How to Buy a Car Online From USA and Ship to Nigeria (2026)

Welcome! You will find up-to-date information on how to buy a car online from anywhere in the world and ship it down to Nigeria.

After reading through this post, you will be able to buy used cars for sale in the USA and ship them to Nigeria without leaving the comfort of your home.

But Beware!!! There are dangers to buying cars online.
A friend of mine ventured into buying used cars online from the USA. Unfortunately for him, he registered on a certain website online, which turned out to be a fraudulent site.

After filling in his information and credit card information, they wiped his account dry of his money.

If you don’t want to fall into such a trap, follow our step-by-step guide on how to buy a car online and ship to Nigeria.

Step-by-Step Guide on How to Buy a Car Online from USA and Ship to Nigeria

Step 1: Search Online for A Car Auction Site

Get your computer or phone, get a comfortable seat, connect to the internet, and search for car auction sites or sites to buy a car online using the popular Google search, Yahoo, or Bing, whichever suits you.

Do not get comfortable with the results you get from the search results yet, there may be malicious websites hanging around there. There are many websites you can be very comfortable with, including popular sites such as iaai.com, auctionexport.com, and Copart.com.

These are the three most trusted sites to buy cars online. Most car dealers buy cars online from the aforementioned sites and sell them here in Nigeria after we have cleared them from the port.

Click here to know the cost of clearing your favourite car

Step 2: Register with your favourite Car Auction Site

After you have searched online and found your favourite site to buy a car online, the next step is to register so you can see live bids and maybe take part in ongoing live bids. Click on ‘Register’ and fill in your information such as your name and e-mail address, you will receive an e-mail link to verify your account and registration, click on the verification link to confirm your registration.

Most websites where you can buy a car online offer free registration, this free registration will allow you to view ongoing car bids and auctions. If you want to take part in live online car bids, most trusted sites will charge you $200 where you can buy used cars for sale in the USA, and some car auction sites charge an annual renewal fee.

For registration to enable you to take part in vehicle live bids so you can buy new or used cars for sale in the USA, upload your valid identities such as driver’s license or international passport and other documents such as import license.

Step 3: Search and Select your favourite Cars

After you have successfully completed your registration, now you want to buy cars online immediately, right? Straightaway, what are we waiting for ‘smiles’, there are some search terms you need to master?

Search terms such as “salvaged” and “clean title.”

Salvaged cars are cars that are involved in little or severe accidents, you can choose the salvage you want, the more damage, the cheaper the vehicle.

Clean title cars are vehicles with no dent, this will surely be costlier.

After you have searched for your desired vehicle, click on it to open and see the status and photos of the vehicle. There are other technical terms you need to consider and understand, terms such as Primary Damage, Secondary Damage, Odometer, and Start Code amongst others. There are other terms such as Buy now – if you want to buy the vehicle immediately without waiting for a live bid, Pre-Bid, and Watch – to get updates on the vehicle you intend to buy.

Step 4: Buy A Car Online

Are we moving ahead? Sure we are. Here is the most expected part and not more important than the others.

After you have mastered the search terms and other technical terms, you can be confident in selecting your preferred car and the status or title of your choice. You can choose to use the ‘Buy Now’ term if the value placed on the vehicle you want to buy online fits your budget OR you can choose to wait for a live bid to begin at a future date which will be clearly stated on the auction site of your choice. You can choose to select the ‘Watch’ term to get updates on your preferred car.

We all know how bidding works, right? Lots of people are clearly interested in that car of your choice, the highest bidder goes home with the vehicle, hopefully, it will be you.

Every bid has its timing, if there are no higher bids at a particular time, the car or vehicle will be sold to the last and highest bidder. Now let us sit tight and fight with money, ‘haha’ Yes!

Step 5: Pay for your Car Online

Now you know how to buy a car online, but of course, after you win the bid, the next step is to pay for your car.

Do not worry, you can make payments seamlessly online, via Credit/Debit cards, you can also pay using Bank Wire transfer, which is mostly accepted from Nigeria as they often decline debit cards. If you have a credit card, that is the fastest and cheapest means to make payments. Another simple way is the Bank Wire transfer mentioned above, you can transfer money to your auction site wallet via Western Union, Money Gram, or transfer directly from your well-funded domiciliary account.

In Addition, complete payments of money for your vehicle immediately to avoid a penalty charge, this can be as high as $50 to $100 if they do not remit your money within 2-3 working days.

The money will be credited to your online wallet on the registered auction site after you pay. If you have sufficient funds in your online car auction wallet or account, you can process payments manually in addition to the automatic processing that will take place when you pay for your automobile.

After payments have been made and processed, then you can smile, the car is yours.

Step 6: Ship Car from the USA to Nigeria

To ship your car or import new or used cars for sale in the USA to Nigeria, you may have to contact a shipper in the USA to deliver your vehicle to the nearest seaport port. If your vehicle start code is ‘Run & Drive’ it can be driven down to the seaport at a lower cost, if it does not run, you will rent a low-bed truck to convey your vehicle and deliver it to the seaport or airport, whichever suits your budget. Transportation of your vehicle to the nearest port may cost as much as $1000 depending on the distance to the port.

After that, a shipping firm, such as Grimaldi Shipping Lines or Sallaum Lines, among others, will schedule your car for a voyage. Freight Charges of these shipping lines can cost as high as $1200 to $1700 depending on the weight of your vehicle. When filling out forms online, you may have encountered a column asking for a ZIP or postal code. This is particularly important, especially when shipping to any of the ports in Lagos.

After booking, you will get a draft copy of a bill of lading and then an original after the vehicle has set sail with a particular vessel/ship. You can track the progress of this vessel with her name, names like Glovis Superior (owned by Sallaum Lines) or Grande Lagos (owned by Grimaldi Shipping Lines). The vessel that will ship your car from the USA to Nigeria will berth on Lagos waters in 4 to 6 weeks once it sails from the USA.

Your shipper will handle every form of customs clearance in the USA. Before the car departs for Nigeria, U.S. Customs must approve its export.

What! But I do not have a shipper,

Do not worry too much if you do not have a shipper abroad, the auction site to buy a car online can help you with all these formalities. Most of them offer freight services, especially the auction sites mentioned in Step 1 above.

Now you can go relax for a few weeks and prepare for the next step, while you keep track of the vessel. Your favoured car is on its way home. I am sure you are happy now.

Step 7: Clear Car from the Port in Nigeria

Are you tracking the Movement of the vessel? The bill of lading will provide the vessel’s ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival).

Are you also gathering money for customs clearance in Nigeria? Yes, you should, Customs duty is quite high depending on the make and year of manufacture of your car.

Contact your Clearing Agent in Nigeria, If you need a Clearing agent in Nigeria, hire THE CLEARING AGENT now.
OR visit the list of clearing agents in Nigeria to hire one of the most reliable clearing agents in Nigeria to help you with every form of customs clearance and formalities.

There are things you need to consider before hiring a clearing agent in Nigeria. Click here to learn more about that.

You will surely want to know the cost of clearing cars in Nigeria please click here to know the total cost of clearing your preferred vehicle

HIRE THE CLEARING AGENT NOW

The Clearing Agent

Click on your preferred car below to know the cost of clearing in Nigeria

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