How much bakkie can I buy for R16 000 a month?
How much bakkie can I buy for R16 000 a month?
By Stuart Johnston
The launch of the new Mercedes-Benz X-Class has really popped in the cat amongst the pigeons, as far as the premium-end of the South African bakkie market is concerned. There was a time when a bakkie was considered to be a device to dump cement in, or cattle-feed, or heavy electric generators, and to be used occasionally for those trips to the in-laws, where you’d affix the canopy at the rear and tell the kids to hop in the back on a piece of old sponge, and no complaining!
Things have changed as the humble bakkie, which still fulfils those more practical roles mentioned above, can also be ordered with all the modern fixtures enjoyed by a luxury sedan. Airbags, air-con, electric windows, ABS, corner-assist systems, navigation, high-end audio, smart-phone compatibility, leather interiors, you name it and the upper-end Double Cab bakkies have it. What’s more, today a Double Cab denotes a vehicle where there is actually leg-room in the rear for fully-grown adults!
And now, since late April, you can get one with one of the most prestigious badges in the world of personal mobility – the Three-Pointed Star.
What does your R16 000 a month repayment budget buy you?
A monthly repayment budget of R16 000 a month will gain entry into the top-end segment of the new bakkie market in South Africa. For comparative purposes, AutoTrader’s standard repayment template for this sort of purchasing advice article assumes a 10 percent deposit on the purchase price, a repayment period of 60 months, and an interest rate on the financed amount of 12 percent.
Customers with blemish-free credit records will be able to negotiate an interest rate closer to the current prime interest rate of 10 per cent but for most buyers, a rate of 12 per cent interest on the financed amount is a good working average.
The purchase price limit using this method is R795 000
As usual, we use WesBank’s repayment calculator (easily available on-line) to work out the ceiling purchase price for bakkies at a repayment of R16 000 a month. Using our standard repayment parameters (as detailed above), the ceiling price for a repayment of R16 000 a month is a list price of just over R795 000. The 10 percent deposit works out at R79 500. These calculations are made without factoring in any residual (balloon) payment at the end of the finance period.
You are into the ultimate level of the bakkie-market at R16 000 a month
That R16 000 monthly repayment allows you to look at a level of the bakkie market where, to be frank, there aren’t too many players right now. A quick glance at the pick-up price lists will identify only Volkswagen with its top-of-the-range Amarok, and Mercedes-Benz, with its second-most expensive X-Class, as weighing in at around the R795 000 mark.
For the record, the Volkswagen Amarok 3.0 V6 TDI Double Cab Extreme 4Motion costs R784 400, while the Mercedes-Benz X250d Double Cab 4Matic Power, in manual specification, costs R791 315.
The most expensive bakkie in South Africa right now is the automatic-transmission version of that same Merc X-Class, which lists for R819 298, just out of our monthly repayment price range.
Obviously, if your repayment limit is R16 000 per month you would naturally consider less expensive models that would not stretch your budget to its maximum. It should also be noted that a legal requirement of financing any vehicle deal is that the vehicle is insured. The monthly premium on a vehicle costing just under R800 000 would be substantial
So, what choices do I have?
Whilst only Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen have (to date) dared knock on the door marked R800 000 or thereabouts, it should be noted that most of the major players in the Double Cab market have models in the R550 000-and-above price range. Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Mazda, even Fiat, have offerings in a market where a top-spec Double Cab is seen as the obvious alternative to a premium sedan or SUV.
And, it should be noted, much less-expensive versions of the Amarok and the X-Class are also on offer, up against the major players. To date, the Amarok has been the market leader in the premium end of the Double Cab market for some time, thanks mainly to its unrivalled ride quality.
Consider the used model option
Of course, there is always the option of buying a used model with significant price benefits, and this is where AutoTrader plays such a huge role in South African mobility. We suggest that once you have made your choice on a new model, you key in those model details on our used car search engine, where currently over 70 000 used vehicles are listed. And many of those are double-cab pick-ups!
These are your upper-end options
The following is a list of premium-level Double Cab pick-ups you might consider:
Volkswagen Amarok 2.0BiTDI Double Cab Highline R551 500
Nissan Navara 2.3D Double Cab LE Automatic ` R556 900
Fiat Fullback 2.4Di-D Double Cab 4X4 LX Automatic R559 000
Mitsubishi Triton 2.4DI-D Double Cab 4X4 Athlete R559 995
Mazda BT-50 3.2 Double Cab 4X4 SLE Automatic R561 300
Isuzu KB 300D-Teq Double Cab 4X4 LX R571 500
Toyota Hilux 2.8GD-6D Double Cab 4X4 Raider R581 800
Nissan Navara 2.3D Double Cab 4X4 LE Automatic R611 500
Toyota Land Cruiser 79 4.2D Double Cab R662 400
Mercedes-Benz X250d Double Cab 4Matic Progressive R701 615
Ford Ranger 3.2 Double Cab 4X4 Wildtrak Automatic R624 900
Volkswagen Amarok 3.0 V6 TDi Double Cab Extreme 4Motion R784 400
Mercedes-Benz X250d Double Cab 4Matic Power R791 315