How to check a car dealer in Accra, including us

A real dealer has a real place: cars on the ground, a sign, staff who've been there more than a week. Visit before you pay anything. Look up the business's GhanaPost GPS digital address and check that it resolves to the place you visited, not an empty plot, or a house in a different neighbourhood.

Be wary of sellers who only ever meet "at the car", in a car park, somewhere different each time.

Look past the star rating. How long has the profile existed? Are the reviews spread across months and years, or did forty arrive in one week? Do they mention specific cars, people and problems? And how does the owner reply to the bad ones: defensively, or with a fix?

A six-week-old profile with perfect scores is a warning, not a recommendation.

Companies in Ghana register with the Office of the Registrar of Companies under the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992). Ask for the registration number and the exact registered name, then search it on the ORC's online portal. The registered name should match the name on the invoice and on the bank account you're paying.

This is the one that costs people the most. A deposit "to hold the car" sent to someone's personal MoMo number is almost impossible to recover. Pay only into a company bank account or a merchant MoMo account registered in the business's name, and read the account name on your screen before you confirm.

If the name that comes up on your MoMo screen is a person's name, stop.

The invoice should show the company name and registration number, the car's VIN, the agreed price, what's included (duty, registration, plates) and the terms of any deposit: how long it holds the car, and when it's refundable. A handwritten note on a page torn from an exercise book is not an invoice.

For an imported car, ask to see the ICUMS customs declaration, the GRA payment receipt and the customs release, and check the VIN on each against the car. Our import duty guide explains what each document is. A dealer who will "bring the papers later" is asking you to pay for a car they may not be able to register.

A genuine dealer expects it. Refusal, time pressure ("another buyer is coming at two") or "the mechanic can see it after you pay" should end the conversation. Our 20-minute check is a good way to decide whether a car is worth your mechanic's fee.

Most fraud starts online with a price 20–40% below what the car is worth, a sad story (relocating abroad, urgent school fees, a late uncle who already paid the duty) and a request for a small deposit to hold it. Cars in Accra trade in a fairly narrow band. Compare a few listings of the same model and year; if one is far below the rest, it's the listing, not your luck.