As a novice to online vehicle sales. What are the necessary steps to take before or when purchasing a vehicle from an online dealer?
More precisely, in the aspect of condition of use of the vehicle, previous ownership and security.
#Thefearofstolenvehicle
As much as any purchase is first considered online, it should always be completed offline and in person/through a proxy with access to the vehicle.
For any vehicle (Tokunbo primarily, and to some extent, Nigerian used), the following would help when considering purchase:
- History before importation to Nigeria(Past condition)
- History in Nigeria(Present condition)
History before importation to Nigeria:
The most effective way to know the history of any vehicle is through a vehicle history report, especially for cars from US/Canada, and some countries in Europe.
All you need to do is to get the VIN or Chassis Number of the car and forward to a History Report platform for NMVTIS, AutoCheck or CarFax Vehicle History Reports.
CarGuideNG provides that service.
It's quick and requires relatively minor fees compared to the expensive repairs and heartache it would save you from.
History in Nigeria(Present condition):
For a Tokunbo vehicle:
- Verify appropriate Import Customs duty payment.
When you have access to the original customs documents of the vehicle, contact a licensed agent, or go to any Nigerian Customs Service formation to confirm appropriate customs duty was paid and that the customs documents are authentic, you would have to send some details from the customs document like the C Number.
- Pre-Purchase Inspection.
This is a critical step in addition to the above mentioned.
Always enlist the services of a professional to inspect any vehicle you're considering for purchase. Also endeavour to pick the right professional for the job.
For example, it would be better to have a VW Passat inspected by a specialist in European, rather than Japanese/Asian vehicles, as much as it is possible.
It may also be better to have the inspection done by someone with no direct connection to you, we have had cases where the client had their mechanics encourage purchase of vehicles with obvious faults knowing they would be the benefactor from future repairs.
There are an additional number of steps to take for the past condition for Nigerian used vehicles.
Other tips:
The history report can be a pointer to the true Nigerian or import history.
For example, a lot of AutoCheck or CarFax reports end with:
Vehicle exported from A and imported to B, alongside a date of export.
Where A may be
Newark New Jersey, Baltimore, Halifax Canada, etc
And B may be
Benin(Cotonou) or Nigeria(Lagos)
This is actually quite helpful, because a vehicle with the date of export to Nigeria in May 2014 may likely not be a Tokunbo vehicle, and if such is offered as Tokunbo in 2018, one should be cautious.
Also, if B is Benin, and date of export to Nigeria was May 2018, the vehicle may have been imported through Cotonou, which may require caution because the FG has outlawed such routes of importation.
For a first time/novice or even experienced car buyer these tips, while not exhaustive, would go a long way to ensure a good purchase is made
