock absorbers are dead, every time you drive on bad roads, there is nothing to "absorb" the shocks and so these other wheel components listed above come under direct stress. No shock absorber to protect them.

All these things will cost you additional money to change them, plus the cost for new shocks.

So don't believe it when the car seller tells you to just change the shocks and all that noise you heard during the test drive would disappear.

They may disappear. And they may not all disappear. Drive shafts in particular are somewhat expensive to replace.

Item 5: BODY DENT AND PAINT CONDITION.

Now, it's time to look at the car from the make up perspective. Don't attach too much importance to a scratched or dented bumper.

The name "bumper" is a clue to let you know that even the manufacturer knew that this part of the car (front and back) will inevitably take a beating during normal everyday driving.

It is either you BUMP into something or something BUMPS into you! That's why it's made of plastic.

Now, add the Nigerian factor and tell me how you expect a scratchless and never-before-dented bumper. It is nearly impossible.

So, give allowance for that in your assessment, but use it as a bargaining tool to get a better deal. A dented or chipped bumper should not be a deal-breaker.

However, inspect the car make and make sure any and all dents were properly fixed, and not just cosmetically covered up.

One good place to check is the inside surface of the fenders.

Like bumpers, fenders also take a lot of hit on the road (though not as much as bumpers). If the car's fender had been hit, check that it was fixed properly.

Look behind the headlights to see the inner surface of the fender and other metals nearby. Any bends? Twists? Crushes? Ask the seller about it. You now have more bargaining power.

Finally, other potentially annoying problems to check for include:

- Rust (certain cars are notorious for rust)
- Window wind-up / wind-down operation
- Sunroof sliding operation (if any)

These are my personal tips on how to prioritise your used car inspection items checklist.

Let me know what you think, and share your own methods too.

nutripot:
[size=28pt]
There are good painters around in Nigeria- Just don't price them too low otherwise they will use low quality paint for you.

I Did better buy a vehicle in top form with repainted body than buy a first body with sick engine & gear box.[/size]

Gbam. That last paragraph is the summary of this thread. Since we're talking about used cars, it is foolish to prioritize the paint condition of a car over it's mechanical and electrical integrity.

If the car has no dents (or the dents were well taken care of), the quality of the paint should be a low priority item on your checklist.

Used car buyers should focus on these critical items, which, in my experience, should be considered in this order:

1 - Engine condition
2 - Transmission condition
3 - Electricals (run a scan)
4 - Suspensions health
5 - Body dents / paint health
6 - Wheels health
7 - Everything else

This is my personal scale of preference. In some modern cars, the transmission health should be #1 (particularly if the car uses a CVT transmission). Those gearboxes are easily destroyed by using the wrong fluid (common in Nigeria).

For example, the CVT transmission of a 2008 Nissan X-trail costs upwards of N400,000. And that's minus the cost of installation.

Ask Murano owners what they went through with their CVTs!

Remember: A 2008 vehicle. And this is 2016. Imagine if your prospective car is a 2010+ model year.

Engines these days are far more tolerant of "fluid abuse" than transmissions. You may mistakenly use the wrong engine oil, realise your mistake three weeks later, and change it back to factory spec oil. There may be no damage to your engine. Maybe.

But put the wrong fluid into your modern gearbox for one hour and you're already a customer for a new transmission!

Have you ever noticed that engines use "oils" while transmissions use "fluids"?

It might sound insignificant and trivial, but therein lies the reason they have vastly different tolerance levels when the wrong stuff is poured into them respectively.

Ask me why.

Waiting

Waiting...

Still waiting.

iamGraced:
Problem for the week. Let's see who are the real Mathematicians.

Ans = 84

4 + 2^(4) X 5 = 84.

Hint: Use BODMAS for the above.

woodcook:
The US should burry her head in shame if this news is anything near the truth.

How can Russian a country touted as 3rd rated with archaic technology and battered economy by the US, was able to violent American's election with all the hundreds of billions of dollars being poured into national security and the over reaching power granted to NSA.

I just hope this is just one of those fake news.

Simple: Because Russian technology is FAR from archaic. America, and the West in general, know this very well, but they'll never admit it.

Waiting your call.

Waiting

Yoshy:
If these guys decide to contest, Tony Elumelu/Fashola.

Two problems:
1. Christian / Christian ticket
2. South / South ticket

Are you not in this country Nigeria?

heryurh:
I doubt if the next generation would even see Nairaland

No ban me oh!

Are you insinuating that Nairaland is an animal?

Oya, chop ban.

Chop am kia kia.

ishiamu:
can someone help me with that lil wayne OLOSHO pics

Answered.

Any candidate car out there? Still waiting.

bomis2014:
Call me. ........

Where's your number?

Waiting...

bomis2014:
Call me. ........

How exactly?

Attn:
bomis2014 MotorConnectz Ennythong2
Kindly respond if you have my spec. Thank.

Anybody has this car for sale? Contact me ASAP.

Nice ride. Let me know if you have the 2007-2009 model (V6 engine). Needed ASAP. Thanks.

MichaelRotimi:
Get me Mitsubishi outlander 2009 xls fully loaded, thanks

Seconded. I need the same spec too:

2009 Outlander XLS (= V6, AWD, tinted, Bluetooth telephony et cetera). Fully loaded.

Needed ASAP.

Still waiting. Contact me ASAP.

Do you still have this Outlander available? Let me know ASAP.

VeeBabs:
Waiting.

.

tmanis:
yeah. sure. An aventador on a dirt track. good idea!

Track ain't done yet. Not gonna be a dirt track when finished.