With the prices of brand new cars appreciating beyond the reach of most salary earners as a result of the economic headw inds Nigeria is experiencing, buying Nigerian used also known as ‘Tokunbo’ cars may be the way out. Gbenro Dara, managing director of Efritin.com told us recently that his e-commerce platform has witnessed approximately 20 percent growth in buyers of used cars in the last 6 months. “We have well over 1000 car buyers come to the shop daily and there are approximately 20 cars sold every day on Efritin.com,” Dara said. The growth is driven by price and variety. There are a larger variety of used cars and many more used car dealers in Nigeria. That is not surprising given that Nigerians like to experiment with new things.
There is also the fact that it is easy to become a dealer once you decide to sell your car for new one, classified platforms like Efiritin.com makes provisions for buyers and sellers. Nigerian used cars are becoming preferred over foreign used cars because they are cheaper. They also come with problems, some you may not notice immediately. Often when people decide to sell it is because the car has an issue that they are not able to deal with. Hence, when you buy it from them it is automatically transferred to you. It is important therefore to always ask the right questions before paying for the Nigerian used car. Ensure that you have the car examined thoroughly by your mechanic and certified healthy enough. Request for documents like custom papers; original vehicle license; insurance; road worthiness; and police report etc. In the meantime, Dara says the trend is likely to continue for a few years having in mind the direction which the economy is going.
