China has established itself as the new privileged destination of Algerians to import new vehicles or less than three yearss. The prices of cars in the Middle Empire are affordable compared to those practiced on traditional markets such as France.
In addition to the prices, the difficulties of obtaining a visa for France and the countries of the European Union in general also benefit China, but beware of these traps that must be avoided during an import operation of this Asian country.
The president of the consumer protection and orientation association and his environment (APOCE) Mustapha Zemmour details the precautions to take and the guarantees which must be surrounded to import a new or three years of China. The first trap to avoid concerns the choice of provider who will take care of the import operation of the China car to Algeria. Given the transport costs raised by boat between China and Algeria, intermediaries have been set up to group purchases in order to save the costs.
“In general, those who want importer of China cannot move on site. They are of course looking for a vehicle at an attractive price, new or used. For this, they attach the services of specialized import operators who opened offices in China to complete the whole process: purchase, boarding, and delivery of the vehicle in Algeria, “he explains immediately.
Watch out for the choice of the intermediary
Mustapha Zebdi recommends that buyers “take all precautions and have the necessary guarantees for the operation to be made in a legal and safe manner”. For him, the choice of the intermediary is crucial in the success of the operation. The first error not to be made is to choose a doubtful intermediary. “We should not move towards unknown people who just have Facebook pages, and who claim to have huge garages and car stocks in China. You have to know the person, directly or indirectly via a safe recommendation before committing, otherwise it is very risky, ”he specifies.
Require a detailed contract
To secure the import operation and avoid surprises, Mustapha Zebdi recommends that buyers sign with the intermediary a contract which mentions “clearly the brand and the characteristics of the vehicle, the price which must be final, the method of payment by tranches or cash, the delivery time, the exact mileage, the year of production and the year of commissioning, these two last criteria are very important. A vehicle produced in 2023 which did not drive is not new ”.
“Everything must be mentioned in the contract to avoid surprises,” insists the president of the Apoch who also advises “checking the credibility of the operator, especially if he operates in a transparent manner with a contract in Algeria. Payment must be made by bank and not in cash because it is prohibited. You have to claim videos and vehicle photos. ”
“We saw people who mourn” cry “
The President of the Apoca says that Algerian buyers of China vehicles have been scammed. “We received queries, people were scammed. We saw people cry, ”he says.
Mustapha Zebdi cites some examples. The first is a “person of a certain age who was able to save a small amount to buy a vehicle, and who was in the end scam.” He ended up with a vehicle on his behalf, but with less characteristics than those he hoped for ”. The second is a buyer whose vehicle found himself “blocked because he refused to pay an additional supplement”.
“Other people were surprised to buy a new vehicle, but which is made used. A zero km vehicle is not necessarily new. It can be produced in 2023, destocking and sold when it did not drive, we alerted people to this scam, and seized the bodies concerned. We are waiting for the results ”.