Vehicles on Whistle: How to buy a preowned vehicle in Nigeria
Owning a car gives you a sense of comfort and convenience that cannot be over-emphasized especially in Nigeria where the national transportation system is still being developed to cater adequately to its citizens.
However, with Nigeria’s inflation rate being 19.64% and the skyrocketing exchange rate, many cannot afford new cars or foreign-preowned cars so they buy Nigerian-preowned cars instead.
Although it is possible to find a durable car in the Nigerian preowned automobile market, buyers need to be careful and highly observant to avoid buying damaged vehicles that could become a liability to them and end up being one of the reported damaged vehicles on Whistle.
Here is a list of steps you should take to purchase a preowned car in Nigeria:
Decide on your budget
Once you have decided on the brand and model of the vehicle you want to purchase from the Nigerian preowned vehicles market, begin researching the average cost of the vehicle by discussing and negotiating with different sellers. The most recurring price tag is what should you should base your budget on.
Drive and ownership history
You must ascertain how many owners the car you are interested in buying has had as well as the duration for which each owner used the car. The more users a car has had and the longer it has been driven contributes immensely to its wear and tear.
Sale purpose, faults, and repair history
You’ll receive neutral answers like ”I want to buy a different car” or ”I’m japa-ing soon” when you ask the sellers of Nigerian preowned cars why a car is up for sale. While these reasons can be true, you should take them with a pinch of salt and do your investigation. Preowned car sellers sometimes put up cars for sale when they are exhausted by their constant mechanical issues.
Ask detailed questions about their challenges while using the car and the major repairs they have done to the car. We recommend hiring a mechanic to fact-check everything the seller tells you.
Run a VIN check
VIN stands for Vehicle Identification Number and is a specific serial number assigned to any automobile by its manufacturers, making it possible to identify every vehicle independently. Running a VIN check gives you access to more accurate information about the car’s mileage, accident history, and more.
Test the car thoroughly
Test driving the preowned car you want to buy on highways and bumpy roads is good but that is not where the vehicle test ends. The mechanic you hire will assist you through the testing phase which includes inspecting the body of the car, engine performance, tires, air conditioner, and more.
Verify all documents on Whistle
You should never purchase a preowned vehicle without thorough documentation verification. The Whistle app’s ”Quick license check” features give you accurate information about all of a car’s documents. It saves you the stress of visiting the licensing office physically.
Request for custom papers
The Nigerian preowned vehicles market is home to many cars not cleared with customs. Buyers should always demand custom papers for the vehicle they intend to purchase. This is so they do not buy cars without custom papers. Such cars are considered to be smuggled vehicles. Anyone in possession of such vehicles would be penalized by the appropriate law enforcement bodies when caught.
Spare Parts Accessibility
You might have to do repairs to suit your taste if you are opting for a preowned Nigerian vehicle. It is important to purchase a vehicle for which you can obtain spare parts easily. Ask your mechanic or current users of the same vehicle how they get spare parts.
If you have you have purchased a preowned car in Nigeria before and would like to add to the list, leave a comment below!
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