There is a new type of scam going on to deceive individuals into buying inferior quality used Japanese vehicles, some in dangerous conditions. Although their vehicles are very cheap, in many cases, the vehicles are usually sold as accident damaged vehicles. Whilst I can’t reveal the actual name of the website, I hope you can determine the site yourselves.

This particular website claims to have over 3,000 vehicles in stock. On careful examination, I found the majority of the vehicles have been downloaded from the auction websites and are not actual stock of that company. I’ve stated this next suggestion many times in previous articles: ask the exporter for more photos of the vehicle if they are only showing 2 or 3 photos of that vehicle. I placed an order for such a vehicle and asked 5 times for the extra photos but never received them. Also ask for the Export Certificate to be scanned and sent by fax. Again, I asked for this certificate several times but didn’t receive it before this company stopped communications.

This company stocks a few hundred vehicles under US$1,000 FOB (not including freight and insurance) which is quite a large number to sell for such a cheap value. On closer inspection, I found the vehicles are mostly accident damaged vehicles which have been cheaply repaired or not repaired at all. I noticed there is no grading of the vehicles displayed on their website. I asked why they don’t display the condition grades of each vehicle on their site, but they didn’t answer the question. Most genuine used car exporters will display the condition grades on their website. Grades 3.5 or grade 4 vehicles are usually in very good condition. Accident damaged vehicles are graded zero and most genuine exporters will avoid purchasing these vehicles out of safety concerns for their overseas clients. You need to ask yourself, are you prepared to risk your life and your family’s life driving in an accident damaged vehicle? How cheap do you value your family’s life?

I also wondered how a company selling this many vehicles under US$1,000 FOB can make a decent profit to survive in business. In reality, the profit made on these cheap vehicles is so small that it usually is not enough to cover other business expenses such as salaries, utilities, rent, etc. You may ask: so how does that concern you? Some of you may know of smaller exporters that you dealt with, receiving very cheap vehicles at first, then your final order may have resulted in loss of your money because that smaller company went bankrupt and took your money without shipping a vehicle. It happens this way because eventually these companies run out of money and become desperate enough to steal overseas clients’ money. You need to be cautious of this particular company’s practice of selling vehicles too cheap. They could be running their business at a loss which isn’t good business sense. Again, you have to ask yourself, are you prepared to risk your hard earned savings on a cheap vehicle that may not be roadworthy or even be delivered?

Finally, I requested an invoice from this company and they only showed one amount for the CIF value. There was no breakdown. It took several requests before they finally sent me the breakdown of the charges. I found that they charge US$350 for inspection fees where most other exporters usually charge around US$200. They also charged a very high freight rate compared to other exporters. I found the freight rates in some cases are US$500 more expensive than some genuine exporters’ websites. I also asked for a copy of their marine insurance policy to confirm if they actually do insure their vehicles for shipment. Again, there was no response to my several requests and communications stopped.

It appears this company’s sole objective in this business is to cheat customers in as many ways possible. I contacted the inspection company to confirm if this company actually sends its vehicles for inspections. To my surprise, the inspection company confirmed the vehicles are inspected, but many of them fail due to non-roadworthiness. This means they need to replace the vehicle as it can’t be shipped to you with a genuine roadworthy certificate. For the vehicles that were not passed and not shipped, this company re-sells them to other clients in countries where inspections are not required (e.g. Zimbabwe or Malawi). The alternative for the company is to supply another vehicle and submit it for another inspection (at their own cost). The problem is the vehicle of your choice is now gone and you have to settle for another vehicle that may not pass the inspection again. All these losses at the inspection facilities will surely weigh heavily onto this exporter eventually.

I have already received phone calls from the local Embassies about this exporter. The claims are starting to pile up from Zambians who felt they were cheated when the vehicle arrived (or didn’t even make it to Nakonde due to breakdown. The problem is, the exporter makes you sign a no-claim form before the sale is completed. That’s their defense against law suits and so the Embassies hands are tied as a result. I asked if I could reserve the right to claim should the vehicle I receive not be of roadworthy standard. This company avoided my question until finally they stopped communications. They realized I wasn’t going to let them cheat me. You too can ask them to exempt you from signing the claim form before you commit any money. If enough overseas clients ask for this exemption then perhaps this exporter will review the way they do business.

My whole philosophy on used car exports to Africa is based on supplying good quality used vehicles to improve road safety and your local economy, not just for making a profit. It’s got to be a two-way thing for this business. We need to help you to help ourselves.

So be careful, don’t be backward.