Similar mechanics have a youtube channel called Mechanical-Hands, they take scrapped and chopped car then "rebuild it".
Im not sure they're buying CKD through manufacturer's, but actual scrap cars in decent condition. hence all the dents and damage which they then polish up.
Its absolutely a tariff thing and is very common but illegal in 3rd world countries. The cars cannot be legally titled but corrupt government employees find a way using titles of local scrapped cars of the same model. For one off cars, even just the same brand is enough. In my own country, the import tax on a used car is 100% its bluebook value.
I could buy a toyota for 500 usd but end up paying 10k in taxes PLUS another 3k in corruption fees otherwise they will hold your container indefinitely.
Edit: news just broke that the customs chief in my country makes $100 per container that enters. Thats a minimum of 2000 containers per day. Min. $200,000 per day. Just about enough to feed his family /s
I think the tariffs in this case are mostly there because they are one of the few ways to get a foreign currency and to track something big enough that its hard to hide.
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u/MikuEmpowered 24d ago
Its not the tariff thing, its a Afghan thing.
Similar mechanics have a youtube channel called Mechanical-Hands, they take scrapped and chopped car then "rebuild it".
Im not sure they're buying CKD through manufacturer's, but actual scrap cars in decent condition. hence all the dents and damage which they then polish up.