Hear the voice of Bob Barker from The Price is Right when you read that title. I never thought I would be so excited about purchasing a car that is 14 years old with 321,000 kilometers (199,000 miles). But I am! After three visits to Kampala to look at vehicles, and finding that the options were very limited, we finally came across a large van that met all the specifications we had in mind for our family car.
Thank you so much to each of our supporters who made this purchase possible. We are thrilled to have a reliable vehicle than can safely transport us back and forth from Kampala on our resupply trips. Now we can fit our family, groceries, and medical supplies and still have some breathing room after these weeklong trips. Thank you for your generous support towards this purchase!
Car shopping in Kampala was a surreal experience. Picture the shadiest used car lot you have ever been to, with the slickest used car salesman. That was pretty much our only option in Kampala. Each bonded warehouse (used car lot) was packed with vehicles bumper to bumper. There was almost no room in front of or behind the cars to even pass through. To really inspect a car, the salesman might have to move 10 or 15 cars out of the way to get to the one I was interested in. Most of the cars on the lots were fifteen to twenty years old, and many had odometer readings in the range of 40,000 - 60,000 miles. This was obviously suspect. Various people told me that most car lots wind the odometers back, so it is unwise to consider the mileage when making a purchase.
Another interesting quirk is that the vehicles on these lots are not registered in Uganda or given license plates until they sell. This is done so that the salesman can save money by not paying a registration fee for a car that might spend a long time sitting on the lot. Because the car is not registered and doesn't have plates, it cannot be taken off the lot for a test drive. So, I was left making a decision about a fifteen to twenty year old car without being able to look at it closely, with no idea how many miles it had, and without being able to go for a test drive! Quite a challenge, indeed.
Additionally, since almost no cars are manufactured in Africa, virtually everything is an import with an inflated price. To arrive at the sales price, the government takes the value of the car when it is imported, then adds 35% for an environmental tax, 25% for an import tax, 22.5% for sales tax, 6% for a withholding tax, and 1.5% for an infrastructure tax. The final price you pay is at least 190% of the value of the car, and maybe more if the seller has marked up the price!
A typical car lot in Kamapala. How do they get those cars in there?!?
To find a car, I went shopping on three separate trips to Kampala. By my final count, I had looked at sixty cars on fifteen different lots. I learned a lot in the process and was thankful for the experience, but in the end I was worn out. I did come away with information on how to do business in Uganda, how to negotiate for prices, and how to navigate around the capital. In the end, those lessons were probably worth it.
After spending five months in a borrowed Toyota LandCruiser (thank you Rhett and Holly!), we decided that our family needed a bigger vehicle. We settled on a Toyota Super Custom - a rugged eight seater van with lots of space in the trunk. These cars are plentiful in Uganda and are often used as commuter vehicles. It's big brother, the Toyota Hiace, is used as a shared taxi called a Matatu. It looks very similar to the Super Custom, but has additional seats so it can hold as many as twelve passengers. After settling on a Super Custom as our desired vehicle, I went on a search throughout Kampala for one that was in good condition. Sounds easy, right?
When I found a car that I liked, the first test was to see if it would start. Since all the cars here are imports, with most coming from Japan, they have been traveling for several months before finally arriving at the car lot. I found that almost all of the batteries were dead or had been removed for the overseas journey. The salesman would have to get someone to bring a new battery and then jump the car to get it to start.
Yes, he is jumping this car without jumper cables by holding exposed wires with his bare hands!
Once I got a car to start, which did not always happen, I had to make a decision without a test drive. I checked all the gauges, windows, locks, mirrors, looked under the car, examined the engine, looked at the oil and radiator fluid, surveyed for water damage and rust, and revved the engine to look at the exhaust. Very few cars passed this inspection. When I made a short list of vehicles in our price range that looked to be in good shape, I called a local mechanic to come and thoroughly inspect the cars. The salesmen almost always tried to talk me out of this. They questioned my trust in them, they offered a small warranty if I would agree to not bring in a mechanic, and generally tried to dissuade me from taking this extra step. When I persisted and brought a mechanic in, he often found something concerning like a radiator leak, rusted chassis, damaged exhaust system, etc, that would knock the car off my list. Round and round we went. Sixty times.
Eventually, I became so frustrated that I decided to import a car directly from Japan to cut out the middle man. I found one that I liked and made plans to buy it through an importer. After telling me that I could purchase the car remotely at an auction in Japan and have the importer ship it over for me, at the last minute he changed his mind and said that he would buy the car at auction and sell it to me later. Deflated by this news, I had to wait to see what his price would be after he bought the car. After several days of waiting, I found out that he did not bid high enough at the auction and lost the vehicle.
So, back to the drawing board. I finally found another car that I had my heart set on. Good condition, good inspection, good price. Unfortunately, it sold to another buyer just after my mechanic finished looking at it.
Feeling deflated by these experiences, we had one last trip to Kampala to find a car before the one we borrowed had to be returned. I went from lot to lot for the third time and finally found a GREAT car that met all of our needs. It was a 2002, which was about six years newer than anything else I had seen. It had arrived in Kampala from Japan the day before, and the odometer was showing 321,000 kilometers. This was much higher than any other car I had seen. Since it was a new arrival, I think the dealer hadn't had time to wind the miles back yet, so I felt like I had a good idea of how much wear was on this car. Additionally, this particular salesman seemed to be more honest than any of the others I had met. He offered me a three month warranty on the engine and radiator by agreeing to repair any problems that came up for free.
The car looked to be in great shape and passed the inspection from my mechanic. But without a test drive, I was very nervous. However, with no other options I took the plunge and bought the car. When I got it to the car repair shop for a more thorough check, I was thrilled to find out that there were no major issues. The mechanic told me it had been very well maintained. He predicted it would last us for many years to come.
Sealing the deal on our new car.
Our first upgrade was to add a full length roof rack that can hold up to 600 lbs! This has come in so handy for all the items we have been buying for our building project. Pictured above we are transporting 300 meters of hose pipe to bring water to our construction site.
We love how many people we can fit in this car. Here we are transporting eleven people for an outing to a traveling zoo. There are a few kids hiding in the back!
Thank you again for your prayers and support for our car buying adventure. We love traveling in this new (well, 14 year old) vehicle. We can load up all our groceries and supplies and still have room to move around. If you come to visit us in Uganda, we would love to take you for a spin!
