Affordability isn't a fixed value. What is affordable for you may not be affordable for the next person and undoubtedly, there's someone out there who wouldn't flinch at a repair bill that costs twice what you're prepared to pay. What does remain the same is the fact that cars cost money to maintain. They're complex items with many moving parts and sooner or later, something will need to be replaced or repaired.
Related: 5 cheapest cars to service and maintain – City and Entry-Level Cars
Many new cars will be covered not only by a warranty but also by some form of maintenance or service plan that will take care of services and selected wear and tear items while the plan is in place. As soon as vehicles are out of warranty and their service plan, you have the option of extending both. This can often work out to your advantage but requires a substantial amount of money is put forward for future benefit.
Once a vehicle is out of plan, the value decreases significantly. These vehicles are more attractive and seem to offer better value for money. While that is partially true, you will have to factor in what the maintenance costs will be over the next few years. Below we're going to take a look at the repair and service costs of the various segments in South Africa as researched by the AA.
AA Parts Price Guide
Formerly known as the Kinsey report, the Automobile Association took over duties after Malcolm Kinsey sadly passed away in January 2021. This report looks at the parts basket cost for service parts, maintenance parts, and body repairs. The report is broken down by vehicle segment and samples a total of 63 vehicles. While not hard and fast, the AA Parts Price Guide gives an indication as to which models will be more affordable to repair in future and which used models are budget-friendly.
Cheapest vehicle - Total cost
By combining the service, maintenance and body repair basket prices, the AA was able to come up with the following list of vehicles that are the cheapest in their categories.
| Segment | Winner | Total |
| Entry-Level vehicles | Datsun Go | R74 024.80 |
| Budget vehicles | Ford Figo 1.5 Titanium | R53 254.55 |
| Compact Family vehicles | Mazda CX3 | R131 920.18 |
| Family SUVs | Honda CR-V | R171 790.57 |
| Executive SUVs | Alfa Romeo Stelvio | R179 210.39 |
| Luxury SUVs | Range Rover Sport | R367 410.19 |
| Adventure 4×4 vehicles | Ford Everest 2.0 BiT XLT | R117 037.19 |
| LCV Single Cab vehicles | Isuzu D-MAX | R79 038.56 |
| LCV Leisure Double Cab vehicles | Ford Ranger 2.0SiT XLT | R96 083.00 |
Cheapest vehicle - Service cost
If one only looks at the service items, the items required to service a car with parts bought from the dealership, the story is a little different. This is because of the complexities of the various vehicle bodies and their designs, remember, the table above includes body repair costs. The table below looks at the cheapest car to service (based on parts price) in each segment and includes items like brake pads and discs.
| Segment | Winner | Cost |
| Entry-Level vehicles | Renault Kwid 1.0 Dynamique | R4085.84 |
| Budget vehicles | Ford Figo 1.5 Titanium | R3347.78 |
| Compact Family vehicles | Peugeot 1.2 Active | R6011.94 |
| Family SUVs | Toyota Rav 4 | R6183.32 |
| Executive SUVs | Alfa Romeo Stelvio | R9538.53 |
| Luxury SUVs | Lexus RX | R10 504.97 |
| Adventure 4×4 vehicles | Isuzu mu-X | R7 444.50 |
| LCV Single Cab vehicles | Ford Ranger 2.2TDCi | R5 747.30 |
| LCV Leisure Double Cab vehicles | Ford Ranger 2.0SiT XLT | R5 134.09 |
| Electric Cars | BMW i3 | R11 806.33 |
For the full, detailed report, visit the AA Website.
