How to Buy a Car online from USA and Ship to Nigeria (2023)

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Buy A Car Online and Ship to Nigeria

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 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 of 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.

Buy A Car Online

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

car auction sites

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 or 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

Register on 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

Buy used Cars Online

 

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, 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 must 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

Pay for Your Car

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.

After they complete payment, it will be credited to your online wallet on the auction site you are registered. Payment for your car will be processed automatically, you can also process payments manually if you have enough money in your online car auction wallet or account.

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

Step 6: Ship Car from the USA to Nigeria

Ship 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 to the seaport or airport, whichever suits your budget. Transportation of your vehicle to the nearest port may cost as high as $1000 depending on the distance to the port.

Afterwards, your vehicle will be booked for a sail with a shipping line such as Grimaldi Shipping Lines or Sallaum Lines, amongst others. Freight Charges of these shipping lines can cost as high as $1200 to $1700 depending on the weight of your vehicle.

After booking, you will get a draft copy of a bill of lading and then an original after the vehicle must have 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. The vehicle has to be cleared for export by USA customs before it sails to Nigeria.

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

Cost of clearing cars in Nigeria

Are you tracking the Movement of the vessel? The ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) of the vessel will be stated on the bill of lading.

Are you also gathering monies 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 know 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

Clearing Agent in Nigeria

The Clearing Agent

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

18 Comments

  1. Tosin says:

    Wow, great write up, very easy to understand, thanks a lot for this..

    • tomi says:

      Thanks for your comment. Do reach us anytime

      • Hudu Muazu Gulma says:

        Please if buy a car at $8000 what will be the amount for shipping and clearance fees please?

        • tomi says:

          Cost of Shipping and clearing your vehicle is not dependent on how much it was bought. kindly send us a message on whatsapp, +2348036811157 to know the cost of clearing your preferred car and other relevant information you may need. looking forward to reading from you. Regards

  2. Sunday Nduka says:

    if i can a salvaged car with damages, must i fix it in USA or Canada or can it be cleared in Nigeria for me to fix it in Nigeria?

  3. Onobun Clem says:

    pls can you recommend any car auction site to register with?

    • tomi says:

      copart.com and auctionexport.com are very good. iaai.com is the best but they may charge an annual fee. always ensure you inform them to ship your vehicles with Grimaldi Shipping lines

  4. Paul says:

    if Mr A bought a salvaged car and Mr B bought a good used car, we bought thesame model. are we both paying thesame amount for clearing of our cars ?

    • tomi says:

      Nigeria customs will only consider vehicles with damages chassis and deflated airbags for salvaged value. Else, it will be cleared as a used vehicle.

  5. Kingsley says:

    Please I intended to import a vehicle from Korea but not through Gramidi Shipping Line. Is that a problem to clear it in Nigeria?

    • tomi says:

      there is no problem to clear your vehicle in Nigeria. you can ship in your vehicle and contact us, we will get your vehicle cleared.

      • Kingsley says:

        Thanks for your response, Please how much to clear an 2011 Hyundai Elantra? Where do I contact you to start the process

  6. Ola says:

    Pretty cool… Which if this services do you render?

  7. Bisso Thierry says:

    Which country is it best to import used cats?

  8. IBIMODI KAYODE says:

    nice article. please can i talk to you privately?

  9. Seun says:

    Good talk. Can individuals clear their vehicle/s

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