Stories by Temitope Adebayo
Nigerians-used vehicles have become hotcakes as the foreign exchange continued to go higher and higher every day due to the depreciation of naira and volatility in the FX market.
Many Nigerians cannot afford to go for foreign-used cars, popularly known as ‘Tokunbo’ as a result of the current inflation rise.
The continued decline in the value of the naira amid a severe FX scarcity has pushed up the cost of importing cars into the country. The naira, which was around 460 per dollar before the liberalisation of the FX market in June last year, fell to a record high of 1,482 per dollar on Tuesday.
High import duties, Vehicle Identification Number valuation policy of the Nigeria Customs Service, rising poverty, and weakened purchasing power of consumers are also attributed to the high cost of vehicles.
The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 impacted negatively on the global economy, resulting in uncontrollable surging inflation.
Nigerians are now selling their used cars years after using them for prices higher than the original purchase price. This is largely due to the skyrocketing global inflation and scarcity of foreign exchange as well as the high exchange rate of naira to dollar resulting in the FX crisis.
Speaking with our correspondent Mr Tony Omole, said he wished to buy a Tokunbo car last December with a budget amount of N2.5 million but when he got to the car dealer, the money could not buy any small car.
” Cars are now more expensive than I thought, I have to go and search on social media marketplace for Nigerians used before I can manage to buy Toyota Corolla.
“And I still have to repair some things in the vehicle to my taste with almost N1m,” he added.
Mrs. Mariam Sokunbi said she sold his Toyota Sienna she bought as Tokunbo 3 years ago at the rate of N3.5million and sold it for N4.5million.
“Can you imagine that things are more expensive, it’s on the top politicians and high-class people that are going for foreign and new cars,” she said.
She said buying a car has become an investment and that people only need to keep maintaining their vehicles to ensure that they are in good condition when they are ready to resell.
She added that six or seven years ago, Nigerian-used cars were very cheap because most Nigerians buying cars would rather go for foreign-used ones.
“Many Nigerians are now holding onto their old cars due to lack of money to buy new ones.
Speaking with a car mechanic in Agege area of Lagos state, Mr Damy said, “The rising prices of cars have shattered the plans of many who want to buy it.
He said, I always advise my customers to pay serious attention to their cars these days by ensuring that they are well serviced and that broken parts are replaced in due time to avoid serious impact on the vehicle because that is the only way for them to keep their old or aging cars in good condition.
