DVT Vehicle Buying Guide for the first quarter of 2024
By Theo Pretorius
20 February 2024
Are you in the market to either buy or sell a car? The landscape of the South African car market is constantly changing and adapting to the economic conditions, to global supply and demand forces and also to the changes within the new vehicle space.
The key to all decisions is always what information you have on hand to inform your decision. Buying a car is no different. Besides individual preference of the actual vehicle, there are a number of factors to consider including cost, safety, reliability and maintenance.
Some of the more specific information which is not always known to everyone, are considerations around value, more specifically how much value do I lose when I buy a specific car. Desirability also plays a role. Will my car re-sell quickly or not, or will a wrong purchase force me to accept an offer I might not be totally happy with. Current market conditions will also determine which cars are under price pressure and desirability pressures? What are Motor Dealers currently paying good prices for on the second hand market and what are Motor Dealers not interested in buying to add to their stock at the moment?
DVT has taken the direct route to bring as much information as possible to the fore to assist with the decisions you make when you buy a car, or when you are looking to sell your car. We constantly monitor the car sales statistics for South Africa, and communicate with dealers about their preferences around buying of vehicles for their showrooms as well as which vehicles they are hesitant to make any offers on, or even decline to make offers on.
The vehicle sales statistics for the recent 3 months ending 2023 and starting 2024 have shown a continuation in the trend of mid-sized SUV’s and larger vehicles such as 7 seater vehicles being particularly strong in the second-hand market space. Buying or selling a vehicle of this description at this moment will have a lot of potential for a vehicle that has kept its value well. There are, however, a few brand specific exclusions to this.
The market segment of R150,000 - R400,000 has shown a lot of strength for new vehicle sales and second-hand sales overall, with many vehicle options now available within this segment.
The breakdown of popular new cars bought within South Africa remains largely in favour of bakkie’s/pickup trucks with 3 of the top 5 selling vehicles of 2023 being bakkies/pickups.
More specific information about trends and sales, as it pertains to which brands as well as which sized vehicles, can be obtained by contacting DVT directly at
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