Selling a UK car in the Gambia
 

Hi all. First post here so excuse me if I’m doing anything wrong!

A friend and I have been driving through West Africa in our UK registered, 20 year old diesel estate. It is RHD (which I’ve heard can be an issue). We are presently in Senegal, and planned to visit Gambia before driving back to the UK. I have read various threads about this topic, but information varies drastically, and most are from 15+ years ago.

Our plan was always to drive back though, now, due to various reasons, we could be tempted to sell the car in the Gambia and fly home (if it’s relatively easy and cheap). Can anyone here shed light on whether this is possible/how it is done? Perhaps someone has done similarly in recent years?

We had about 15 offers from people wanting to buy the car at the Western Sahara/Mauritania border, though we were unsure about both the legalities and legitimacy, plus we needed the car to continue anyhow. Is selling in Mauritania easier?

Also some advice from a Brit as to what this could mean in the U.K. in terms of the DVLA etc. I sold a car for export years ago, but all I had to do was write ‘CYPRUS’ on the relevant section of the V5 and send it off to the DVLA. I assume the men I sold it to sorted out duties etc. as I heard nothing again.

Many thanks

You have two main options:

1) sell it to another traveller and transfer registration online (DVLA website)

2) Find someone in Gambia who knows how to import it (not temporarily - import it as such), legally. I have no idea whether this is even possible, many countries have rules which make it impossible. If you find someone, and are confident that it will be done legally, then I believe that you are the exporter as far as DVLA is concerned, and need to complete the export documentation which can also be done online.

Contact Camping Sukuta in Banjul, they assist tourists selling their cars. Much depends on the make and type of the car. Mauritania is also a good place to sell. Just make sure that the buyer helps you stamping out the car of your passport at customs.