The current 2016 Kinsey Report covers 69 vehicles and this year I have excluded a few vehicles which were in last year’s study, some because their July sales volumes were very low – under 15 units sold in the whole of SA and others because of their similarity to related model from the same manufacturer. Many of the vehicles this year are the same models as in the 2015 report which makes it possible to track price changes during the last 12 months.

The Rand has been under extreme pressure over the past 12 months, and exchange rates have obviously had an adverse effect on the cost of imports. Our motor industry requires massive volumes of foreign exchange to import all the vehicles we need in SA and with these adverse exchange rates, the prices of vehicles and parts have inevitably had to increase, some dramatically.

The locally assembled vehicles which are exported to other countries are not able to come near matching the amount spent on imports. South Africa exports about 28,000 vehicles per month – Mercedes 10,000 units; VW & Toyota 6,000; BMW 4,000; Ford 1,500; Nissan 500; and GMSA 200 – but not enough to come close to countering the foreign exchange problem.

With a few exceptions, there have been increases in the cost of the 2016 basket of 34 parts, – some of which are quite astounding. Wheel rims in some cases are over R20,000 each, doors in excess of R15,000  and if your car is fitted with  “intelligent lights”  a replacement may be in the R30,000 to R45,000 bracket. Many manufacturers offer these in place of the relatively affordable halogen for their upmarket vehicles. These components are in the crash parts category and in general, this is the area where there has been the steepest price increase.

Service parts have remained more affordable – probably because the manufacturer is paying during the life of the service or maintenance plan. Repair parts also have remained somewhat in check. Fan belts have got expensive for some brands because they are now more technical – almost like a large rubber band which will never need tensioning.
All prices in this study were sourced in July 2016 and almost exclusively from dealers in the Durban/Pinetown/Umhlanga areas. Where possible I supplied a VIN number to the dealership to eliminate errors or miscommunication.

The Kinsey Report has less importance to readers who own new vehicles which are still covered by service or maintenance plans, but it should still be of considerable interest, and possibly dismay, to buyers/owners of used vehicles where repair and servicing costs are very relevant.

Accident and crash parts are a valid concern for all vehicle owners and can impact the finances from day one, whatever insurance policies you may have. Aluminium clad vehicles are very expensive to repair and the doors, headlights and rim already mentioned add up to an alarming amount – affecting excess, write off points etc.

As I stress every year, if you are costing your own vehicle parts – it pays to shop around if you have more than one franchise dealer available. Manufacturers only recommend a selling price, – they do not enforce it – so prices can vary. If your vehicle is out of warranty, you may consider alternative parts, but this is can be a minefield and buying from other than large reputable parts chains could prove a great deal more expensive than buying the real deal.

Results in Categories

Again we have nine categories, looking at 34 prices of common parts needed for servicing, repairs and crashes. Obviously different categories interest buyers with different budget constraints and I have tried to give a reasonable spread within the limitations of space allowed. Crossovers are again one of the most popular vehicle choices due to their versatility, and the three categories containing crossovers cover the greatest number of “similar” vehicles, from fairly basic to high-end luxury.

PRICES IN BRACKETS ARE THE EQUIVALENT PRICES IN 2015

City Cars and Entry Level – 11 cars

This spans cars priced from just under R120,000 for the cheeky little Datsun Go to the Ford Figo Hatch at close on R174,000 and obviously the specifications for these two are substantially different and not surprisingly at opposing ends of the parts basket cost. The results mirror those of last year – the Datsun is the winner  – with R43,193 ( last year R37,631) followed by the Nissan Micra with R55,071 ( R44,479 ) and VW Polo Vivo – R56,968. (R49,805).

Service costs are lowest for the Datsun Go and next best for the Chevrolet Spark (which suffers from comparatively high crash parts prices and comes in with the highest overall basket price of all). The repair parts prices are best for the Go and Micra and the Datsun Go scores top points ahead of the VW Polo for crash parts.

Super Mini – 8 cars

Prices here vary from just on R163,000 for the Renault Sandero to R243,300 for the VW Polo. The Sandero has been demoted to 2nd place in the parts basket total this year with an overall cost of R83,783  (R65,517), pipped by the Peugeot 208 which scored a winning basket price of R79,690 ( R67,463). VW Polo 1.2 TSi in third place with R90,161 (R82,583).
The Sandero has the most competitive service parts basket at R3,016 closely followed by the Polo at R3,279. Repair parts leaders are the Polo and Chevrolet Sonic, pretty much on a par at R14,500 and R14,700 respectively. Peugeot 208 with R58,781 leads the Sandero with R61,631 and the rest in the crash parts section. Chevrolet again falls down on crash parts prices.

Family Favourites – 9 cars

The least expensive in this class is the Toyota Quest at R199,400 and prices increase up to the VW Golf 7 at R329,900. This class is the exception to the rule, where two similar cars, the Toyota Corolla Quest and Prestige, are both included.

This is based on their respective sales figures – the Quest sells about 600 a month, the Prestige 800 – and this, I think, warrants individual status for each. The market is slightly different, borne out by the fact that the more expensive model, the Prestige, – R276,150 – is more popular.

The Toyota pair head this highly competitive class, the Quest this year has just come in with the cheaper parts basket at R72,659 (R69,446) to the R76,267 (R67,078) for the Prestige. In a surprise 3rd position is the Mazda 3 at R97,343 (R133,327 for last year !) – moving it from last in the class in 2015 to third this year.

Golf 7 is the cheapest to service at R3,968, followed by Chevrolet Cruze at R4,361. To repair these family favourites you are better off if you drive a Mazda 3 with a repair basket at R13,272 or a Honda Jazz at R13,520.

To crash or not to crash – the Toyotas are the least costly for crash parts, the Quest at R50,168 and the Prestige at R54,744. Some brands are very expensive in this section – pushing close to or over R100,00 for the 17 crash parts.

Compact Crossovers – 4 vehicles

These are all in the region of R250,000, the Toyota Avanza the lowest at R232,900 and the most pricey the Ford Eco Sport at R268,900. These are the very useful “Mom’s Taxis” of the crossover section.

Citroen Cactus is in top position with a very small increase in its 2015 costs – its parts basket price of R87,422 (R 86,706) displacing the Toyota Avanza at R90,060 (R67,786) with the Renault Duster retaining its third position with a basket of R91,609 (R 79,693). The Duster has substantially lower servicing costs than the rest at R2,748 with the Avanza in second with R4,072.

Repair costs are most economical for the Avanza at R13,146 followed by the Cactus at R15,977 and the Cactus and the Ford EcoSport will the least damaging to your basket in the event of a crash – at R66,422 and R68,802 respectively.

Crossovers – 10 vehicles

Ranging in price from the Toyota RAV at R362,900 to the Chevrolet Trailblazer at R533,100, these are for many the vehicle of choice in SA. The sales volumes from last month’s NAMSA figures well illustrate the popularity of the SUV.
Toyota Fortuner again takes the top spot with a total parts basket price of R91,250 (R77,413) ahead of the Chevrolet Trailblazer – R98,574 – one of the few with a reduced price from the previous year (R109,801). The third spot is claimed by the recently re-launched Hyundai Tucson with a basket of R114,721.

Mitsubishi ASX has the least expensive service basket at R3,152 followed by the Nissan X Trail at R3,996. Chevrolet and Hyundai are ahead for servicing parts – Trailblazer at R8,729 and Tucson at R9,288. The Toyota Fortuner has the most modest crash basket – R74,410, followed by the Trailblazer R84,403 and the only other vehicle with a crash parts basket of under R100,000 is the Ford Kuga at R91,752.

Executive Crossovers – 7 vehicles

These are the real luxury SUV ’s, boasting top technology and prices, from the Range Rover Evoque costing R743,858 to the BMW X5 at R968,104. It’s not surprising that the parts basket in this category is in most cases, equal to or more expensive than the cost of a modest car.

The Toyota Prado made a significant move this year from third to first, displacing the Volvo XC 90. The reason for this is that there is a less expensive option available this year, as opposed to the Middle East spec vehicle of 2015,( which came complete with very pricey self-levelling shock absorbers.) The 2016 parts basket is R156,851 (R173,713) and this pips the XC90 basket at R179,563 (R164,508). And this includes the Volvo’s facelift which only came out after the 2015 figures were collected. Third this year, one place higher than last year is the Range Rover Evoque with a complete basket of R228,823. (R180,247).

Service parts are least expensive for the XC90 at R5,143 and the Evoque at R6,516. Volvo also comes in best in the repair section at R12,813 followed by the Prado – R12,978. The Prado comes into its own with extremely competitive crash parts prices – R25,000 less than the Volvo at R136,293 compared with R161,606, and all the others over R200,000.

Double Cabs – 7 vehicles

Prices here vary from R264,995 for the Tata Xenon to R519,200 for the VW Amarok. Tata again has the most economical parts basket – R67,623 (R58,527) with Toyota Hilux in 2nd spot with R76,274 (R85,986) – Toyota has succeeded in lowering prices for this vehicle as well. GWM Steed has taken 3rd place with a basket price of R92,355 (R89,437).
In the servicing section, the GWM is lowest at R2,291, substantially ahead of the Ford Ranger – R4,405 and  Tata Xenon – R 4,811. In the repair section, the VW Amarok has the best figures with R8,270 but one must bear in mind, that, being an automatic, there are no prices included for clutch and pressure plate and flywheel. For a manual version, the price would increase by about R15,000. Second behind the Amarok is the GWM with a repair basket of R13,214.
Tata just leads the crash parts total with R46,732. The Hilux, which is locally built and so has the advantage of having many of the body pressings made here, is not far behind at R48,761.

Single Cabs – 7 vehicles

From 2 small workhorses – the Nissan NP 200 selling for R157,900 and the Chev Utility, prices range up to R298,800 for the Amarok 2.0. The NP200, Chev Ute and the  Nissan NP300 slot into the first 3 places, the Ute splitting the 2 Nissans, with basket costs of R43,967 ( R47,026), R54,347 (R59,096) and R58,134 (R49,314). Both the first two vehicles coming in with lower basket prices than last year.

The two Nissans have the lowest servicing costs – NP200 R1,992 and the NP 300 R2,189. Chev and Isuzu are most cost-efficient for repair parts – the Chev Ute with a repair basket of R6,606 and the Isuzu KB250 with R7,738.
Repairs for these benefit by having no rear door to add to the costs – the NP 200 is best at R31,756  followed by R35,497 for the Isuzu.

Executive Saloons –  6 cars

These are the real exec models – electronic bells and whistles galore, – ranging in price from R458,996 for the Volvo S60 TR to R743,600 for a Jaguar XE2.0. BMW has lost its coveted first place for the best overall basket this year to the Volvo S60. Volvo has done a lot of work fine-tuning their parts pricing to good effect. Both manufacturers have increased the purchase prices of their cars by about R30,000, but Volvo has managed to decrease their parts cost quite considerably.

The S60 parts basket is R113,822 this year (R141,197) and the BMW R134,630 (R106,194). In third place is the Jaguar XE 200 at R154,748 ( R189,537) – which is quite a drop and comes from the reduction of the prices of crash parts.
Most economical to service is the Volvo – R4,656, ahead of the Mercedes C200 at R5,596. Repairs are also least expensive for the Volvo at RR8,527 followed by the BMW with a repair basket of R9,191. All the vehicles in this category are automatics so there are no clutches and flywheels involved.

Volvo and BMW also have the least expensive crash parts – R100,822 for Volvo and R118,486 for BMW. To put these into perspective – the prices of the most expensive crash parts baskets are R178,740 for Audi and R198,325 for Lexus.
The full report and charts can be found at www.kinseyreport.co.za – 2016

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