Car dealership business is on an upward trajectory in Kenya thanks to the emerging middle class and the friendly terms of owning a car of ones choice. With these high number of entrepreneurs, it can prove a hard task to identify the right dealer to work with.
In this article, WoK brings you the story of Mwangi wa Mercedes-who started as a mtumba (second hand clothes) trader and now owns a successful car dealership business.
Mwangi Wa Mercedes Journey
The journey of Patrick Mwangi alias Mwangi wa Mercedes began while he was a Form Two student at Laikipia Boys High School. The budding entrepreneur used to sell second hand clothes famously known as Mtumba in Nyahururu during the school holidays. He did the business for two years and after completing his secondary education in 2005, he relocated to Thika. He opened a kibanda near Thika stadium and continued from where he had stopped.
He was once again on the move when a job opportunity presented itself in Malindi. The ambitious Mwangi worked as a driver in one of the Malindi based hotel for a period of three months before relocating to Mombasa in 2012 savings amounting up to Ksh 25,000.
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With the savings, he went back to his mitumba business. He bought clothes at Kongowea market then resell them along Moi Avenue in Mombasa’s Central Business District (CBD). He would do that for one year and in 2013 after the general elections, he had raised some good amount of money which helped him set up a fashion shop along Digo Road. Despite the business being a success, he felt the urge to try out something new and different. While speaking during an exclusive interview with Catherine Mwangi on KTN TV, he revealed that it his father in law who spurred him into the lucrative car business.
“Along the way I got married then one day my father in law was in a crisis and needed money. He gave me his probox and logbook and asked me to sell the car. I took the car and whatever amount he asked me to bring him, I made around an extra 50,000 after successfully selling the car. After selling it, that’s when I knew that this is what I’m supposed to do. And so my journey with cars began then, it was in 2015,” he explained.
Car Dealership business and Big break
He would then start being a broker buying cars on behalf of his relatives and friends back in the village. It wasn’t an easy journey and it took him almost a year before he sold his next car to a client. He however didn’t give up and the big break finally came in 2016 when he sold two luxurious cars in one day making a very good amount of money as commission. He would start saving the money he was making until he had around Ksh270,000 which he used to buy his first car a Toyota Vitz at Ksh250,000.
He later disposed it for Ksh 380,000 and the journey of selling used cars began. Mwangi sold used cars for a while and along the way he met a Pakistan friend who challenged him to start selling brand new cars. Mwangi took up the challenge and sold the five used cars he owned and imported a Mercedes Benz C200 which ushered him to the world of importing cars.
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The Success
Mwangi is currently one of the best car dealers in the country owning car yards in Nairobi and Mombasa. He has sold high end cars to corporate executives and celebrities like Kiss Radio Presenter Obinna, gospel musician Masterpiece, Otile Brown, Arrow Boy and Nadia Mukami among many others. On 16th May 2022, Mwangi bought himself a brand new Ksh 6.9 million Porsche Cayenne as his birthday gift.
Trivia
The car dealer is married to a lady going by the name Mama Kingeli. According to a post shared on Facebook, Mwangi has been together with the mother of his children for the past 8 years.
A post on his Facebook account reads:
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