Do you want to buy a car?
I mean to ask and know if you would love to buy a car that will
- Not be too expensive to buy
- Not be too expensive to maintain
- Not give you nightmares that might end up ending your life or cut short your joy.
If you would love to buy a car on a not-so-huge-budget and a good car at that, this post will work you through the step-by-step guide to buying a used car in Nigeria.
But before I go sharing some of this guide points with you, let’s talk about some of the reasons I feel buying a used car at this point of your life might be the best thing you’ve ever done since you started taking and making decisions.
Reasons to Buy a Nigerian Used Car
#1. Budget – If I was you and I want to buy a car for mobility sakes, and especially because I am most times in transit moving from pole to pole, I’d look at and factor in my budget to know exactly how much I can afford for a car now.
You don’t want to go buy a car of 5 million Naira when you can easily get a used car — of that same car — for just 1.5 million. or even 1.3 million Naira.
#2. Durability – You want to factor in the durability of such car; is it strong and can it travel for long without siphoning funds from your pocket to buy fuel. I am saying this because your job might require that you keep being on the road.
You want to buy a car like a Corolla model that won’t eat up your money in buying fuel if you are considering starting a Taxi or Uber based business in Nigeria.
#3. Spare Parts – How about spare parts? This car you want to buy, are the spare parts readily available and are they not too costly, that is, expensive?
Wait…
Let us look at the various types of used car in Nigeria.
Actually, there are just two of them: Foreign used and Locally used cars.
Here, Difference Between Buying a Foreign Used or Locally Used Car in Nigeria
A foreign used car is the same as Tokunbo cars and they are fairly expensive than a locally used car.
So for instance, if foreign used cars are sold for 1.8 or even 2 million Naira. Locally used cars will be sold for half or about 80% of that price, say 1.2 million. That’s about that.
Now, let’s talk about some of the things to look out for when buying a used car in Nigeria. Can we?
5 Things to Look out for When Buying a Used Car in Nigeria
#1. What are People Saying About that Car?
Online reviewers will come really handy here trust me. At this point, you want to check what people are saying about this particular car? Are the reviews positive or they negative? Are the positive reviews more than the negative reviews? If it’s the other way around, my friend, don’t buy it!
#2. Check History Report of The Car
At this juncture, you should begin to check the history of the car to know if it is not a stolen car, or if it hasn’t had a major accident which might be a crazy way of siphoning money from your pocket to fix and keep repairing rising issues. With the user of Vehicle Identification Number or VIN, you will be able to successfully carry out this research.
- Must Read: Top Fastest Cars Right Now
#3. Fix a Date for Inspecting The Car
Before you start talking about how much or how to pay, it’s important that you first of all go in to inspect the car if its truly in a good condition and if all the gears are working perfectly just as the owner claims it is.
#4. Test Drive or Run the Car
So, you have inspected the car, right? Well, the next thing to do would be to hit the road to test run and drive the car to see if it’s not making any unnecessary sounds and all.
#5. Confirm the Vehicle Particulars and License
This is another important step you must follow if you don’t want to go running into troubles you could have averted by checking if the particulars and license have the name and details of the person selling the car to you.
#6. Bargain for the Price of the Car
Now is the time to bargain for the car of the car, and it has to be a win-win situation. You must not allow yourself to be tricked or be intimidated by the marketing persuasion skills of the seller. They are good like that, and you must try to hold and brace yourself up to talk and beat down their asking price to something you can afford and that is not above your intended budget.
#7 Pay for the Car
So, you’ve gone through the above steps and you are already satisfied with this car, by all means, pay for it and start enjoying your Naija fairly used car.
Hope you did love this article on the buying a used card in Nigeria. If so, kindly share this article with your friends.