Buying a used car from China: seven mistakes

Almost none of the failed purchases we hear about failed because the car was bad. They failed because one question was not asked before the deposit went out. These seven come up again and again, and every one of them is checkable in a single message.

1. The photos belong to a different car

Forwarded photographs are the norm in this trade, not the exception. One set of images gets passed between sellers for months, and each of them quotes a different price against it. What you are looking at is usually a photograph of that model, not of the unit you would be buying.

The tell is that the price is unusually good for the condition shown. The car in the photos is not for sale at that number, because it is not for sale at all.

• Ask for a video, not photos. A continuous walk around the vehicle, front to back, with nothing cut.
• Ask for the VIN plate on camera. The plate on the car, filmed, in the same video as the bodywork.
• Ask for the odometer with the ignition on. A dash that is dark in every photo is a dash nobody wants you to read.

2. "2020" means registered in 2020, not built in 2020

Adverts usually quote the year of registration, because it is the larger, friendlier number. Nigeria assesses age from the year of manufacture, against the customs VIN record — so a car registered in 2020 can be a 2019 build and be one year closer to the 12-year ceiling than the advert implied.

The build year is not a secret. It is encoded in the VIN itself, at position 10. That is a free check that anyone can run on any car, and it is the first thing we verify before we quote a unit.

• Ask for the build year and the VIN together, in the same message. A seller who has the car has both.
• Decode position 10 yourself and compare it with what you were told. A one-year gap is not a mistake, it is a different car.
• Leave margin at the ceiling. A car that is 11 years and 10 months old when it is loaded can be 12 by the time it is assessed. Buy with room, not at the line.

3. The odometer is the cheapest thing on the car to change

Rolling back an odometer costs almost nothing across a border, and once the number is written on the invoice, nobody downstream has a reason to question it. A low mileage figure is not evidence of a low mileage car.

• Ask for the service record as a sequence, not as a final entry. A book with one stamp at 90,000 km and nothing before it is not a service history.
• Read the wear, not the number. Pedal rubber, the steering wheel rim and the gear knob wear in proportion to distance. So do the tyres: check the DOT week code on all four and ask whether they are consistent with the mileage claimed.
• Remember it is a customs problem too. An odometer that disagrees with the paperwork stops clearance, not just the negotiation.

4. Structural repair is invisible in photographs

Paint hides panel work. It does not hide a straightened chassis leg, a replaced B pillar or a rear floor that has been pulled. None of that shows up in a photograph taken at three-quarter angle in daylight, which is the angle every listing uses.

• Ask for the underside and the door apertures. A seller who cannot photograph the sills and the boot floor has not inspected the car.
• Ask for paint depth readings if a gauge is available. A reading that is double the surrounding panels means filler, not paint.
• Open and close every door and look at the shut lines. Uneven gaps on one side only is the cheapest structural test there is.

5. Buying the specification that does not survive the road

A car can be sound, honestly described, fairly priced and still be the wrong car, because the specification was chosen for the photograph rather than for where it will be driven. The three that matter most are drivetrain, ground clearance and air conditioning — in that order.

• Check parts availability in your own city before you check the options list. A model with no local parts supply costs more in the first year than the difference between two trim levels.
• Ask whether the model was sold locally. A car that was never sold in your market has no local workshop familiarity, whatever the badge says.
• Do not buy a specification you cannot fuel or service. This is the one mistake on this list that the car itself cannot recover from.

6. The contract does not contain the VIN

This is the most common mistake and the easiest to fix. A contract that says "one 2020 Hilux, good condition" has not identified a car. It has identified a category. When the unit arrives and does not match what you thought you bought, there is nothing to compare it against.

Seven things belong in the document, and none of them are optional:

1. The VIN, written out in full.
2. The year of manufacture — not the registration year.
3. The odometer reading at the date of the contract.
4. The specification: drivetrain, engine, transmission, trim.
5. The price, the currency, and what the price is Incoterms-wise.
6. The delivery window and the port.
7. What happens if the unit inspected is not the unit contracted — refund, replacement, or rejection, and who pays for what.

7. Nobody owns the car once it leaves China

On FOB terms the risk in the vehicle passes to you when it crosses the ship's rail. That is not a technicality: it means insurance and a clearing agent have to be in place before the vessel sails, not arranged while it is at sea.

• Bind marine insurance at booking. It is a small percentage of the vehicle value and it is the only thing standing between you and a total loss.
• Appoint your clearing agent before loading. The agent needs the documents before the vessel berths, and an agent appointed on arrival is an agent working from behind.
• Courier the originals; do not send them with the car. Documents that travel with the vehicle arrive after the vehicle, and storage starts on the day it lands.

What the seven have in common

Every one of them is answerable before money moves, by one specific question with a checkable answer. Not "is the car good", which invites an opinion, but "what is the build year and the VIN", which does not.

If a seller cannot answer three of these seven in the same conversation, that is itself the answer. It does not mean the car is bad. It means the seller is not the one holding it.

Frequently asked

Can I inspect a car myself from Nigeria? Partly. VIN, documents, photo consistency and the year code you can verify yourself. Structural condition and accident history need either a third-party inspection or a seller who will provide evidence on camera.

What does your inspection actually cover? 68 points, with photographs and video, and you see the report before you pay in full — not after the car arrives.

What if the car turns out not to match? That is decided by the contract, not by goodwill. Which is why point six on this list matters more than the other six.

Is a low mileage car always the better buy? No. A car that has stood unused for two years is often in worse condition than one that was driven steadily. Mileage is one input, not the verdict.