Ethiopian stuff

[SgtWilson]

Lucky enough to be in Ethiopia last year and saw a few motors of interest. Dull Chinese and Korean things are taking over but no salt on the roads and a high import tax (starts at 75% and then gets to 145%) means plenty of old stuff around.

 

Nice Jaag round the side of the station with confusing badging

 

Fiat Panda with strange grille; Taxi left over from the Communist era; Nice ol Landy

 

and my fave - even tho' I'm not a huge Pug fan - in a slum, this immaculate estate

[Junkman]

Shaguar Suffering = eggsport

 

Funny how Third World "slums" meanwhile look better than any British back alley.

[castros_bro]

Meanwhile up-country in Dire Dawa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[chaseracer]

Fiat Panda with strange grille

 

The 4x4 with its lights on heading toward the camera in the second pic above - LandCruiser?? - might solve that mystery.

[Junkman]

 

 

Apart from the Dub and the Tuktuk that shit is vile!

[Tamworthbay]

Why do I love that era of Peugeot estates so much? I have never even been in one, let alone owned one but I keep looking for one for a reason that is beyond me.

[Junkman]

I have been in one that seats eight, together with seven other people.

That's how I found out they don't seat eight.

 

In contrast, a septic wagon not only seats eight, but they can remain strangers.

[KruJoe]

Ooh, thank you for sharing.

It looks like folk really take care of their "classics" out there. I suppose labour is so cheap, and any old car is still very much a luxury item.

That articulated snow-cat thing was a surprise. Bought for the desert?

[Junkman]

UN leftover I suppose. Hägglunds Bandvagn 206 I also suppose.

It can carry up to 17 people (6 in the front compartment, 11 in the rear) they say.

Well, in the same way French estates can carry eight I say.

[angle]

It looks like folk really take care of their "classics" out there. I suppose labour is so cheap, and any old car is still very much a luxury item.

 

I went a few years ago, still one of the most impressive places I've ever been. But yeah, as has been said above, import tax on cars is really high so everything gets kept going.

 

I found a new respect for Land Cruisers after we went in a convoy of them into the Danakil depression, which is the hottest place on earth and looks like nowhere I've ever seen before. Apart from a flat tyre and some accusations of running over a goat which got us a night in a police station, they took it all in their stride with a supply of cold beers from the refrigerated glovebox. We were asking the drivers and they reckoned to bring a ten year old Land Cruiser over from the UAE they were looking at upwards of a hundred thousand US dollars to get one on the road...

 

[KruJoe]

Sounds about right.

Here in [s-E-Asian location hidden, see profile for details], the import taxes on a second-hand car are 300% of what they deem the value to be inside the country! True story.

EG a bloody £1000 Bini brought over from the UK would be worth about 750,000 THB (£15,000) on the road here, but they'd charge you 2.25million THB (£45,000) just in import taxes just to land it in the country.

Of course people try to sneak things in under the radar, they get caught, the projects are abandoned, and... I don't want to get myself into trouble here, my VPN is turned off... you can guess who ends up with all the interesting European motor vehicles...

[2MB]

 

haglan1.JPG

That looks a lot like one that lives outside the Tan Hill Inn

[Lacquer Peel]

Apart from the Dub and the Tuktuk that shit is vile!

 

No appreciation for the 1980s red 3-box saloon (I think it's a Corolla) partially obscured by the telegraph cables?

[castros_bro]

Ooh, thank you for sharing.

It looks like folk really take care of their "classics" out there. I suppose labour is so cheap, and any old car is still very much a luxury item.

That articulated snow-cat thing was a surprise. Bought for the desert?

 

My company car Hägglund then still on Tanzanian plates, the schedule was  fix the aircon and go to the Ogaden.   Ethiopia is a desperately poor and starving country with (mostly) brilliant, honest, proud, hard working people without a hint of arrogance - so unlike Surrey.

[Dave_Q]

Sounds about right.

Here in [s-E-Asian location hidden, see profile for details], the import taxes on a second-hand car are 300% of what they deem the value to be inside the country! True story.

EG a bloody £1000 Bini brought over from the UK would be worth about 750,000 THB (£15,000) on the road here, but they'd charge you 2.25million THB (£45,000) just in import taxes just to land it in the country.

Of course people try to sneak things in under the radar, they get caught, the projects are abandoned, and... I don't want to get myself into trouble here, my VPN is turned off... you can guess who ends up with all the interesting European motor vehicles...

Yo KJ, are there any local brands or locally manufactured brands you can buy there?

 

I ask as India has similarly excessive import taxes, but its to protect the domestic market and make you buy a Tata, Mahindra, Range Rover etc.

 

What are the (SE Asian location expunged) equivalents? If I'm a Thai about town with a few thousand baht to drop on a new motor, what are the choices?

[MrDuke]

No appreciation for the 1980s red 3-box saloon (I think it's a Corolla) partially obscured by the telegraph cables?

 

It's probably a 1987 model.

[Split_Pin]

Another interesting spotting thread from somewhere not likely to be explored by all that many of us. Love the old 404 taxis.

[Guest Hooli]

That Jag wants to come home, anyone fancy bringing it to me? I'll provide a cuppa once you arrive.

[wuvvum]

Is the standard of driving in Ethiopia as appalling as it is elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa?  That junction in Dire Dawa looks interesting*.

[KruJoe]

Yo KJ, are there any local brands or locally manufactured brands you can buy there?

 

...excessive import taxes...

 

.. If I'm a Thai about town with a few thousand baht to drop on a new motor, what are the choices?

 

Yes, all the mainstream Jap brands (also Ford and Chevy) have assembly plants here for small to mid sized cars, and of course pickup trucks. (Thailand is the biggest market for pickups outside USA.) The motor industry is massive here, and fiercely protected.

The second-hand market is filling up (due to over-financed middle classes) and prices are dropping, but you'll still struggle to find anything better than a driveable wreck for 50,000 THB, £1000, such as a tired 25-year-old Lancer.

Then there's owning it. Unless you're properly registered as a permanent resident, you cannot take legal ownership.

[JeeExEll]

Why do I love that era of Peugeot estates so much? I have never even been in one, let alone owned one but I keep looking for one for a reason that is beyond me.

That 505 estate looks almost brand new condition and would last another 100 years. They are very strong and can take a lot of abuse . . . .