What it was like to sell my (old) car in Mauritius
September 6, 2016
Recently I sold my car. It turned 17 years of metal age. I endured it for 8 years ending with +250 000 Km in its belly which included every year visits to fitness in Port-Louis (very annoying – hope things have improved with the privatisation of these centres, also see my article about → bringing my car to fitness) and there were times were numerous dissapointing repairs were necessary. It was my first car, bought as a second hand vehicle of a German brand. The kind of brand which is supposed to be solid and where spare parts are totally overpriced which I figured out a bit to late. I was a total amateur not having any idea at all of what I was getting into. Of course this article is going to be how I sold it, but the experience I made on a whole is worth a share to. Yet, describing how to buy the right car is also a whole book of its own. In a nutshell the lessons I learnt is don’t buy an old car that has very high mileage, check your budget and what the spare parts cost of the brand you will get, also try to get some history of the car, are you buying the car to get from A to B or also because you are a fan of a particular model? If you want to get from A to B the choice is broad… If you are a fan of a particular type, then you already know what you want. When I bought my car I believed in the myth of the brands image that if it’s that particular brand, it ought to be solid and I’ll get to drive it without worries. If you are getting a second hand vehicle, might be wise to get a mechanic to come along to do your test drive!
I decided to sell my car for various reasons, when you have an old car, it’s only a matter of time that it will break down, always something will break down, it’s tear and wear – normal. But I wasn’t any more in the mood and a fan of that model as I was before to keep repairing it. And you might have some surprises that will just leave you with a bitter after taste. Such as once I was driving, and the cars engine went off because the fuel hose pipe at the back had a leak. What an unpleasant experience to have that strong smell of fuel and while I just had enough momentum to still park the car on the side of the road, I was freaking out with the sight of the continuous fuel dripping. What comes to your mind? Fire right? Anxiety: What if it catches fire? That moment was my tipping point. Even though when the mechanic had fixed it, there were times were there was still the fuel smell and it brought back the memories of that moment and I felt very insecure in my very own car. Considering also that I was fed up with fitness in Port-Louis as well. It was the moment to let it go!
I made it my caveat to tell all potential buyers of all the flaws the car has so as to be aware what they are buying.
How to proceed when selling your car?
I placed an advert on → MYCAR.mu An excellent website with very user friendly functions and a professional approach of managing your advert. And it’s for free. In the beginning I didn’t get any queries because the price I set was to high. As I gradually lowered the price, the more enquiries I got. Maybe I could have increased the amount of requests by placing an advert on other sites and l’express newspaper ad but I wasn’t in a hurry so I sticked with MYCAR.mu through which I did end up finding a buyer. You can find many other sites to place your advert by just googling → sell car mauritius
What were the buyers like?
It was the first time I was selling my car and I had a few surprises from which I learnt some new lessons for life just like when I was an amateur (neither a professional now) buying my first car. Many buyers requested me not to “tir papier gage” or “Certificat de Gage” (in English: not to remove the ownership certificate) and keep the car in my name for a while. The first buyer that requested that I was wondering, gee what is he talking about? I then did my research and asked some friends. It’s also called papier blanc…
The name ownership change costs a little fortune +Rs.30 000 (this price varies depending on the type of vehicle) and many buyers were complaining that this fee is to high and that they only have enough money to pay for the car only and then in the month that follows they will be able to pay for the ownership change. Some buyers will really insist on this, some might also be resellers, buy and sell the car in your name…
In addition some buyers will also want to drive the car on your insurance policy cover for a while…
Some buyers that came chatted only and said that they are interested to buy but have no idea when they might buy. They love the model and are a fan of it. With one guy I spoke like nearly 1 hour only about engine, fuel consumption, this kind of car vs. Japanese cars. Interesting encounter. Even made some new contacts in my village that way.
Other funny experience was that some buyers, knew the other buyers, fans of this car were spreading the word to other fans.
Some buyers came and negotiated hard to reduce the price, those looked like resellers, you could tell from their aggressive approach, and looking for every possible fault in the car to reduce the price. Resellers especially do not want to register cars in their name. You can tell why.
One buyer came with his mechanic and buddy, we did a test drive with the mechanic, he spotted all the faults that were under the hood and we discussed it, the buyer was convinced it was the car he wanted knowing which future repairs he might need to look into. They were all friendly and it was a pleasure to deal with them. The buyer told me he will take it, a bit of negotiation took place, we both agreed on a price finally and the deal was done. Fini!
The paperwork?
I gave the buyer the following after reception of payment:
Registration book
2 originals of the deed of sale (→ see template here)
and a “Certificat de Gage” obtained from the NTA
It is also specified here which procedures to follow:
→ Transfer ownership of a vehicle purchased from someone else
Don’t forget to…
Make sure you SIGN THE DEED OF SALE 2 TIMES!!! YOU AND THE BUYER! I signed only once and the buyer once, guess what… went to NTA and had to get the second signature and back to NTA… If you know what it’s like at NTA, believe me you want to get done there only once!
What was the experience like of selling a car?
Uhm, pretty annoying… I had the kind of old car that doesn’t sell to easily, there are fans of that model who will buy it but at low prices. So when you buy a car, also think of its resale value and if it will be easy to sell. In Mauritius cars like Nissan Sunny and Toyota Corolla always sell more easily and it’s also easy to get spare parts. Some Nissan Sunny prices even increase even though the car has gotten older! I had a friend who sold his Nissan Sunny with a profit. Anyway, in the end, after having sold the car and everything was completed, it was a sure relief!
Do you have an interesting story to share how your car sale went?