What are the best used cars you can buy?

Apart from some exotic machines, most new cars lose quite a lot of their value over the first few years. That alone is enough reason to consider a used car, because, if you won’t miss that new-car smell or a fresh warranty, some great bargains can be had on nearly-new cars. Which cars you should consider depends on your needs, of course, so we identified a few groups of car buyers, and then looked at the market to make some helpful suggestions.

The ground rules

First, let’s recap the factors you’ll need to pay attention to when shopping for a used car. These apply across all groups, and are important to ensure that you end up with a good prospect instead of a lemon.

Service history is crucial

The reality is that most modern cars will last a lot longer than the ones from a few decades ago, but that depends on the previous owner(s) sticking to the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule. If any car is neglected in this department, you can be assured that some problems will pop up in the longer term, leading to disproportionate repair bills and sullying your experience with your used car.

Make sure that the paperwork is in order

This is something that many buyers, especially those in the bargain basement, often neglect to do before shelling out their hard-earned money. If the car’s license fees have fallen behind, or if there are outstanding traffic fines linked to a used car, those costs will come back to haunt the new buyer – leading to a lot of paperwork and likely costing the new owner a fair bit of money.

Another caution applies to financed cars, specifically in private sales: Ensure that all the instalments on a used car are up to date, and settle that outstanding finance amount with the bank directly before paying the balance to the seller. In fact, you should take a photo of the car’s registration document, and use that to check at a licensing authority that the car isn’t marked as stolen.

Inspect the car thoroughly

If you are somewhat mechanically adept, you could probably conduct your own inspection. Check for rust on the undercarriage and suspension, tap on the body panels to listen out for body filler, look for oil leaks from the drivetrain, and see if there’s any smoke coming from the exhaust after a cold start.

If you’re not up to this inspection, or just want to be extra sure that the car really is in a good condition, you should take it for an independent inspection. DEKRA can furnish a complete report on a vehicle, relating to its mechanical aspects, body work condition, and functioning of the electrical system, enabling you to determine if that particular car is as it should be. If the seller won’t agree to this, rather walk away – the chances are that they’re trying to hide something.

Budget-driven bargains

We’re talking about the really cheap cars here, so we set a price cap of R 100 000 for this category. This section of the market is mostly populated by elderly cars, usually with no OEM warranty or service plan, and often from brands with less market cachet. There are some cracking deals to be had here, but be wary of buying a premium-brand car with such a low price: old premium cars are cheap to buy for a reason, and that reason is usually because their maintenance have gotten prohibitive expensive.

Rather look for something less prestigious, which is less complex to repair and cheaper to service and maintain, instead. In this price bracket, we’d also caution against an older turbodiesel-powered car or something with an automatic gearbox, because those may be on the verge of becoming too costly to run. With this in mind, we set a 4-year age limit for petrol, manual cars, and took a gander at the available used cars listed on AutoTrader.

Hatchback buyers have a massive selection of Renault Kwids from which to choose within these constraints, but we’d recommend a 2019-on Datsun Go instead. It offers a lot more car for the money, along with more space and much better refinement.

If you’re set on a cheap sedan, the outlook isn’t great. Late-model sedans mostly amount to some Tatas, although the odd high-mileage Nissan Almera could also be had for this kind of money. As for SUVs, the closest you can find within this age range would be a Mahindra KUV100, as there is nothing larger and of comparable age in this price bracket.

 

High-value family transport

For this search, we moved the price cap to R 200 000, which returned a considerably nicer selection of possibilities. But, seeing as we’re talking about family cars, we set an additional requirement: an engine displacement of 1.5-litres or higher. You don’t want to suffer with a small-engined car on your annual holiday trip now, would you?

Available hatchbacks include the Mazda3 and a good assortment of Volkswagen Polo Vivos, but we’d recommend a Hyundai i20 or Accent hatch instead. These alternatives have a solid reputation for durability and practicality, and represent the smallest package that could still house your family in reasonable comfort.

There’s a similarly-expansive selection of sedans in this price range as well, with Polo sedans and Corolla Quests all fitting neatly into this category. However, we’d again think outside of the box, and recommend a Hyundai instead. You can get a late-model Accent sedan for the money, or even a low-mileage Elantra if you want something bigger.

Looking for something SUV-like instead? You can’t really go wrong with a Renault Duster or even a GWM H5, but we again prefer something Korean for this money. The Kia Soul wasn’t a big seller in South Africa, and they suffered steep depreciation from new. 

These factors combine to give you bargain-priced Souls with low mileages, and with some of Kia’s excellent warranty still in place. Double-cab bakkies around this price-, power- and age point unfortunately won’t suit family use very well, on account of the poor safety credentials you’ll find with a GWM Steed or a Nissan NP300.

 

All-rounders up to R 400 000

This is where the best buys reside: the budget is large enough to allow for something larger and nicer, and more-expensive cars with steep depreciation also creep into this list of possibilities. Examples include previous-generation Mercedes-Benz A-Class hatches and C-Class sedans, a horde of BMW 1- and 3 Series cars, MINIs, and some Audi A3 sedans. 

But, apart from the aforementioned premium-branded cars, you could also get a serious bargain in the form of a very low mileage Ford Kuga with the 1.5T EcoBoost engine and a manual- or automatic gearbox. These cars don’t employ the fiery 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine any more, but, because this model’s reputation was destroyed in the burning debacle, 2-year-old examples have now dropped into this price class. 

Alternatives include the Mazda CX-5 or previous-generation Toyota RAV4, or even a late-model Mini Hatch with 3- or 5 doors. Double-cab buyers also get a nicer selection, with the Nissan Navara standing out as a particularly appealing alternative in a market that’s flooded with Rangers and Hiluxes.

 

Luxury cars

Premium-branded vehicles tend to suffer steep depreciation as well, especially as they approach their maintenance plans’ expiration dates. Some late-model performance cars also fall in the bracket up to a million Rand, so there really is a huge selection from which to choose.

Hatchback buyers will likely want a Golf (with new and nearly-new Golf GTIs priced around the R 750 000 mark), or even a 2-year-old Mercedes-AMG A35, which has now dropped below R1-million. This is also the playing field of new entry-level 3 Series or Audi A4s, but you could have a used high-performance variant of those cars as well.

Double cabs and off-road-capable SUVs also feature in this price range, but we’d recommend looking for a year-old VW Amarok V6 TDI above all others. It’s the closest you’ll come to a premium car in this form factor, and its blend of performance, capability and economy should ensure a happy ownership experience. 

For family use, one option stands out among the horde of SUVs: Get a nearly-new Mitsubishi Pajero LWB around the R 800 000 mark, for the best combination of real off-road ability, a spacious and well-appointed cabin, and low long-term running costs. Alternatively, a slightly older BMW X5 will do the trick, with even the storming M50d variant having dropped below the R1-million mark.

 

Sports cars

Two-seaters, roadsters and convertibles are a niche market unto themselves, with the Porsche Boxster representing especially good value in the used market. Its main rivals would be the Mercedes-AMG SLC 43 (final facelift of the second-gen SLK) or a BMW Z4, with the latter even available in storming “40i” format for less than a million bucks.

If money is no obstacle, the used market can also get you a late-model Porsche 911 Carrera, which seems like auspiciously good value at the starting price of R 1.4-ish million. For perspective, a new 911 Carrera will set you back upwards of R 1.7-million, and doesn’t really offer that much more than a 3-year-old example.

 

The ultimate off-roader

While we’d all love a new Mercedes-AMG G63, an older one offers most of the speed you’d get in the latest model, albeit with vastly inferior driving dynamics. Used 2017-vintage G63s start below the R 1.8-million mark, or about half of what a new one would cost. It will give you similar street cred to the new one, but without draining anywhere near as much from your bank account.

And, if off-road prowess is at the top of your list, we’d suggest a used Toyota Land Cruiser 200 V8 D4-D for less than a million Rand. While popular among enthusiasts, the big-body Land Cruiser’s entry-level variant suffers from steep depreciation, making for a sublime used-car go-anywhere bargain.