Buying a car is another story

At the beginning I thought I would manage without a car but only after a few days here I realize a car is needed. When it is dark, which is around 6 o’clock in the evening, it is not safe to move around without a car. It is possible to take a taxi but they are expensive and not easy to find. It is not just to stop one in the street. So I have accepted I need a car.

So how do you do when buying a car? First of all the most common is to buy second hand cars from Japan. You can either import them directly or you buy one in Malawi. If you want to import you will have to pick it up at the boarder. It takes about two months or so to get it. As I am already in Malawi that was not an option for me.

The car market is big and you can find cars for sale everywhere. I went to a car market which was an open space close to the road full with cars. There was no office only a lot of cars and a guy who was showing me around. Another place was in the parking lot outside a shopping mall. Another was in a street corner just beside the road. Other cars were taken to my office.

My car

The cars are not registered so when you have bought the car you need to register it. First you need to get the ownership of the car. When that is done they will give you your number plate and the Blue book. The Blue book is where you have all details about the car. The model, year, type of fuel, number of doors, etc. You also need a Certification of fitness. Before you can drive you need to insure the car. Then the car is ready to

roll. Even if I go a lot of help I have been running up and down to get all the papers.

Lot of paper work