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Vehicle Documents to Collect When Buying a Tokunbo Cars in Nigeria

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Lots of questions like documents to collect when buying a tokunbo car in Nigeria flood the internet daily. For instance, if you visit the Nairaland Autos forum, you’ll find many questions taking this angle. You’ll not only see threads concerning documents to collect when buying a tokunbo car in Nigeria but car dealers too. And to think of it, people still contact the creators of such threads to buy a tokunbo car from them.

It isn’t unintelligent to connect with people and buy a used or tokunbo car online. In fact, online trading makes it easier to find a car that satisfies your heart and soul. I have had contacts with online tokunbo car sellers and I have had success in each of these deals. With this now, you can see that buying whether online or around your neighbourhood is still the same thing. I’m bringing this up to disagree with those who say they can’t buy cars away from what they readily see. As an experienced person in the field of tokunbo car purchase, believe me, it’s common sense that matters. My point is that wherever you make the purchase, sensitive matters, and original documents matter too.

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car documents in Nigeria
car documents in Nigeria

Carmart.ng which is Nigeria’s best tokunbo car selling website brings you the important documents to collect when buying a tokunbo car in Nigeria. We’ll be snappy about this so that you make that used car your own in Nigeria before tomorrow.

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Documents to Collect When Buying a Tokunbo Car in Nigeria

Finally, we are here after training you on the basic knowledge before buying a tokunbo car in Nigeria. There are a few important documents to collect when buying a tokunbo car in Nigeria. No matter how old a car may be, it is still very necessary to obtain these papers or documents.

After from just getting these documents, verifying each to know if they are the originals is equally important. It’ll not speak well to obtain fakes because when you run into the Police’s net, it won’t be funny. Also, don’t be too weary to avoid collecting photocopies. Buying means legally making a product your property, so, don’t mess around with photocopies instead of originals. Enough with stories as we proceed on to the necessary documents to collect when buying a tokunbo car in Nigeria.

Current Car Insurance

Current Insurance
Current Insurance

If you aren’t buying a direct tokunbo car, the owner must have factored in his insurance cost into the price he gave you.

Just in case you are driving off with the car and something happens, the insurance company will pay damages.

Current insurance paper is one of the documents to collect when buying a tokunbo car in Nigeria. Sometimes the car seller gives you an outdated insurance cover. When something happens, you can’t make claims because the insurance cover is updated.

Duly Stamped Customs Documents

Anything related to customs must be stamped and very original. Another thing is that there should be matching details of the car on each of the papers. You should be very conscious of this fact, being that this kind of documents define a car and the driver. You don’t want to hear the Nigerian Police say, ‘oga come down’, while another officer cocks his gun. Ensure that you get only original papers and not something that has been tampered with.

Details like a car’s VIN are very vital, it must, as a must, be the same as what the paper says. If there is a mismatch, please seek for reasons, and no reason at all should be a reason for such. This appears as a Chasis number on documents.

Request for Police Report Papers

These are another set of papers you do not want to mess with. They could include:

  • Plate number document
  • Engine number
  • Change of ownership
  • Permit for tinted glass (if tokunbo car glass is tinted)

Proof of Ownership

This will of course show that you are the owner of the car in question. Just like other documents, it is very necessary. As the name implies, if you can’t provide these papers, you’d be endangering your ownership status of the car.

How to Avoid Buying a stolen car in Nigeria – Carmart Nigeria

Road Worthiness

Get this paper from the seller too. If the timeframe on the document has been exceeded, you can renew it. Visit a vehicle test station in Nigeria with the requirements. A valid insurance policy and license would be required as well.

Original Car Purchase Receipt

The seller has this in custody, get it. This shows that you are acquiring a legal car and not stolen. If the seller fails to provide this particular document, there is the possibility that you’re dealing with a stolen car. Even at that, be careful when issuing a receipt. What you get might be a tampered document with no concrete source.

Plate Number Allocation

If for concrete reasons, the seller can’t provide this document, you can swear an affidavit in court.

Other documents to collect when buying a tokunbo car in Nigeria are:

  • The CMR Document
  • Change of ownership papers issued from the previous seller to the person you’re buying from.

There are some other documents to collect when buying a tokunbo car in Nigeria and they include;

  • Tinted permit doc
  • Document of change of ownership
  • Engine number
  • Plate number
  • Police report

If the seller bought the car as a Nigerian used, then he should have the change of ownership document duly signed and handed over to you. But if it was bought as a direct tokunbo car, then you don’t really need this document.

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You should also note that once your car doesn’t have a custom document – except it is a beetle, and the documents have expired years ago, please stay away from such a car.

We do our best to make sure that sellers on our platform have all the necessary documents to collect when buying a tokunbo car in Nigeria.

If you’re a first-time driver, apply for the ‘L’ sign in any government-approved ministry near you. The consequences of not having this sign and the documents might force the appropriate agency to impound your car.

Also, some of these documents expire over time. This means that you’ll be making renewals from time to time. And again, being caught with expired papers is more like not having any paper, and it is an offence. To know whether your paper(s) is still valid, check the details angle for that and other information.

In the end, remember to use your sixth sense. And believe me, depending on ‘hearsay’ often run people – vehicle owners into deep messes. However, you can avoid headaches by obtaining the right documents and signing appropriate papers before hitting Nigerian roads.

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Prince Jonathan is the current team lead at Carmart Nigeria, and he has been with the company since it started in 2019. He has also overseen the activities of Carfanzy Lagos, and with his experience in the automotive industry, he aspires to create content that is tailored to Nigeria and Africa. He covers a wide range of topics, including car maintenance, safety tips, and new car releases. Since most vehicles are released outside Africa, he ensures that his articles are written in a way that African readers can easily understand. Prince Jonathan holds a degree in Autonomous Vehicle Engineering Specialization from Università di Napoli Federico II, which has exposed him to electronic and information technologies used in the Automotive and Aerospace fields, as well as providing skills that are relevant to several industrial sectors.

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