As prices of new cars continue to sky rocket Nigerians now resort to buying second hand cars.
This has given a boost to the market for second hand cars. The Republic gathered that from dealers in second hand cars, that their turnover have improved considerably since the hike of in the prices of new cars.
From investigation conducted, a second hand 504 GR of about two to three years old cost on the average of N16,000 while SR of the same usage cost about N20,000.
Mr. Marcel a dealer in second hand cars at Mazamaza said that a second hand Passat sells in his shop for N12,000 and sometimes N15,000 depending on the duration of usage. A Santana car will in second hand car market for N35,000 while a Volvo sells for N55,000. Kombi buses are said to sell at between N6,000 and N8,000.
The popular economy car Volkswagen is sold in this market for about N8,000.
The market is highly patronised by civil servants. The patronage enjoyed by this market has taken prospective car buyers from the new markets. This development forced Volkswagen of Nigeria in March this year to cut the price of Volkswagen beele by N1,574.00.
Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Limited was also forced to cut down on the prices of its product by about N9,725 for 505 GL brand of cars.
In order to boost the sales of its vehicles which had remained relatively sluggish, PAN, introduced a new marketing strategy of refurbishing old cars in exchange for new ones with the consumers paying only the difference in the price. This strategy the dealers said further boost their market.