car sales...or am i just being hopeful
 

is it possible to sell a car any where in west africa and make enough to cover some of your trip? if not what about somewhere completely different?

As I understand it you have to leave a deposit to the value of the car in the UK (or the country of origin) If you sell the car in Africa you forfeit this deposit. I may have got this wrong so maybe others can illuminate. It's all got something to do with carnets whatver the heck they are!!

I live in the staes and cars/4WDs are SOOOOO cheap here. It's really frustrating that there seems NO wau of getting one out to the african continent...

Peter

The deposit you are talking about is a 'carnet de passage'. If you stick to certain countries (especially in West Africa) you may not need it. Without Carnet it's possible to sell a car with profit but I would not count on making big money. We are planning a trip for beginning next year with 3 Nissan Patrols and plan on selling them in Guinee Conakry. On the route from Europe to Guinee we would not be needing a carnet.

With careful planning you can still do this with a profit, guys I've met have done this 20-30 times and are still doing it.

It all depends on which countries allows import of old cars at the moment, and the situation changes every year.
For instance, Morocco and Algeria don't allow imports at all.
Right now, you can't import cars into Senegal, and even transit through Senegal is difficult.

So that leaves you with Mauretania, Mali and maybe Niger, unless you want to continue further south.
Once you figured out where you intend to sell, you have to choose a car/van that is in demand over there - and mechanically sound enough to make it!

This usually boils down to 1970's-80's diesel Mercedes (190,200,220,240,300,207,308,508 etc), diesel Peugeot 504/505, or diesel Patrol/TLC, maybe also Toyota Hi-ace with carburettor. Oh, and since you live in the UK, I have to point out: get a LHD!

For more advice, read my contribution to Chris Scotts book Sahara Overland. Also read the postings from Kevin on this forum, experienced car dealer.

Good luck,

Jan

About the Acumen..
 

Taz, can you please tell me how did you manage to install the acumen correctly? did you add the speedo sensor and which cables did you use in the harness??

bnoij
 

u looking for drivers... i did the trip last year from london to CApe town in Nissan Patrols....