Category Archives: Cars.co.za information

Volkswagen Amarok – New competition in the South African bakkie market

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Volkswagen Amarok – New competition in the South African bakkie market

Bakkies in South Africa

1-tonne trucks or bakkies are extremely popular in South Africa and it doesn’t look they will be going away any time soon. Whether it’s off-road’ing on a farm in the Free State, to sitting in traffic in town or picking up the kids in Sandton, these cars fit the bill and are perfectly suited to the job. This is largely due to the fact that they are so reliable and tough and are adept at maneuvering past potholes and having masses of space to carry a whole family or a herd of sheep on the back.

The other option, for people looking for something a little smaller, and cheaper, are a number of single cab trucks or bakkies. These have similarly proven to be popular among South Africans, especially in the used car market. The prime example is the Opel Corsa Utility, which for its limited size, still packs a big punch. The biggest selling point for these Corsa’s is their cost, you can pick up a used Corsa Utility for around R70 000 – R90 000 with a decent year and mileage.

The current double cab bakkie contenders

The Toyota Hilux double cab bakkie

The Toyota bakkie has been a firm favourite in South Africa, especially in the used car market and has undergone quite a few facelifts over the years. As previously mentioned the bakkie is almost indestructible, a point which was proven by TopGear, a popular BBC car program that attempted a number of tasks to destroy the Toyota which ended with the car being placed atop a building that got demolished. And yet the car still started and could drive, paying testament to the reliability and hardiness that is the Toyota bakkie.

Nissan Hardbody / Navara

The Nissan Hardboy is another equally popular bakkie which, like the Toyota, relies on an image of indestructibility and toughness that will last many years and a number of kilometers on the clock. This is shown by the fact that there are many used Nissan bakkies with a few hundred kilometers on the clock that are still doing the rounds in the used car market.

Mitsubishi Triton

While not as popular as the previous models, the Mitsubishi Triton still provides all the space, reliability and performance that South Africans have come to expect in their bakkies. The price range of used Mitsubishi Bakkies is very similar to the other two brands, and remains competitive within the industry.

The new Volkswagen Amarok

As one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world it was surprising that Volkswagen was not a competitor in the double cab, truck and bakkie market in South Africa for so long. This however has all changed now with the introduction of the Volkswagen Amarok, Volkswagen’s venture into the Bakkie market.

The Amarok will come with 2 diesel engine options, a 120kw 2.0 TDI and a 4 cylinder 90kw TDI. The turbo charged engines boast low fuel consumption stats with the 90kw TDI consuming just 7.6 liters per 100km. There will be 2 variants available, the Trendline and the Highline, with the Highline including far more features and comforts. Another selling point of the Amarok is its space, especially in the interior. It also boasts the widest load space in its class which should be a strong selling point for buyers looking for a load-bearing vehicle.

The Amarok has great looks, and matches the VW front end styling and curves. The Amarok will be available in South Africa later in 2010 and I’m sure it will be a hit. South Africans love pretty much love all the Volkswagen models and the Amarok should be no exception, even in later years when it is doing the rounds in the used car market.

What does this mean for the South African bakkie market?

Plainly put; more competition and more variation, which for all parties involved is a good thing as it keeps prices down and gives buyers more options when looking for a bakkie that suits their exact needs. The Amarok will probably be popular among a younger crowd who still need the space and utility of a large double cab along with good looks, however those buyers who are looking for straight-up quality, reliability and toughness will probably still favour the Toyota.

An exciting year in the motor industry awaits

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2010 is finally here and it is shaping up to be massive year, not only because of the Fifa world cup but for the motor industry in South Africa as well. The country will see a boom in the economy and most industries will benefit from it.

Carsblog will be here to document all the latest releases of new car models, big developments in the motor industry, first sightings of prototype vehicles and all other bizarre news and information relating to the motor industry world wide.

Not to be left out, the used car market is also shaping up for a big year with Cars.co.za already showing sings of growth and an influx of visitors looking for bargains on used cars.

Best wishes for the new year and be good!

Obtaining competitive car insurance (My experience) (Part 2)

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logoshome

What to expect

There are a few ways you can prepare for the quote before you even receive the call. They will generally call you quite fast after you put in the quote, so make sure you are prepared before you even put the quote in.

If you are currently insured, know the specifics of the policy, as far as the premium and what is covered and included in the deal. They will ask about any previous claims and any no claims bonus’s etc.

Know the specifics of the car that you want insured. They will ask questions regarding its year, make, model etc. As well as its security features, including: if there is an immobilizer installed and possibly tracking, anti-hijack and gearlock. Also where the car is parked at night, and the suburb will effect the policy.

Have your ID number on hand, unless you know it off-by-heart, as they will need that number and whether or not you are a South African citizen.

It’s important to be honest with what you tell them, they will remind you of this during the quote, as any discrepancies will come back to haunt you in the event that you claim and something is not how you described it in the quote.

The call can take quite long, as there is a lot of information they need in order to give you a quote, so be sure you have a full battery on your cell phone and sufficient time required in order to take the call.

Outcome

I received quite a few quotes from different companies. As far as what they were offering; they were all quite similar, from courtesy cars and roadside assistance etc. And yet the prices they offered were still quite varied. That said though, surprisingly they were all quite a bit cheaper than what I was currently paying.

I ended up signing with one of the companies as their price on the monthly premium was the lowest by some margin. Also they were the first company to call me as well, so there was an instant positive association with that company to start with.

The process itself was largely hassle-free. It’s just a case of a few phone calls, and other than that I didn’t have to do much. There is one extra thing to note, in that there is a good chance you will need to take your car into a specific garage, one specified by the insurance company you are going to sign with, in order for them to confirm the immobilizer and anti-hijack components in the car.

All in all it was a pain-free experience and I ended up saving quite a bit on my monthly premiums, which at the end of the day was my primary goal. I can recommend it to anyone else, its obligation free, so there really isn’t anything to lose and even if you don’t find any of the insurance companies quotes useful to you, it’s still interesting to get a feel of the market and just what they are offering.

Obtaining competitive car insurance (My experience) (Part 1)

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I had been paying the same amount on my car insurance for as long as I can remember and had been with the same company. I never questioned the amount I was paying and simply assumed it would be similar enough across the board from company to company. I then started to wonder if I could find a cheaper premium for my car, as my car isn’t worth much and I felt I was paying too much for what the car is worth. To see what was out there I put in my details in the “insurance section”  of the cars site to get some competitive quotes.

logoshome

The process

I’m not sure how people managed to find competitive quotes in years past but these days it couldn’t be easier. You see a lot of adverts these days, to simply SMS the word “Save” to a certain number to get a quote and many websites offering a quoting service. What’s nice about these services is that they offer you a number of quotes from varying insurance companies, so it’s clear as day for you to see how the quotes differ in price etc.

I clicked on the link for “Car insurance” in the top line of links on the Cars.co.za main page. From there I was presented with a form to fill in. You need to enter your name and surname etc and some contact details including a cell number and email address. It’s all self-explanatory and obvious enough. Once the form was filled in, I simply clicked on “Submit” and that was that.

Timing of the calls

I will however exclude the names of the various insurance companies, as the point of this blog entry is to explain my experience rather than punt certain companies and give negative views on others.

It took about 10 seconds from the point I clicked on the submit button till my phone rang. The response time was amazing and with any kind of sales or marketing, the first person to pitch their sale has a massive advantage. However, the whole point of finding a competitive quote is in the number of quotes you get so I wasn’t going to simply stick with the first salesman that called.

The other quotes I received weren’t even on the same day though; I got called again the following morning and the morning after that. You can’t help but feel a negative impression towards the companies that take so long to respond to the quote especially compared to the call I received instantly.

The service

The sales people who called me were all good, not amazing or terrible but good enough. Any particulars of the quote that I didn’t understand were explained and we carried on.

The one company however didn’t even bother to call and simply sent an email. The email was just text saying that they were responding to the quote and that I should reply with the relevant information they required to give me the quote. This is terrible service as far as I’m concerned. I had to re-write out their questions and then type out the answers, this took long and felt like a waste of time.

As a potential customer I feel like the company should be the one doing the work and bending over backwards in order to sign up a new client, I wasn’t impressed by the email at all. Funnily enough I haven’t even received a reply from them after I sent them the email, so I have no idea if their quote was any good or not.

* Continues in part 2!

Quality used cars over R500 000?

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As a follow up to the article I wrote last week on Quality used cars for under R30k, I thought it would be only fair to write something on some of the options in a slightly more expensive range. And by ‘slightly’ I mean ‘quite a lot more than slightly’. It is however a far more difficult topic to write about, as there are so many more options of used cars over R500 000 at Cars.co.za to look at. That said I have picked out three which for one reason or another just make you feel good.

Hummer H2 S.U.T

Hummer H2

Mileage: 27 098km
Year: 2008
Cost: R899 000
As for any kind of used car at or around this price, you will expect it to be at least fairly new. There will be some exceptions that will be from the 90’s but its going to be rare. As for the Hummer, it’s probably the coolest of the 4×4 range. There is obvious competition from the likes of Land Rover and Jeep etc, but those vehicles actually have a use and a purpose. Hummer vehicles on the other hand are made simply as … I’m not even sure, but that’s the appeal.
The Hummer slogan is ‘Like nothing else’ and I think that about sums it up, the sheer audacity and ridiculousness of the Hummer is what makes it a worthwhile buy. If you happen to have R899 000 lying around and are going to be attending movie premiers with your fishing rods in the back and a canoe on the roof, then this is the car for you.

Mileage: 27 098km

Year: 2008

Cost: R899 000

As for any kind of used car at or around this price, you will expect it to be at least fairly new. There will be some exceptions that will be from the 90’s but its going to be rare. As for the Hummer, it’s probably the coolest of the 4×4 range. There is obvious competition from the likes of Land Rover and Jeep etc, but those vehicles actually have a use and a purpose. Hummer vehicles on the other hand are made simply as … I’m not even sure, but that’s the appeal.

The Hummer slogan is ‘Like nothing else’ and I think that about sums it up, the sheer audacity and ridiculousness of the Hummer is what makes it a worthwhile buy. If you happen to have R899 000 lying around and are going to be attending movie premiers with your fishing rods in the back and a canoe on the roof, then this is the car for you.

BMW Z4 2.5 si Roadster

BMW Z4 2.5si Roadster

Mileage: 3563km

Year: 2009

Cost: R529 000

The BMW has the prestigious honour of being the cheapest car on this list, at just over half a million, ‘cheap’ is a relative term. When looking at used cars valued at over R500 000 you would probably expect to find a list of supercars, but the BMW Z4 hardtop holds a special place in my heart. I’m not sure what it is, but I just really like it, which is strange because I don’t like the convertible soft top at all. I can’t actually imagine why anyone would buy the convertible version over the hardtop, my imagination apparently stops before the ‘wanting to drive with the top down’ part.

At a paltry 3563km this car is practically new but you will be saving around R70k on a brand new version which definitely seems worth it. You won’t be able to fit your canoe on the roof, like the Hummer, but you will have a lot more speed and with almost no seating at all, you will at least never be asked to pick up kids from school.

Lamborghini Gallardo

Lamborghini Gallardo

Mileage: 20 201km

Year: 2006

Cost: R2 500 000

I think it’s only fair that in an article of this nature I include at least one car that for all intents and purposes has no intents and purposes and exists purely as a sick joke. You could never logically justify purchasing this car and assuming you can afford to buy one; you won’t need to ever justify it. By simply owning this car you automatically win every argument, become the sexiest person on earth and are the best friend ever to anyone you take for a drive in it. That right there is probably justification for the price, in fact when you look at it like that, it’s actually quite cheap.

Quality used cars for under R30k

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With the recession under way and everyone feeling the economic strain, the popularity of used cars has increased greatly as most people can no longer afford to buy a new car. Consequently there is also a big demand for cars under the R30k price bracket and even at such a low price, quality vehicles can still be found.

The obvious factors to note when looking for a used car are: mileage, condition and year. These factors are somewhat more important though when looking for a car this cheap as you want to avoid being sold a dud.

Cars.co.za lists a number of cars in this bracket and they can be searched for by entering the maximum amount as R30k and pressing “Go” or clicking here to see cheap vehicles under R30k. There are many vehicles listed, but I have pointed out a few that come across as good deals.

Volkswagen Citi Chico 1.3

VW citi chico

Mileage: 118 985km

Age: 1998

Cost: R26 000

The ever popular small VW car has been a hit in South Africa for the last 30 years at least. So many people start off with one of these as their first car, and they never seem to go out of fashion. They also don’t seem to lose much resale value at all, people tend to buy one second hand, drive it for a few years and then sell it again for much the same that they paid for it. This Chico has a rather small number of Kilometers on the clock considering its age and price which definitely bodes well for it. There doesn’t seem to be a used car that is more of a staple than the Volkswagen range of small cars.

Ford Lazer Tracer 1.3

Ford Lazer Tracer 1.3

Mileage: 192 000km

Age: 1998

Cost: R23 995

While not as popular as the Volkswagen range of small used cars, the ford Lazers and Mazda 323’s are still always seen on used car sales everywhere. While the Ford does have an extra 80 000km on the clock compared to the Chico it is slightly cheaper. I have first hand experience driving a Lazer 1.3 with this many kilometers on the clock and it seems as reliable as ever. It still feels quick enough and has never broken down, attesting to Ford’s long standing reliability.

BMW 3 Series 316i

BMW 3 series 316i

Mileage: 177 562km

Age: 1996

Cost: R25 000

Unlike the previous two entries, it is rare to find a BMW in the less than R30k bracket. The BMW offers a lot more style and looks than any other car you are likely to find in such a cheap bracket. It is also obviously a lot bigger and will have more utility, however its probably not as well suited as the other two smaller cars as a first car. It won’t be as forgiving, and could be more expensive to run. That said though it is not a common occurrence to find a car like this for so cheap and would be hard to pass up.

Cars.co.za revamp incoming

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Cars.co.za will be undergoing a complete overhaul and revamp in the next few months; from the image, design and look of the site, to the structure and inner-workings of the database. We aim to create a site that simultaneously caters to the user looking to purchase a vehicle as well as an accurate and comprehensive database of vehicles for the car dealership.

If you have any suggestions or ideas on what you like or don’t like about the site please feel free to comment with your suggestions.