Page through Autotrader and there are tons and tons of lovely cars for sale. If you use your head, you would end up with a 2009 Golf diesel or similar. However, if you use your heart you can find some amazing deals.
For the price of the 2009 Golf you can have a Range Rover. The one here is a 2003 4.4 V8. Its a BMW developed engine from before Ford bought Land Roverwhich also appears in the 645i and X5. Sure, the milage is a bit high at 162 000km, but you can have what is almost a business jet for the price of a Ford Fiesta. If you’re willing to pay up to R300 000, you can have a 2005 Range Rover. Thats almost new. For less than the price of a GTi.
We can keep on with this. For R2 200 000 (Bear with me) you can have a Mercedes SLS. Thats 300k off the list price and 500k what this exact car is worth new with all its extras. It only has 8 000km on it, so isn’t even properly run in and yet, for some reason, its for sale.
Even stranger, is you can have a Jaguar XJR or Chrysler 300C with the Hemi motor for around R210 000. 2006 cars with less that 100 000km on the clock, V8 power and luxury for the price of a VW Polo. Its madness.
What I will suggest though, is that if you are considering buying one of these cars, remember a few things.
- They are losing value and are going to keep losing value. So if you buy one, you are going to have to keep it.
- These brands are all expensive, premium cars. The SLS obviously will cost a billion Rand a day to keep, but the Range Rover will force you to sell your girlfriend for medical experiments to pay for the repairs if it goes wrong.
- Check the history of the car. Cars nearing 10 years old may have aches and pains. Look out for them.
- Make good friends with Shell and BP. You’ll need it.
Other than that, these cars are all fabulous cars, but are strictly for car lovers. If you are a motorist who just wants a cheap, reliable piece of transport, buy the Golf diesel, or, failing that, a Corolla. Thats what they were invented for. As for car lovers, take a look at older Mercedes CL’s, BMW 7-series, Mazda RX-8 and Audi S4 (shape before the RS4). All tend to depreciate heavily and you can pick up good ones for half their original price.
Happy Roadtrippin’
Matt
There are loads of good bargains to be found if one just takes the time to shop arround. Also look at the auctions where you can really pick up a deal or 2 if you know what you are looking for.