ENGICOR
Written for importers

Buyer's guides

What we know about moving containers of used engines, written down. Compliance regimes, inspection method, documents, costs — with the numbers, not the marketing.

Wholesale onlyMinimum order is one sealed container — 90 engines in a 20-ft or 130 in a 40-ft. We do not sell single units. Sixteen models carry published prices; 30+ other makes are sourced by the container on request.

These guides exist because the questions arrive over and over, and because most of what is published about this trade is written to sell rather than to inform. Each one answers a question a real buyer asked us: whether a used engine needs SONCAP in Nigeria, which HS code a customs broker should file, what a 40-ft container of engines actually costs, how to tell a trading desk from a warehouse.

They are written by Juan Alejandro Bettiz, who runs ENGICOR, and they are dated: the regulatory ones cite the issuing authority so you can check the rule yourself rather than take our word for it. Where a regime changed after we published, the page carries an updated date.

Nothing here is gated. If a guide saves you from a bad container bought from someone else, it has done its job.

How to import used engines from China, step by stepWritten for the importer placing a first or second container. No theory — this is the sequence that actually happens, and the points where money gets lost.Updated 13 August 2026How to check a used engine before you payYou are buying across a border from photographs. This is what those photographs need to show you, and what to ask when they do not.Published 30 July 2026Used engine HS codes: 8407 petrol, 8408 dieselThe paperwork side, in plain language. Getting this right before booking is far cheaper than fixing it at the destination port.Updated 5 September 2026SONCAP and used engines: what Nigeria actually requiresUsed engines are exempt from SONCAP as published: the programme regulates new parts, and its exemption list excludes used products other than automobiles. Half the suppliers quoting Lagos will still tell you otherwise — here is what actually applies.Published 7 August 2026Toyota 1KD vs 2KD: which diesel should you import?The two D-4D diesels cover the same trucks but not the same customers. Choosing the wrong one for your market is an expensive way to learn the difference.Updated 5 September 2026How to plan a container mix of used enginesThe container is the unit of this trade. The difference between a profitable box and a slow one is decided before anything is loaded — in the mix.Published 7 August 2026Import used engines to Kenya: KEBS PVoC and MombasaKenya is one of the busiest used-engine lanes in Africa, and one of the most orderly — if the conformity paperwork is arranged before the container sails, not after it arrives at Mombasa.Published 13 August 2026How much does a container of used engines cost?Most suppliers answer this question with 'contact us'. Here is the actual arithmetic, using the per-unit prices we publish, so you can budget a container before you ever message anyone.Published 13 August 2026Import used engines to Ghana: G-CAP and TemaTema is one of the most orderly ports in West Africa — for the importer whose conformity paperwork was arranged before the vessel sailed, not after it berthed.Published 13 August 2026Import used engines to Tanzania: TBS PVoC and Dar es SalaamTanzania buys the small Toyota petrol families as steadily as any market we serve. The lane rewards one habit above all: arranging the TBS conformity certificate before the container sails.Published 13 August 2026How many used engines fit in a container?About 130 bare engines in a 40-ft and 90 in a 20-ft. The figure moves with one thing more than any other: whether the transmission is still bolted to the engine.Updated 5 September 2026How to verify a used engine supplier before you payEvery buyer in this trade knows someone who paid for a container that never sailed. The fraud is rarely sophisticated — it survives because buyers skip six checks that take one afternoon.Published 13 August 2026Buying used engines in bulk, without the usual surprisesWritten for the buyer comparing wholesale suppliers. What a serious bulk offer looks like, what decides your per-unit economics, and the paperwork that separates a wholesale operation from a yard with a phone number.Published 19 August 2026Used engine wholesale prices, without the mysteryThe range importers actually pay for tested Grade A units, the three things that move the number, and why the cheapest quotation is usually the most expensive container.Published 19 August 2026

Price a container yourself

Build the mix you want in the online quoter — exactly 90 units in a 20-ft or 130 in a 40-ft — and the FOB total reaches your inbox the same minute, at our published per-unit prices, every unit Grade A. Prefer to ask? Tell us the destination country and the codes you need and we reply within one business day, usually within hours, with photos.

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Buyer's guides