Before you contemplate buying a car, you need to consider some critical issues, such as the widespread crime in South Africa. Even though you can’t guarantee that your vehicle will never be stolen, you can undoubtedly mitigate this risk by buying a low-crime-risk car.
South Africa’s crime statistics
According to a 2019 article by Megan MacDonald, a motorist was hijacked every 32 minutes in South Africa. This translates to a mind-boggling 46 cars each day. A total of 16,325 hijackings occurred between April and March 2019. These are the real challenges facing motorists, and the question is what can be done about it?1,2
How do we minimise the risk of car theft?
We cannot fight criminals ourselves as this task rests with our police service, but we can choose to buy cars that are a bit more difficult to steal. For instance, installing a tracker in a car increases the chances of recovering a stolen car. We can go one step further and find out which car brands are hijacked the least. 1
Ten of the most hijacked passenger car brands
The following is a list of passenger car makes most frequently hijacked in descending order. They are VW, Toyota, Ford, Citroen, Kia, Hyundai, BMW, Audi, Renault, and Chevrolet. Regarding VW, the most popular model was the Polo. This list can guide the motorist to choose a vehicle which is less likely to be hijacked. 1
Ten of the most hijacked sport utility vehicles (SUVs)
The following is a list of ten SUVs that were the most popular to be hijacked in descending order: Toyota, Land Rover, Nissan, Mahindra, VW, Jeep, Porsche, Renault, Ford, and Daihatsu. Notice how different this list is compared to the previous one.1
Can you afford the car?
It’s exciting to buy a car! But before committing financially, consider all the costs involved in buying a car. The most obvious one is the monthly car repayment. Added to that will be the car insurance premium. According to the law, this will have to be comprehensive car insurance if a bank finances your car. Also consider the car’s fuel economy specifications. Then there are licence fees and maintenance costs to take note of. Finally, choose a vehicle where the spare parts and services are not very expensive.3
Disclaimer
Please consider this article as only information, seeing that purchasing car insurance is complicated. If you are interested in buying car insurance, contact a certified, financial advisor for professional advice.
Are you planning to purchase a car anytime soon? Contact Prime South Africa for more information regarding affordable, comprehensive car insurance with fixed premiums* and a reduce to zero excess*. T and Cs apply.
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