What your car is really costing you
I’ve noticed that many South Africans seem to be especially good at spending astonishing amounts of money on their vehicles.
However, I suspect that the reason for this is that many people don’t realize just how much it really costs to own and drive a car. If you’re not sure exactly what your car is costing you, you can use the car costs calculator to find out.
Biggest cost is the car payment, right?
Wrong. This is probably the biggest mistake people make when they think about what their car is “costing” them. The truth is that your car payment has almost nothing to do with what your car is costing you.
The biggest expense for most car owners is depreciation – how the car looses its value over time. This is especially true for expensive luxury cars, and cars that are less than five years old.
Some examples
There are two types of costs involved with cars: ownership costs (the costs you have just by owning a vehicle), and running costs (the costs of filling up, maintenance, etc.).
The table below shows the real monthly costs for four very different types of cars, taking into consideration the next year, for someone who drives an average of 2000 km/month.
| 2008 BMW 320d |
2005 VW Polo TDi |
1999 Volvo S40 T4 |
1999 Fiat UNO Mia |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ownership Costs | R 10,579 | R 3,654 | R 1,704 | R 771 |
| Running Costs | R 1,506 | R 1,922 | R 3,550 | R 2,067 |
| Total Monthly Cost | R 12,085 | R 5,576 | R 5,254 | R 2,838 |
For the calculations I used a R25,000 cash deposit, with the rest of the capital needed to buy the car financed at an interest rate of 15%, a return on the next best investment (opportunity rate – see rest of post for explanation) of 12%, and the cost for one liter of fuel: R11.
How on earth did you get to those figures?
I will explain all the real costs that goes into owning and running a car in the rest of this post. It is slightly technical, but stick with me – it is quite simple to understand. You can also use the car costs calculator to do the examples for yourself.
Before I continue, here is some information about the cars I used for my examples (the second hand values of the cars, and the values for the rate of depreciation over the next year were estimated by looking at actual prices of vehicles advertised on the AutoTrader website):
| 2008 BMW 320d |
2005 VW Polo TDi |
1999 Volvo S40 T4 |
1999 Fiat UNO Mia |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Value | R 330,000 | R 120,000 | R 60,000 | R 25,000 |
| Rate of Depreciation | 20% | 15% | 10% | 10% |
| Fuel Economy (km/l) | 18 | 18 | 10 | 15 |
Ownership Costs
The ownership cost of a car will be roughly the same, whether you drive 4,000 kms or 1,000 kms a month. The number of kilometers you travel will have an influence on the depreciation of your car, but compared to the influence of time on depreciation, it is not even worth considering.
The ownership costs of a car are:
- depreciation – how your car looses value over time,
- finance costs – the interest you pay on your car loan,
- opportunity costs – the amount you could have earned or saved, had you done something else with the money you’ve already paid off on your car,
- insurance costs – accident and theft cover, and
- miscellaneous costs – registration, overnight parking, etc.
The estimated yearly ownership costs of the cars used in my example are:
| 2008 BMW 320d |
2005 VW Polo TDi |
1999 Volvo S40 T4 |
1999 Fiat UNO Mia |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depreciation | R 66,000 | R 18,000 | R 6,000 | R 2,500 |
| Finance Cost | R 45,750 | R 11,250 | R 5,250 | R 0 |
| Opportunity Cost | R 3,000 | R 3,000 | R 3,000 | R 3,000 |
| Insurance | R 12,000 | R 8,400 | R 6,000 | R 3,600 |
| Miscellaneous | R 200 | R 200 | R 200 | R 150 |
| Total Yearly Ownership Cost |
R 126,950 | R 43,850 | R 20,450 | R 9,250 |
You should notice from the table above that depreciation is the biggest ownership cost for all the examples, except the very cheapest car.
The thing that makes depreciation difficult to comprehend is that it is not something where you can see the money disappearing from your bank balance at the end of each month. It’s more like that where did all my money go? feeling you get a year or two later.
Another cost that is difficult to grasp at first is the opportunity cost of your car. Your opportunity cost is the amount of money you could have made from your next best investment, had you invested the money, rather than spend it on a car.
If your car is worth R100,000 and you’ve paid off your car loan completely, and your next best investment was to not actually to invest the money anywhere, but to rather pay off a part of your home-loan, on which you are paying 12% interest per year, then the opportunity cost of your car is R100,000 x 12% = R12,000 per year.
The opportunity cost of your car is the amount of money you would have had extra, had you invested your money elsewhere, rather than spend it on a car.
Running Costs
The running costs of a car will vary depending on the amount of driving you do. The more you drive, the more you have to fill up, and the more you have to spend on maintenance.
Your car’s running costs are:
- fuel – filling up the tank,
- maintenance – keeping the car serviced and road worthy, and
- miscellaneous costs – toll fees, car washes, traffic fines, parking fees at parking garages, money you give to car-guards, etc.
The estimated yearly running costs of the cars used in my example are:
| 2008 BMW 320d |
2005 VW Polo TDi |
1999 Volvo S40 T4 |
1999 Fiat UNO Mia |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel | R 14,667 | R 14,667 | R 26,400 | R 17,600 |
| Maintenance | R 1,000 | R 6,000 | R 15,000 | R 6,000 |
| Miscellaneous | R 2,400 | R 2,400 | R 1,200 | R 1,200 |
| Total Yearly Running Costs |
R 18,067 | R 23,067 | R 42,600 | R 24,800 |
What we can see here are – as can be expected – that older cars are more expensive to maintain, and that cars with worse fuel consumption will cost you more in fuel. That’s pretty self-explanatory.
However, what should be striking you more is that the fact that the running costs of the newer and more expensive cars, are positively dwarfed by the costs you incur simply by owning them.
What to make of all of this
The first thing I hope you’ve learnt from this article is just: cars are expensive. Do you really need a car? If you want to save money quickly, it may be a good idea to sell your car, and share with someone else, use public transport, or buy a motorcycle or scooter instead.
The second thing I hope you’ve learnt is that usually older cars are cheaper, even cars that have high maintenance costs and relatively bad fuel consumption.
E.g. look at the difference between the 2005 VW Polo TDi, and the 1999 Volvo S40 T4 in my examples. The Volvo has much worse fuel consumption, and high maintenance costs – but it is still cheaper than the Polo!
And finally…
I realize this post is probably too technical and long to keep the average reader’s attention.
However, if you took the time to read it, I hope it’s helped you understand the real costs of owning and driving a car, and that you will be able to make a wise choice the next time you want to upgrade or change your vehicle.
Happy driving.
July 8th, 2008 at 06:40 pm
Great article. I must admit that it was your spreadsheet about the actual cost of the car that really opened my eyes but unfortunately many people (myself included) don’t always look at the cost in an unemotional way.
There are also other factors that plays an important part, peer pressure and the need to keep up with the Jones’ to name only two.
I’ve always preferred to buy second hand cars for the reasons you listed above.
The sad thing about our environment is that people want to associate with people that SEEM to be successful. This means that if you are in a work situation where you have to deal with people and you drive an old clapped out car (because you choose to) but maybe you are the best in your field, they more often than not form their estimation of you on what you display on the outside, such as cars.
Still I agree with you wholeheartedly.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:54 pm
[...] realize how freaken expensive they really are! If you want to find out more, you can read my article about what cars really cost, and use the car costs calculator to see for [...]
July 30th, 2008 at 10:56 am
If an employee uses his/her private vehicle for company business on a regular basis, is the company required to pay specific costs in terms of labour law? For instance, a friend is paid only fuel for regular long-distance business travel. His insurance covers only private use and the company makes no contribution except for fuel used for company business purposes. It seems unfair to me, as should he have an accident on a business trip, his insurance company will refuse to settle. Additionally, the value of his vehicle is being eroded, with no compensation being paid by the company.
July 30th, 2008 at 02:17 pm
Hi Barry
Thanks for the phone call as well.
I am not an expert in South African labor law. I do agree with you it seems unfair that your friend’s company is only paying for his fuel, but not making any contribution towards his vehicle’s other running and ownership costs, even though he needs his vehicle to do his job.
I think a lot depends on the agreement (service contract) your friend has with his company.
My immediate advice for your friend:
- Enter negotiations with his company. Go prepared. Do the calculations regarding the true costs he is incurring for using his vehicle, and appeal to them to be reasonable.
- If his company cannot be reasonable, his only option may be to look for another job. Like I said, I’m not sure about the labor law in this regard. But many times I ask myself: even with the law in my favor, is it worth my time, effort and the unpleasantness of it all to take a legal route?
- Regarding his vehicle insurance cover. Either:
~ refuse to use his vehicle for business purposes unless his company agrees to contribute to the insurance levy required to for business related insurance cover, or
~ if his company will not pay the difference, and he’s not willing to give up his job, pay the difference himself. It is usually not that much extra (I think less than R100 pm), but he cannot afford to be in an accident and have his insurer refuse to pay for his damages.
- Send an email (to make it legally binding) to his company that he does not accept any liability for the loss of company assets due to theft/accident of his vehicle, unless they are willing to pay the insurance premium for this.
My long-term advice, and the best advice I have for your friend:
He should make his goal to become financially free.
The best way is to start by paying off all his debt (if he has any), and then save up a “freedom buffer” – six months of living expenses.
Having this financial security will give him a lot more bargaining power with any company he works for, because he will have the freedom to walk away, should he not be able to resolve issues with his company.
Take care & God bless,
Francois
August 6th, 2008 at 04:30 pm
There is another extremely important factor in the depreciation calculation. I’ll use my car as an example.
I drive a Volvo S80 T6, 2000 model. I bought it two years ago for about R130,000, believing the worst of the depreciation to have occurred. For various reasons, I now want to sell it. In the interim its value has depreciated to less than R80,000. This equates to a depreciation of about 40% over these two years! And I thought I was being clever buying a six-year-old car.
What happened is that the 2000 models are coming to the end of their extended maintenance plans, and the next service (EXcluding replacing anything extra) will cost about R8,000! I can extend the maintenance plan if I want to, but at the following prices:
2 years/40,000km @ R100,776
3 years/60,000km @ R151,164
I remember years ago seeing adverts for Volvo in Scientific American, making the point that the average age for Volvos at time of “retirement” was something like 19 years. With the above maintenance and service costs they clearly want their cars off the road ASAP.
The moral of buying second-hand is to look at the maintenance plans and service costs as well, since these can lead to massive depreciation.
August 6th, 2008 at 04:07 pm
Hi John
Thanks for stopping by, and also for taking the time to leave a helpful comment.
Shucks man, a R50,000 depreciation in two years is a lot!
But you can take some comfort. R50,000 is still less depreciation than what a new 3-series BMW will loose in one year!
I think the main thing we can learn from this is that luxury and performance cars will always be more expensive, even the older models.
I have to confess, I also own one of them. It’s the 1999 Volvo S40 T4 that I used in this example. I don’t think I’ll loose much more value in depreciation. I bought it for R60,000 at the beginning of the year, so even if it looses all its value it is still less than a new BMW.
Still, simple, older model car will cost me much less than the Volvo (e.g. the UNO).
Francois
December 9th, 2008 at 06:04 am
[...] Finansiële Vryheid Wenk no 10: Vergeet van die Kar paaiement Ons almal het al hierdie gesprek gehad. “Ja, dit is moontlik om die klein goedjies kontant te koop, maar met motor pryse is dit onmoontlik om ‘n voertuig kontant te koop.” Hierdie stelling is egter nie waar nie. Daar is ‘n ander strategie wat werk. En dit is nie net in die teorie nie, ek het dit in die praktyk sien werk. Dit werk as volg. Spaar eers vir ‘n goedkoop voertuig en koop dit kontant. Terwyl jy dit ry, spaar dan die paaiement wat jy sou betaal het op ‘n duurder voertuig. Dit is die moeite werd om langer te spaar vir daardie duurder voertuig. Dit laat my terugdink toe ek pas skool verlaat het, en as permanente lid by die Lugmag aangesluit het. Ons was ‘n groep manne wat saam indiensopleiding ontvang het om elektro radar tegnikuste te word. Seker so by ons derde salaris het ons almal vir ons voertuie op skuld gekoop, maar nie Pieter nie. Pieter het maar naweke duim gegooi en saam met een van ons gery, en hy het altyd ‘n bydrae gemaak vir Petrol. Toe die res van ons, ons tweede voertuig op skuld koop, het Pieter sy eerste voertuig (beter as ons voertuie) kontant gekoop. Toe die res van ons, ons derde voertuig op skuld koop het Pieter sy eerste nuwe voertuig kontant gekoop. Wat was Pieter se geheim? Hy het met dissipliene gespaar en die rente komponent tot sy voordeel gebruik en kon dus baie gouer ‘n nuwe voertuig kontant bekostig. So van voertuie gepraat. Het jy al gewonder wat is die koste van ‘n voertuig werklik. Gaan lees gerus hier. [...]
February 3rd, 2009 at 02:18 pm
i think you looked at comparison in absolute terms. if you look at the relativity of the ownership vs cost. (total monthly cost / current value) the bmw is 4%, polo 5%, volvo 9% and fiat 11%. this means that after you buy your 320d it will cost you 4% of the full price every month to keep it going. not too bad considering that you could buy 2 fiats after 1 year with the 11% monthly ownership costs.
this goes to show that the high priced cars are easier to live with…
February 3rd, 2009 at 08:53 pm
@Mithun
I understand your calculations, but I don’t really understand your point (that high priced cars are easier to live with).
In my mind it is a simple comparison of price.
There is not much of a difference between the driving pleasure, comfort, power, etc. of a ’99 Volvo S40 T4 (I own one) and a new BMW 320d as used in the example.
In fact, the Volvo probably outperforms the BMW in more technical areas like acceleration, handling and top-speed.
But at R5300pm to drive the Volvo, compared to R12000pm to drive the BMW, I find my Volvo MUCH easier to live with.
June 11th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Fair enough, you’re evaluating the explicit, implicit and opportunity costs. But some unquantifiable costs depend on fate and chance and personal circumstances. Eg.
1. The cost of losing a huge sales contract, promotion or new appointment because you weren’t seen driving the latest BMW, but a more modest Polo.
2. The cost of being without transport for weeks because some crucial imported component for your 10-year old Volvo is not readily available.
3. The cost to life and limb of driving an old Uno without airbags or other life-saving devices.
4. The cost of being a hijack target because of your shiny new BMW.
I’ll keep telling myself that what I pay for my car is a necessary lifestyle insurance cost.
June 12th, 2009 at 03:24 am
@Grant
You make some good points. There are other subtle costs and benefits about the car you drive that are not as easy to measure.
However, every way I look at it I still think it is better to drive a second hand car.
Your first point (that your car is a status symbol that could bring you better business) is the most interesting to me.
My father is a financial advisor. A few years ago he bought himself an Audi A6, partially for that reason.
I mean, who wants financial advice from a guy who can’t even afford to drive a decent car?
But my father still bought his Audi 2nd hand. It was two or three years old, perfect condition, and he got it at probably 50% less than what he would have paid new.
He drove the Audi for about five years. It was a really great car. He just recently upgraded to a 2006 Volvo S60. Same story. Bought it second hand, got it in near perfect condition, low mileage and 50% less than what they’re retailing for new.
Your second point I don’t agree with. I do drive a ten year old Volvo. It breaks every now and then, like older cars do.
Even though the parts are very expensive (because it’s a Volvo), they are readily available. I’ve never had to wait more than two or three days for repairs.
About being without transport when my car breaks – I adopted a “deal-with-it” attitude to repairs when I bought the car. I knew my car will break sometimes and I knew it will be expensive to fix.
So when it breaks, I call my insurance to have it towed to the dealer, I call the dealer and tell them to fix what needs to be fixed, and I call Avis and organize myself a rental.
Not much hasstle there. It takes an hour or two to sort out and it is still a lot cheaper than driving a new car with the same specs & luxury.
Another benefit to driving an older performance car is that I’m not sorry for it. My maximum risk exposure is the value of the vehicle – which is not much.
I enjoy driving. I bought the S40 T4 model (147kw/320Nm). It is an awesome car to drive. I try to get the maximum amount of pleasure out of it (see sweat your assets) and because it has so little value, I can afford to do it.
Your third point (safety) is relevant of coarse. Anybody can see a new BMW is much saver than an old Uno. Or is it?
Have you considered the effect of time and period of exposure to risk?
Check out this article: Safer to work in Iraq than Jo’burg
If driving old-Uno-type cars instead of new-BMW-type cars means you’ll be able to retire 10 years earlier, which means you can spend 10 years less exposed to the risk of highway driving to work and back or clients and back or whatnot – is your total exposure to risk still more with the Uno?
June 12th, 2009 at 03:06 am
Just saw I actually wrote a post about that too (the safety). Link is here: Safer to drive an old Fiat than a new BMW
July 30th, 2009 at 01:01 pm
Hi Francois, I am considering buying a 2000 s40 Volvo 135,000km @ R60,000.00. Currently i am on an income of R10,000.00 net. Will it be a wise buy or should take time and look for something else? Will the running cost really come to
R 3,550 as suggested?
July 30th, 2009 at 04:16 pm
@Michael
From personal experience with my Volvo – yes, the running costs are high.
This is mainly because Volvo parts are very expensive. There also are not really “generic” or “aftermarket” parts available for Volvos, so you need to buy the originals.
If you really want to buy the car I would recommend you only do so if you can buy it cash and you have an extra +- R30k saved away for unexpected maintenance. If you do not provide for unexpected repairs, you might find yourself stuck with a broken car and having to make a lot of debt to fix it.
From a purely financial perspective I don’t think it is such a good idea to buy the Volvo though. If your net income is R10,000 pm, the Volvo could quite realistically cost you half of that, leaving you with only R5,000 pm for everything else.
Spending such a large amount of your income on your vehicle obviously doesn’t make financial sense.
July 31st, 2009 at 04:09 pm
Thanks a millio for the heads up,Francois.
I think i will just have to shop around and look for something more affordable in the long run,considering the present economic recess! Any nice car you can suggest i look out for?
Kind regards, Mike
August 1st, 2009 at 11:08 am
@Michael
I spoke to a mechanic at Bosch auto-electric who’s been in the industry for about 20 years the other day.
I asked him his opinion about the most economical car available. His answer came instantaneously and was just a short “Toyota”.
When I asked him why, he elaborated by saying the cheapest cars to maintain in his opinion are entry and mid level Toyotas (Conquest, Corolla, Yaris, etc.), that spairs are cheap and readily available, and that there are plenty of quality after market spares available too.
When I asked him to venture a second brand, he went with VW, especially the Polo. He said they are usually more expensive to buy, but that their build quality is remarkably good and they keep their resale value much better than most cars.
But this is just my second-hand knowledge after speaking to one mechanic. To get the best advice I’d say speak to two or three others as well, to hear what they think.
August 4th, 2009 at 04:03 pm
Awesome! Francois,i must confess this is a great site and will be here for a while.
I will definitely go with your advice except ofcourse i win the lotto, lol!!
Thanks so much for your advice i will adhere.
Any comments on the Fiats i.e Palio,uno and its like?
August 4th, 2009 at 08:06 pm
Cool Micheal, I’m glad it helps.
All I know about Fiats are that Uno’s and Palio’s are very affordable if you buy them second hand. I can’t imagine that they are too expensive to maintain.
But don’t take my advice – the best person to ask is a mechanic who works in a general workshop – one that does not specialize on only one brand of car.
November 24th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Properbly THE BEST and MOST sensible blog/forum thingy I have EVER seen on the net and trust me I’m a www junky!!!
Awesome stuff thnx guys!!! Made my decisions I’ve been battling to make these past few weeks a hell of a lot easier…!!
Fantastico!
R
November 24th, 2009 at 07:11 pm
@Renee
Why thank-you for the complement Renee!
If you don’t mind – will you also share the decisions you were faced with and how you eventually decided what to do?
That way we can also learn from your experience.
February 11th, 2010 at 10:42 am
thanx for the site. I really want to sell my car its a BMW323 2006 MODEL E90 but its not really easy to get buyers out there. Its for all the reasons that you mentioned of owning a car. Thanks again for your advice.
June 27th, 2010 at 03:15 am
Hi,
planning to buy a car, just need a runner to work and back. Had an 1994 e34 bmw before, to old, to expensive repairs although drove a nice luxury car for what they cost here.
Now I need a new car, I had a few options:
- volvo c70 ’99 112000km r69000
- Nissan Champ Bakkie 2007 38000km r26000
- 2006 Corsa Lite 26033km r38000
- 2006 corsa utility bakkie 65000km r56999
As I dont have cash ready to buy the car and need a loan for it, I was thinking the Nissan champ, based on low maintance costs, easily resellable, undestructable and cant loose much there on depreciation and save for other car. If I had cash at hand, the C70 volvo T5 oozed with luxury but was earlier advised only to do that if you can pay cash and have 30k for repairs lying around. But please advise if possible.
My wife is against old cars, for repair costs and such she says. I think the depreciation way, that you cant loose much, she drives a new bmw 1 series, but forgets she looses much more per year I think although she loves the car and a manager cant drive a old car I guess for the promotion reasons.. Very intresting article.
July 6th, 2010 at 01:51 pm
@Stijn
I’d say the Nissan champ and Corsa light seem like the best buys.
I’d stay away from the Volvo for exactly the reasons you name – I own a Volvo and yes, it is probably one of the most expensive cars to maintain, especially low volume ones like the C70.
You are right – your wife’s car will depreciate much more than the maintenance will be on most other cars.
As for having to maintain a certain status as a manager – except for the massive amount of value a newer car looses in depreciation, there’s not much of a difference between the browny points obtained from a 4-year old BMW and a 1-year old BMW.
In my opinion the new car argument doesn’t hold much water.
July 12th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Hi Francois,
Thanks for a useful blog. Do you or any of your readers have any recommendations on affordable family cars / stationwagons? (I am currently looking at the Toyota Verso and the VW Touran based on your blog and some of the users comments)
Thanks
Clive
August 1st, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Fantastiese forum, ek dink ons materialistiese mensdom kan ‘n bietjie hieruit leer.
Bo en behalwe die groot skuld wat op voertuie gemaak word en die gevolglike loopkostes, is groter voertuie ook baie swaarder op die ekologie (veral ouer voertuie). Ek sou graag hierdie kosteverskille op die vergelykende skaal ook wou sien.
Andersins wonder ek ook hoeveel huisdames nog hul inkopies sou doen met die massiewe voertuie wat ‘n mens daagliks by die onderskeie inkopiesentrums sien, indien die eienaars daarvan verplig sou wees om ‘n aantal bome per jaar te plant met betrekking tot hul voertuig se koolstofvoetspoor.
Dis interessant om juis van die briewe te lees waarin die sukses van ‘n persoon aan sy motor gemeet word.
‘n Prof van Stellenbosch het destyds aan ‘n student verduidelik dat hy status aan sy Volksie gee deur met hom te ry.
Ek dink daar behoort ‘n klemverskuiwing aan sukses te wees en dit is dat sukses eerder gemeet moet word aan ‘n persoon se bewustelike bydrae tot ‘n vriendeliker omgewing.
Vriendelike groete
eric
August 18th, 2010 at 04:17 pm
How I wish this real life scenario was taught in Universities! It is so relevant. I fought with my son who earns R15000 gross, when he wanted to buy a new BMW as his first car, forced him to see this forum, now he’s more informed and is taking his time, hope he makes a sensible decision.
I am also a cash guy, save for my house I do everything else in cash and yes I sleep at night, thanks
September 21st, 2010 at 05:32 pm
Hi Guys, My name is Michael i have just had a bad experience with my Peugeot 206 and i want to sell it and buy a nice affordable car i was think along the lines; Ford Focus. Nissan Tiida Hatch, Honda Civic, Toyota Runx as well as Toyota Yaris Sedan please advise.Thanks
October 12th, 2010 at 11:04 am
Excellent comments, I made a financial model to work out if it pays to buy a newer more fuel efficient car and it does not, had two golfs 1.6l. One after each other … and never had any problems with either of them. The running costs are nothing about R1 200 per year for a service! Never break down and I DRIVE them hard. My wife says they have four drive! My step daughter had one of these new fancy cars she drove over the kirb and the air bags popped and the car was written off…
October 22nd, 2010 at 10:20 am
Hi Guys. Can somebody comment on the 2006 Volvo s60 2.0T? I am thinking of buying the car 2nd hand with 100K. Is the Maintenance that high?
October 22nd, 2010 at 11:08 am
@Michael.. The Tiida is easy and cheap to mantain. From my experience, the car is very reliable and as long as you are servicing it (which is cheap) dont expect the car to break….
November 14th, 2010 at 09:13 am
WOW , this blog is AWESOME.
I have a 1998 hyndai 1.6 Elantra and it is so cheap to run, R100 p/m insurance (from first4women) and R370 to fill up per week which takes me all over the place, from Randburg area to Pretoria twice and to airport and running around the area, kids to school etc. Service parts were a bit pricier than I thought for value of car – service kit was R650 plus oil so decided to use very good local mechanic but no stamp. Not intend selling this car even when I change it. Bought it for R27K a year ago, only fault ever had was leaking transmission fluid! But now want to buy a second hand mercedes, probably c class or the like because I love mercs and would rather drive an old one than some other car. How are mercs for affordability?
November 14th, 2010 at 08:59 pm
Just find a rock solid E30 325i and do your own maintenance – It works. I keep all costs on XL sheet. All spare costs gets added. Then look for trending, etc. How you drive also makes a difference. For spares compare around and get networked. I change my oil and filter every 7500 k’s. Only use Helix and Gud for all filters. My E30 M352i Baur is my second wife! Bosch plugs. Bentley’s manual best to use. Net also good for finding answers to fickle issues! My Beemer is 1987 with 220 000 k’s on clock. Even carry basic spares and tools for road work if needed. My Beemer runs little a dream. Fuel cons, depends on how heavy your foot is and also your A/F ~ Co2 settings. Tyre air pressures also influence cons. Air filter also worth keeping an eye on.
Now looking at fitting a Mass Air Flow unit from a 535i. But will have to swap over internal electronics. Car should ‘breath’ more freely then. Standard is fine though, depends what you looking for. All work and no play messes with anyone’s mind! I know.
Save some bucks here and spent a little there. I believe in Preventative and Planned maintenance. My car talks to me in many ways and I can tell when it needs some TLC. Man & machine must move as one. The power of ONE rocks.
As Einstein said back in the day: To simplify something as simple as possible is good and well, but to oversimplify it further, you just end right back where you started! Costs are all relative in terms of TCO. Your blog is very cool. Thanks dude!
I guys want ROI then better to get horse – I think…!
All cars chow bucks, no matter. Just get a proven one.
I am an engineering technologist by trade.
Be good!
December 24th, 2010 at 02:45 pm
An interesting article, but I would like to know where you got your figures from? I don’t see any sources listed anywhere, and if these are just estimations then it’s difficult to draw any solid conclusions from them.
December 29th, 2010 at 09:36 am
Hi awesome blog hey, this is so interesting wish ya they could teach it at school,
I am a 24 year old earning R14 500 gross and go home with R11 000 take home, I wana buy a car that is R100 000, was thinking Golf 5, ford focus and my last option was the corsa utility van, which one is best please advise and have a deposit of R40 000.
Please help, looking forward 2 ur responses.
Kind regards
Kabelo
January 10th, 2011 at 11:56 am
Heitha KB
I will highly recommend that you go for a car that will not chow not more than a third of your net income. I drive a Jetta 4, 1.8T and personally came to realise that thought having upgraded from my modest 1.8 Jetta 2, that the VW brand is more expensive to maintain. My brada drives Ford vehicles – they are much affordable to maintain. VW is class, yet @ a price. The older models, absolutely durable and affordable, I’d say till de Jetta 3 models. Compare parts, i.e. clutch kit on a G5 is abt R15K, on a Ford possibly much less.
Regards,
Abel
January 10th, 2011 at 03:23 pm
Hola guys
Thanks hey, I have been shopping arnd and have seen the new polo vivo 1.4 and was thinking of considering it cause it comes with maintance and service plan at around R1700.00 pm total cost of the car is R116 000. And that amount excludes insurance can I go for this car or buy second hand car 2005 Ford focus or 2005 golf 5…plz help
Regards
Kabelo
February 2nd, 2011 at 07:25 pm
I have a Volvo S40 1.8 2005 model. The car is paid off after 5 years. Last year I spent R12000 on new front wheel bearings, new discs on all 4 wheels and disc pads. The throttle control unit now needs to be replaced – R3000. Yes, very expensive – but much cheaper than buying any other new car. The monthly payment on the Volvo was R4250 per month. Can you see why I don’t mind buying expensive parts for the Volvo?
March 2nd, 2011 at 11:47 am
perceptions are not alwaways true. Volvo did a lot to make the ownership expierience more affordable. Have a look at the following links 2010 COTY parts pricing & 2009 KINSEY REPORT on this link. http://www.kinsey.valueweb.co.za/ . It tells a whole differant story. I am on my 5th Volvo. No 4 is out of plan & a lot cheaper to maintain than my daugter’s dodge.
July 11th, 2011 at 09:23 pm
Great article. so true! Sold my 2009 Suzuki Swift (debt free & paid for) for slightly less than the current value for 106K; to some local dodgy car dealer for cash. Have the company NP200 unlimited miles option (10K km in 3 months) but its a crap bakkie other than being better than no wheels at all. I still keep the Honda SR125L (1971 edition) for when i may ever need the modified 1979 XL185S motor in the different frame (thank you Wolfgang Lompa) in same SL number. There’s an ’86 800 BMW flat twin boxer in the garage superseded by the ’81 RS100RS in the garage and the rest of backroad cruising (XR650L paid for cash) included for good measure.
I pay for vehicles in cash disposable money, i don’t drive a Maseratti or a Lamborghini – but very happy for what i have and cruising my way..
October 12th, 2011 at 01:03 pm
I’m looking at buying a S40 Volvo 2001 for R25 000, 150 000km. Im not earning anything but have some savings. whats your opinion?
January 26th, 2012 at 08:39 pm
H!
Thanx guys for your experience and I learnt something from this blogs. I want to buy a car and I’m in love with 2006 Audi A4 1.8T, 2005 BMW 320d and 2005 Volvo 1.8. So your thoughts please on this models. Which one is the cheap to maintain?
April 19th, 2012 at 02:36 am
Good article – and no, its not too long if its useful!