It is not news that about 80% of cars on Nigerian roads were not bought as brand new cars but as Tokunbo (foreign used) cars. In the last couple of decade, Nigerian car dealers have turned to the US, Europe and Canada and recently Dubai for the purchase of foreign-used cars. A lot of cars coming into the country from regions such as US, Europe and Canada were bought from online car auction websites.

1. Buying cars online from Auction Export in USA

Today, a vast amount of Tokunbo cars being sold in Nigeria are being imported from the United States of America. Also, Canada has become an import location for Nigerian car dealers. Apart from car dealers, individuals can also order or bid for their personal cars on car auction websites and have their cars shipped to their destination port of choice.

About 80% of cars on Nigerian roads were bought as foreign-used cars

You might wonder why some people choose to buy their cars on international car auction websites rather than just buy from car dealerships in the country. Well, the reason is that you could save as much as 30% on the cost of the vehicle by buying and shipping by yourself. Cars sold on auction websites are usually cheaper because most of them are salvage cars while others are just donated and their proceeds used for charity.

If you have been to Berger Auto Market, Lagos or Cotonou where tokunbo cars are sold, you should know that most of those cars were bought and imported from auction websites abroad.

AuctionExport.com is a North American car auction website that provides a platform for international buyers, especially buyers across the transpacific to buy and export fairly used cars to their countries.

This article will furnish you with a step-to-step guide of how you can buy your tokunbo cars from Auction Export which is one of the top auction websites servicing the Nigerian car market.

2. How to buy cars from Auction Export

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to buy cars from Auction Export.

Step 1: Register account

Although the website is available to anyone for auto-export, one must register on the website before you can bid, buy or export cars from the platform. Second, all pre-registered accounts on the website require approval by the website admin before you can have access to the full features of the website. So, after you register, you will have to wait for your account to be reviewed and if the information you provided is satisfactory, you will get the approval notice via your e-mail.

Step 2: Deposit at least $400 into account

Before you can buy (BUY NOW) or place bid (BID) in ongoing auctions, you must make a minimum deposit of $400 (~₦144,600) or 10% of BUY NOW/BID amount into your Auction Export account. To participate in the real time bidding, BIDGoLive, you need a minimum deposit of $1,000 (~₦361,500) or 15% of bid amount.

These required deposits are required in order to ensure that bidders are actually making truthful bids. For more information on how to make your Auction Export deposit, click here.

Auction Export releases 5 steps to buy cars from it easily

Step 3: Buying/ Bidding

There are three major options on AuctionExport.Com that one can go through to successfully purchase a vehicle on the website. These options include BUY NOW, BID and BIDGoLive.

• BUY NOW

Vehicles that feature a “BUY NOW” button simply mean you can buy such vehicles outright at the listed price. If you do proceed with the BUY NOW option, you will be notified of your successful purchase via e-mail.

• BID

Bidding session on AuctionExport.Com starts with a pre-bidding session during which you can submit your maximum bid. For instance, if during pre-bidding your maximum bid of $5,000 (~₦1.8 million) is the highest; your bid will be submitted during live sale. If your bid still yet is the highest bid at live sale and meets the seller’s reserve price, then you automatically win the bid and the vehicle is yours.

The display of Auction Export website

One of two unique scenarios to take note of while bidding is that if your bid is the highest at live sale, the vehicle can be sold to you for an amount lesser than your maximum bid if your maximum bid surpasses the seller’s reserve price.

The other scenario is that when your bid is the highest but lesser than the seller’s reserve price, the vehicle can be sold to you at your highest bid albeit at the seller’s approval.

• BIDGoLive

This is the option that allows you to bid at live sale. BIDGoLive is bidding in real time. It is one step ahead of pre-bidding. To participate in BIDGoLive, you must have made a minimum deposit of $1,000 (~₦361,500) or 15% of the bid amount in your account.

Step 4: Payment

Congratulations after you have won a successful bid! Time to make payment for your winning; you have a maximum of 3 days to make payment for your winning. You should also know that USD is the only accepted currency for payment and payments are made via bank wire transfer. You are also allowed to pay using your debit/credit card for amounts not more than $2,500 (~₦903,750).

• AuctionExport.Com financing

Something else worthy of mention is that Auction Export offers financing for buyers from some locations which Nigeria is one of them. Under this financing scheme, you are required to make a 33% security deposit of the total price of the car while Auction Export finances the other 67% for a maximum period of 60 days at a fee. Within those 60 days, you are required to pay up and claim your car or risk losing your car alongside your security deposit. For more information on Auction Export financing, read here.

Step 5: Shipping car to Nigeria

As soon as you have made complete payment for your vehicle and payment is acknowledged, Auction Export will pick up your vehicle from seller and transport it to one of the exit ports in either USA or Canada ready to be shipped to Nigeria. You can request for pictures of your vehicle at the exit ports before shipping.

You will need the original title and a valid ID to claim your car upon arrival at Nigerian port

The original title document of the car will be sent to the US or Canada Customs for clearing after which it will be sent to you via courier service such as DHL or FedEx in readiness to receive your car at Nigerian Port.

To claim the car upon arrival in Nigeria, you will need the original title which would be sent to you earlier via courier and a valid means of identification.

Now that we have discussed extensively on the step-by-step guide on how to buy cars from Auction Export, you should also know that Auction Export charges you a service fee of $195 (~₦70,500) when you buy a car below or equal to $3,000 (~₦1 million) and $295 (~₦106,600) on cars above $3,000.

>>> Other car buying tips on Naijacarnews.com:

• Top 10 shipping companies in Nigeria

• The mini guide to buying Tokunbo cars in Nigeria

• C number verification| Nigeria custom duty verification steps

3. ​Final Notes

So now you know all the steps how to buy cars from Auction Export - a reliable car auction website in USA. The final words we want to tell you is always read the bidding terms carefully before making your decision. There are some terms that may make the car claiming process harder for you. You should also be careful with the car location and port location. Always opt for the nearest one to save the delivery cost.

Good luck and hope you have nice time bidding your favorite car there!