Own those wheels in peace

Buying a car, the first time especially, is one of those seemingly little decisions in life that can nonetheless leave you under a Paracetamol prescription.

Or convalescing on a psychologist’s chair. It’s meant to be – and should be – hassle free, more or less like buying bread from the supermarket; the only thing to consider being freshness, (read good mechanical condition), fair price and whether it matches your needs.

But often, the process is not. Starting of course, with the perennial indecision of the make and model that fits your budget. There is also the influence from know-it-all friends and relatives who render their advice in a holier than though tone of a televangelist.

In Kenya today, there are many sources of both new and used cars. You can buy from dealers, individuals, import directly, through an agency, or purchase from an auction.
Each of these methods have their advantages and pitfalls, the focus of this three-part series on the best way to buy a car.
We will tread through the local showrooms and yards selling new and used cars, to the internet sites in Japan and Singapore that directly sell to individuals in Kenya. We will tell you the cheapest and most reliable websites to import cars from and what to do in case your source decides to disappear into thin air with your money.
For now, let’s talk about buying from an individual, perhaps the most interactive way amongst the three. Most of the cars available for sale this way are those that have been locally driven. The more vibrant the car industry becomes, the more locally used cars there are for sale. Reason? As the old models are upgraded, some car owners want to join the bells and whistles wagon, and sell the jalopy they’ve been running around with. The high fuel prices are also leading some people to doing away with cars.
By flipping through the classified section of the daily newspapers, you can see that the type and number of private vehicles for sale is as assorted as the animal species at Nairobi National Park. Some of these ads tout the stereotypes, just to catch your eye… “company maintained….. Mzungu leaving…. lady owner…” Might be, but in most cases, it’s rubbish. Why I’m I saying this? Companies will in most cases, sell a car if it’s a constant headache to them due to mechanical problems and escalating running costs. If a company cannot run this car, that should tell you something. “Mzungu leaving!” ….Of course, this is meant to give the impression of an expatriate eager to dispose off his well maintained car after only a few months of use. Not at all. Mzungu leaving equals a battered 4x4 after driving to the Rhino Charge and far flung game parks. “Lady owner”, only turns out to be on the day the car is advertised for sale. And true as it might be, the lady might be the kind that steps into her home at 3am, high like a kite. That tells you a lot about the dents and fillers on the car. While buying from an individual accords you that one-on-one interaction, it denies you the guarantee you can get from a dealer, particularly if the car is new or has only done a few kilometres.