Questions and answers

Short answers for buyers and dealers. The full rules are in the buyer and dealer terms.

Buying · Selling

Buying

Who can buy on Mobility1?

Registered businesses, other dealers included. When you open an account, we check your KRA PIN and business registration before your first offer or reservation. A dealer never buys its own cars, and Mobility1 staff, inspectors and affiliates never buy.

Who is the seller, and when do I see the dealer?

For Kenya stock, the dealer is the seller; Mobility1 inspects the car, markets it and answers offers for the dealer. Car pages show the town and the last four characters of the chassis number. Once you reserve, My desk shows the full chassis number, the yard and the dealer's company name, phone and e-mail.

What does the inspection cover?

The documents (the logbook matches the seller, no bank or lender on the logbook, import duty paid, the chassis number on the car matches the papers, the mileage is plausible), all 13 body panels, the tread of each tyre, nine engine and mechanical checks, and a test drive of at least 10 km. The mileage shown is the inspector's own reading. A failed document keeps a car off the site. The report describes the car on the inspection date; it is not a warranty.

Can I negotiate?

Where private offers are open, you can make one offer per car, below the asking price. Mobility1 answers for the seller within 24 hours, one offer at a time: yes, no, or one counter-offer to you alone, which stays open for 24 hours. Nobody else sees your offer, and the asking price never changes because of it. Until you reserve, you can withdraw your offer.

How do I reserve a car?

Reserving opens once payments are live. Then you pay the buyer service fee of KES 50,000, including VAT, to Mobility1's own M-Pesa till or bank account, or by card where your payment page offers it. The car stays available until a payment arrives: the first payment to arrive reserves it, and the car is then locked for you for 72 hours. An accepted offer holds the car for you for 24 hours, so you can pay the fee.

Do I get the fee back?

In full if the seller does not go ahead, or if your money arrives after someone else reserved the car. If you withdraw after reserving, or do not pay Mobility1's part of the price in time, we keep KES 12,500 for the checks done for you and refund the rest. Refunds go back to the phone, account or card the money came from.

How do I pay for the car? Can my lender pay?

In two parts, which together make your price. Mobility1's part is the dealer's commission plus VAT, less the withholding tax the dealer pays KRA: for a car at KES 6,900,000, that is KES 191,475. Pay it to Mobility1 within the 72 hours, by M-Pesa (at most KES 250,000 in one payment) or bank transfer. You or your lender pay the rest, the dealer's part, straight into the dealer's account that My desk shows, marked "checked by Mobility1".

When do I get the car?

Once Mobility1's part is in, the dealer hands over the car and starts the NTSA transfer on eCitizen. Approve the transfer there, so the logbook moves to your name, or to you and your lender. You collect the car at the dealer's yard.

Can I buy a car from the UK?

Yes. UK cars on the site are ordered on request, without offers. Their price follows the pound's exchange rate, and we confirm it in writing when you order. A UK car ships only after it is paid in full; delivery is expected in 70–90 days, at the latest 120. E-mail [email protected] with the car's Ref number.

Someone asked me to pay them. Is that right?

No. Mobility1 never asks you to pay a person, or to pay into an account given by phone, SMS or WhatsApp. Do not pay, and report it to us.

Selling

Which dealers can sell, and what do I need?

Registered Kenyan dealers. Apply with your registration certificate and KRA PIN certificate; two different people at Mobility1 check every application. You also need a business bank account or M-Pesa paybill in your company's name. For now we list cars from 2020 or later. How selling works

What does it cost, and when am I paid?

Listing is free. When a car sells, the commission is 2.5% of the final price, at least KES 150,000 and at most KES 500,000, plus 16% VAT. The buyer pays it to Mobility1 as part of the price, less the 5% withholding tax that you pay KRA. The buyer, or the buyer's lender, pays the rest straight into your checked account. Hand over the car only after we tell you that Mobility1's part is in.

Do I see the offers?

No. You give us your lowest price, and buyers never see it. Where offers are open, Mobility1 answers them for you, one at a time and within 24 hours, and never accepts or counters below your lowest price. When a car is reserved, we e-mail you the price, and My desk shows the buyer's contact.

Can I change my price, or sell the car elsewhere?

Ask for a new asking price in My desk, with a reason. Not while an offer is open; buyers see the new price once Mobility1 agrees to it. You can change your lowest price until the car is held or reserved, but not raise it while an offer is open. For the days you chose, 7 to 30, you do not sell the car elsewhere.

Another question? Contact us.