Most expensive body style on South Africa’s used-car market

Coupes are, on average, the most expensive vehicle body style in South Africa, selling on the pre-owned market for a mean price of R1,138,989.

Used-car platform AutoTrader in its 2022 Car Industry Report analysed data from 653 million-plus searches performed on the site in 2022, revealing that the two-door vehicle shape is usually the priciest among the six main segments.

Coupes were followed by SUVs, the most popular body style in the country, which itself preceded double cabs, another local favourite.

The practical sedan beat out the utilitarian single cab for the fourth most-valuable silhouette, while the hatchback ranked last on the price spectrum despite having the lowest average mileage and age.

“The intersection between price, mileage, and body type shows that the hatchback continues to offer the best value for money given that on average, it has the lowest mileage,” said AutoTrader.

Across the 1.4-million vehicles listed on AutoTrader in 2022, the average age, mileage, and list price for the main body types were as follows:

Most-viewed models per segment

In the coupe category, the most-viewed models were the BMW 2 Series, BMW M4, and Porsche 911 – three rather premium cars which could explain the high average price tags of these body types.

The most-viewed SUVs, on the other hand, were more varied and consisted of the BMW X5, Range Rover Sport, and Toyota Fortuner. SUVs generated the most attention on AutoTrader over the course of 2022, being responsible for over 86 million advert views.

“SUVs continue to be the fastest-growing body type globally, and in South Africa, the body type that receives the highest attention from in-market car shoppers follows this trend,” said the company.

“Historically, single and double cab bakkies have generated the highest search volumes but when it comes to advert views, South Africans are mostly interested in SUVs.”

On that topic, the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, and VW Amarok were the three most attractive double cabs for AutoTrader users, while the discontinued Chevrolet Utility still remains a popular option in the single-cab category, as do the Nissan NP200 and Toyota Hilux once more.

For sedans, the German trio the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class were as loved as ever and accounted for the top-viewed models in this category.

The three rivals have become rather expensive in recent years pointing to the possibility that consumers are turning towards the pre-owned market in search of an opportunity to purchase these four-doors at a friendlier price.

With regards to hatchbacks, local motorists were most drawn to the BMW 1 Series, VW Golf, and VW Polo.

Notably, the latest generation of the Golf is only available in high-performance GTI and, soon, also R specifications, therefore, the used market is the only place left where one can buy a normal variant of the once-widely-popular hatch.

In a similar vein, the current BMW 1 Series is front-wheel drive meaning fans who still want a more traditional rear-wheel-drive hatch from the sporty brand must turn to the pre-owned corners of the internet to find one.