Selling a car in Africa?

[qwer1234]

Hi,
nearly all the people in this forum are planning to drive to Africa and to sell their car there (usually an old one).
I am just curious, do you sell your car because you get moderately more money than in Europe for it or you sell it, because you want to buy a new car when in Europe and take an airplane back?

[jonathanhfxns]

I've been lurking about, gleaning information from here, and I've read Chris Scott's book.

I understand that you can cover the costs of a trip by taking and selling the right make and model. Which countries tend to buy at higher prices, or are they all similar? It is obviously easier to sell once in Mauritania, but is it worth pushing on farther south from a strictly monetary perspective?

And, as mentioned by Mr. van der Aa in the book, has the steady improvement of the route had any impact on prices?

Jonathan

[gvdaa]

The thing is: sometimes it's nice to have your own car while travelling in Africa. I often used (and still use) public transport, but normally that means a lot of waiting and technical breakdowns. And yes, once you know the market a little you can make profit (but not a lot if you also count the costs of flying back and the petrol you use getting down - and sometimes the costs of repairing your car). I drove about 15 times an old car across the Sahara, but most of the time it would have been cheaper to travel by plane and public transport.



[This message has been edited by gvdaa (edited 23 June 2005).]