Could someone explain, plainly, What does it mean when you see a vehicle ad, for a great car at a reasonable price but that it's only for export, and even more specifically export to Africa only?!
Why couldn't I buy such a car and have it registered here in Belgium? I just don't understand and there's clearly something here I don't know about- any information on the subject is appreciated!
Yea, I get that. But I'm curious to learn hat's the deal. It's not just here and there, but very often you can find these cars advertised. Over the last 15 yrs I've never learned, why and I want to understand- what's the deal?
I will explain you. In Belgium and mostly in all European continent there are strict rules for car sales and purchases. In addition there are also tougher emission rules and tax rules. Moreover the cost to repair cars can quickly be higher than car value itself as the labor cost to repair is very high. Considering all these factors it becomes impossible to use, repair or resell a second hand car in Belgium. In Africa the cost to mantain and repair a second hand car are very low and they do not have economic means to buy new cars so they import second hand cars from Europe.
Another factor is if they mark the car for export they have already recuperated VAT and cannot sell it anymore in Belgium as it will be considered tax evasion. Also when selling a car in Belgium the seller is legally obliged to offer at least 6 month warranty and offer in their charge the technical inspection. Some sellers do not want to take the risk of paying anything for the 6 months warranty and the risk of failling technical inspection so they choose to sell the cars for export to Africa only as they do not have to take any risk and any obligation. If you take for export even if the car break down as soon as you leave their door they hold no responsibility.
All in all is just a way of doing business. There are many African merchants who come and buy cars in bulk let say 50 or 100 cars and they rent some space in a ship and ship the car to their countries.
When cars fail their Controle Technique here, they get exported to Africa, as they're worth more there.
As EDI notes above, it can be due to a bunch of reasons, mainly tax and emissions etc. But also, sometimes these are insurance writeoffs etc. Basically the seller wants rid of the car, and to have absolutely no way to have any future financial or legal liability.
There is a big market for this in Belgium as Antwerp is the principal European port for export of cars to Africa. There are a bunch of Antwerp based shipping companies that specialize just in that line of business.