Buying tokunbo and used car parts from Dubai for Nigeria

In Nigeria, tokunbo is the everyday word for foreign-used. A January 2026 Nairametrics list describes foreign-used cars, popularly called tokunbo, as the backbone of private motoring in the country, and the models it names include the Toyota Camry, Corolla, RAV4 and Sienna, the Honda Accord, Civic and Odyssey, the Acura MDX and the Lexus LS. So a Lagos buyer who asks for a tokunbo engine, gearbox or alternator wants a used, tested part taken off a car like these, not a new boxed one.

The parts side of that trade centres on Ladipo, in Mushin, which Lagos writers often call the capital of automobile parts in Africa. A City People feature from August 2026 says Ladipo importers bring in 20 ft and 40 ft containers of tokunbo and new parts every month from the United States, the United Kingdom, Dubai, Japan and Germany, and that they specialise by brand, with separate corners for Mercedes and BMW, for Toyota and Honda, and for American and Korean makes.

That is the frame for this page. Dubai is one of five places a Ladipo importer already buys from, not the only one. What Dubai adds is range in one place: used Japanese, German and Korean parts from the Sharjah yards, new aftermarket stock from the Dubai markets, and a quote from a person who checks the yards and shops for you.

One caution on specification. A part built for one market does not always fit the same model built for another, and a car on the road in Lagos may have been first sold in the United States, Europe or Japan rather than the Gulf. That is why we ask for a part number or a VIN, never the model name alone, and why you should check any photos or part numbers you are sent against your own car before anything is collected.

Easy Auto does not run the freight. Your own cargo agent or forwarder collects the parts in Dubai and books the sea or air leg, so the freight price and the transit time are agreed between you and that agent. A March 2026 Dubai forwarder guide says export clearance rests on a signed commercial invoice, a matching packing list, a bill of lading or airway bill and an export declaration filed through Mirsal 2 by a licensed customs broker or the registered exporter, after which Dubai Customs issues a Customs Exit Certificate. Ask your agent early who files it for your cargo, and whether your Lagos broker wants a certificate of origin.

On the Nigerian side, Lagos has three gateways. Apapa is the largest, Tin Can Island is known for vehicle and Ro-Ro traffic, and the Lekki Deep Sea Port, which a January 2026 Lagos port guide describes as fully automated with the deepest draft of the three, takes the largest ships. Your clearing agent picks the port to suit the shipping line.

By air, Dubai cargo agents price by the kilo with weight breaks, not by the box. One Deira agent's Lagos card, on a page dated 8 October 2025, also lists AED 26 per kg from 50 kg and AED 25 from 100 kg, with direct service in 3 to 8 working days. The lowest band starts at 30 kg, so a single small part is better placed in a carton shared with other parts than priced alone.

By sea, a Dubai forwarder's published guide gives air as the better mode for loads under about 100 kg and sea above about 500 kg, and its own example of 1,000 kg to Lagos comes to about USD 800 by sea against about USD 6,600 by air. Its Lagos time of 20 to 28 days is port to port, with clearing on arrival extra. The table sets the figures side by side.

Before a Nigerian buyer places an order abroad, a Form M has to be opened electronically through an authorised dealer bank. Cotecna's note of May 2025 says this applies whether or not the deal needs foreign exchange, and a Sterling Bank FAQ says it applies irrespective of value. Some freight websites say a floor of USD 1,000 applies. A trade buyer ordering by the pallet is above that figure either way, so open the Form M and let your bank confirm the details.

The US Commerce Department's 2025 guide calls the Single Window portal and the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report, or PAAR, critical customs tools, and notes that Nigeria has moved from pre-shipment inspection to inspection on arrival. Your clearing agent handles these filings. What they need from the Dubai side is an invoice that describes each part plainly and says whether it is used or new.

Inspection on arrival means the boxes can be opened at the port, so the packing list has to match what is inside, line by line. Tell the person quoting what your agent needs written on the invoice, so it can be raised with the shop before collection.

SONCAP is the Standards Organisation of Nigeria's conformity scheme. Bureau Veritas's data sheet, revision 8.4 of October 2024, lists vehicles, motorcycles and their parts among the groups it covers, and names shock absorbers, fan belts, safety belts, brake pads and spark plugs under auto spares. A new part in those groups needs a product certificate and a SONCAP certificate for each consignment, and the second asks for the Form M, the final invoice, the transport document and the importer's company registration number and tax identification number.

Used goods are treated differently. Bureau Veritas and Cotecna both list used products other than vehicles among the goods exempt from SONCAP, so on that wording a used engine, gearbox or alternator does not need the certificate. Exemption lists are revised, so confirm with your agent, and write used or new against every line on the invoice, because the rules above turn on that word.

Two limits are outright. Used and retreaded pneumatic tyres are on Nigeria's import prohibition list, with a narrow exception for used truck tyres of size 11.00 x 20 and above for retreading, so used tyres are not part of this lane. The same list names used air conditioners and used compressors; whether a used car air-conditioning compressor counts under that wording is for your clearing agent to confirm before you order one. The list does not name used engines or used auto parts as a category, and it is revised from time to time, so have it checked on the day.

Nigeria's VAT rate stays at 7.5 percent under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, which took effect on 1 January 2026. Import duty is a different matter. It is set by the tariff line each part is classified under, and one carton can carry several lines, so a single percentage for car parts would mislead. We do not publish one. The figure your clearing agent reads from the current Nigerian tariff on the day is the one to plan with.

The levies on top of duty have moved. Nigerian customs announced a 4 percent charge on the free-on-board value of imports in early 2025, suspended it on 11 February 2025 after talks with business leaders, and was reported to have brought it back from 4 August 2025, with manufacturers objecting. We have not confirmed its status today, so ask the agent whether it appears on your assessment.

To compare a Dubai quote with a Lagos stock price, ask your agent for four lines: the freight leg, the duty and VAT on the exact tariff line, the levies on the assessment, and the clearing and port charges. Add the part price from our quote. An all-in figure with no lines behind it gives you nothing to compare.

Freight is charged by weight or volume, so heavy, valuable parts such as engines and gearboxes carry their freight well, while light parts only make sense when they share a carton. Air suits a small, valuable part such as an alternator, starter, control module or headlamp when it rides in a carton your agent is already filling. Sea suits everything heavy, bulky or mixed.

Most orders that make sense from Dubai are trade orders: a list of lines, a brand focus and a pallet or container to fill. Our wholesale page explains price-list requests and mixed-supplier orders in full. For Nigeria the short version is that single parcels do not carry their cost and consolidation does.

Because Ladipo importers specialise by brand, send the list brand by brand: all your Toyota and Lexus lines together, all your Honda lines together, and so on. A person can then check the right yards and shops and reply with a quote that shows part numbers and quantities line by line.

The sensible first order is a pallet, not a container. It tests the supplier, your agent and your clearing route at a size you can afford to get wrong. Move to a shared container once the paperwork has run cleanly once.

Send each line with the part name, the part number if you have it, and a photo of the old part or its label. If you only have a VIN, send that; it settles the fitment question faster than a model name.

Give the make, model, year and engine code of the car, and say where it was first sold, whether the United States, Europe, Japan or the Gulf. State whether you want tokunbo or new, the quantity, and whether you are buying for resale or for one vehicle. Add the name of your cargo agent in Dubai, because we do not choose one for you. A person replies with a quote, and confirms how to pay on WhatsApp once you accept it.