The secret to buying a reliable car
Reliable car alert!
“It is just fact that some brands and models in the second-hand car market are more popular than others” says Jeff Osborne, Head of Automotive for Gumtree SA.
Toyota and Volkswagen account for nearly half of all vehicles sold in South Africa. According to Osborne; “Toyota is the choice for reliability, economy and durability, whereas Volkswagen is known for quality, luxury and consistently high resale rates”.
Osborne offers these three key tips for determining a reliable vehicle.
- Expensive isn’t better: Buying long-term means you need the most reliable car to begin with. Remember, cost does not equate to reliability and often the converse is true – the more sophisticated and loaded a vehicle is with electronic goodies, the greater the risk of high future maintenance bills. You do not want a ten-year-old Merc S-Class or BMW 7-Series if you’re on budget. They’re fairly cheap to buy, but trying to fix one when a black box blows and fries the electronics is a nightmare.
- KIS: Keep it simple. The more basic a car, the more reliable it potentially is. Older-generation models like the VW Polo Vivo and Toyota Corolla Quest are popular because they are relatively affordable and they are easy and cheap to maintain.
- Secret cars: There are certain industry gems, secretly known to a dealer to be ultra-reliable. A dealer sells them and will never see it again except for an occasional service. They rarely crop up in the second-hand car market as owners hold onto them. Think Daihatsu, Honda Jazz, VW CitiGolfs, basic Fiats like the Uno, Hyundai i10 and the Kia Picanto.
Via Gumtree Auto