New and used cars you can buy on the average South African salary
Most South African consumers can afford vehicles such as the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro when buying new, or the VW Polo when shopping pre-owned, based on what they earn.
The average salary in the country rose to R28,231 in the fourth quarter of 2024, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 5.3%.
The data, provided by Stats SA, represents the figures for South Africa’s formal non-agricultural job market.
Financial institutions recommend that one does not spend more than 20% of your paycheck on vehicle finance payments.
With a monthly stipend of R28,231, this means most South Africans can afford around R5,646 per month on repaying a car.
We can plug this value into the following formula to determine the maximum price of said vehicle:
- Monthly repayment – R5,646
- Payment term – 72 terms (6 years)
- Interest – 11.00%
- Deposit – 0%
- Balloon – No balloon payment
- Extras – No optional extras
According to this calculation, the average consumer can spend no more than R292,000 on a new set of wheels should they not want to stretch their budgets too thin.
New cars for R292,000
While options at the sub-R300,000 end of the market are dwindling due to economic pressures such as inflation and a depreciating exchange rate, you still have plenty of models to choose from that will get you from point A to point B in relative comfort.
If you’re looking for a brand-new ride, there are dozens of nameplates available from esteemed manufacturers such as Toyota, Suzuki, Hyundai, Kia, and more.
These include:
| Model | Price | Warranty | Service plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chery Tiggo 4 Pro 1.5 LiT | R269,900 | 5-year/150,000km vehicle + 10-year/1,000,000km engine | 3-year/30,000km |
| Citroen C3 Aircross 1.2 Plus | R274,900 | 5-year/100,000km | 6-year/60,000km |
| Honda Amaze 1.2 Comfort | R272,000 | 5-year/200,000km | 2-year/30,000km |
| Hyundai Exter 1.2 Executive | R289,900 | 5-year/150,000km vehicle + 7-year/200,000km drivetrain | 3-year/45,000km |
| Kia Picanto 1.2 EX | R284,995 | 5-year/unlimited km | 2-year/30,000km |
| Mahindra XUV 3XO 1.2T MX3 | R274,999 | 5-year/150,000km | 3-year/55,000km |
| MG ZS 1.5 Comfort | R289,900 | 5-year/200,000km vehicle + 7-year/unlimited km engine | 5-year/60,000km |
| Nissan Magnite 1.0 Acenta | R277,300 | 6-year/150,000km | 3-year/30,000km |
| Proton Saga 1.3 Premium | R244,900 | 5-year/150,000km | Optional |
| Renault Kiger 1.0 Zen Auto | R274,999 | 5-year/150,000km | 2-year/30,000km |
| Suzuki Swift 1.2 GLX | R264,900 | 5-year/200,000km | 2-year/30,000km |
| Toyota Starlet 1.5 XS | R273,500 | 3-year/100,000km | 3-services/45,000km |
| VW Polo Vivo 1.4 | R271,900 | 3-year/120,000km vehicle + 5-year/150,000km engine | Optional |
Used cars for R292,000
If you’re shopping pre-owned, the latest data from AutoTrader shows that you can snap up sought-after models that had one or more previous owners which may be out of your budget if they were still new.
These include the evergreen VW Polo as well as the venerable Nissan NP200 – the latter of which was discontinued in 2024 and can no longer be purchased fresh off showrooms floors.
The used vehicles with average selling prices below R292,000 in South Africa this past March were:
| Model | Average price | Average mileage | Average age |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nissan NP200 | R182,365 | 81,005km | 5 years |
| Suzuki Swift | R196,721 | 38,263km | 3 years |
| Toyota Starlet | R240,792 | 30,703km | 2 years |
| VW Polo | R273,562 | 69,592km | 5 years |
| VW Polo Vivo | R203,716 | 54,671km | 4 years |
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