By John Njiraini
Kenyans could be buying second hand cars that have no service history and whose mileage has been tampered with.
A car dealer in the United Kingdom has revealed how many Kenyans are paying a fortune to import vehicles from Europe and Asia only to end up with junks packaged in the form of cars.
"Kenyans are being duped to buying cars that do not have a service history and whose mileage has been tampered with. This is a major headache, as the cost of maintenance far exceed that of buying," said Emmanuel Ogol, the Managing Director of JobPlant Limited, a car dealership firm based in the UK.
This explains why the second hand spares parts business in the country is among the most lucrative, gobbling a whooping Sh2.5 billion on importations a month compared to Sh2 billion used for vehicles, according to the Ministry of Industrialisation. The Kenya Auto Bazaar Association chairman John Kipchumba acknowledged the existence of the problem, and attributed it to lack of clear importation standards.
No clear rules
"Most dealers bring in quality vehicles, but a few exploit the lack of clear rules, and bring in vehicles that are below quality," he said.
According to the Kenya Bureau of Standards, used cars coming into the country must not be more than eight years old, and must be inspected at the point of origin.
However, the enforcement of these rules has not been effective due to lack of capacity. "We have raised the issues, but little seems to be done," said Kipchumba.
Ogol said only few dealers undertake thorough checks on the vehicles. Those that don’t end up selling to Kenyans cars that are insurance write offs, have debts and major accidents attached to them or are stolen.
