Best-selling used cars in South Africa right now – With pricing

The pre-owned car market put on a strong performance this March with a grand total of 29,896 units making their way to new homes, according to AutoTrader.

This translates to a year-on-year improvement of 9.6% from March 2024 and a 3.5% month-on-month improvement from February’s sales, indicating strong demand for used cars.

The top pick for motorists was once again the Ford Ranger with 1,753 units moved, marking a small uptick from its numbers the month prior.

As expected, this was followed by the Toyota Hilux with 1,493 sales, though interestingly its average mileage is much higher than its bakkie rivals.

One notable change to the top 10 in March is that the VW Polo and Polo Vivo swapped places with the latter moving up to third while the former dropped to fourth.

The Vivo sold 1,248 units while the Polo moved 1,222, suggesting that, even in the second-hand space, motorists are making the transition to the more affordable model.

Fifth place once again went to the Toyota Fortuner, which is officially the best-selling used SUV in South Africa with 688 buyers.

Next up was the Suzuki Swift in sixth with 506 units, though seventh place saw a surprising return to form for the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which landed in 10th place last month.

This time around, the Mercedes sold 478 units, proving that there is still a sizeable contingent of motorists trying to get their hands on a luxury badge by any means.

Eighth place was taken by the Isuzu D-Max with 473 purchases, followed by the Toyota Starlet in ninth with 467 units.

Finally, there’s the Nissan NP200 in 10th place with 434 customers, once again sounding the alarm that South Africans are desperate for another affordable compact bakkie.

The total value of all the used cars sold in South Africa in March amounts to R12.48 billion, reflecting a 10.9% increase from the same month last year.

While this is largely thanks to the increased sales, it also reflects the fact that the average used-car value went up R4,683 over the same period to a new total of R417,688.

Toyota and VW remain the top-selling brands overall, while premium makes like BMW experienced a drop in sales of around 6%.

Interestingly, Kia saw the largest decline of any brand with a considerable 22% sales reduction.

Most popular used cars in South Africa

These were the 10 best-selling pre-owned cars in South Africa in March 2025, as listed by AutoTrader.

1. Ford Ranger – 1,753 units

• Average price – R492,129
• Average mileage – 78,856km
• Average age – 5 years

2. Toyota Hilux – 1,493 units

• Average price – R464,244
• Average mileage – 107,683
• Average age – 6 years

3. VW Polo Vivo – 1,248 units

• Average price – R202,428
• Average mileage – 55,115km
• Average age – 4 years

4. VW Polo – 1,222 units

• Average price – R267,514
• Average mileage – 72,390km
• Average age – 6 years

5. Toyota Fortuner – 688 units

• Average price – R481,459
• Average mileage – 105,041km
• Average age – 6 years

6. Suzuki Swift – 506 units

• Average price – R201,812
• Average mileage – 36,976km
• Average age – 3 years

7. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 478 units

• Average price – R381,532
• Average mileage – 105,534km
• Average age – 9 years

8. Isuzu D-Max – 473 units

• Average price – R447,403
• Average mileage – 69,427km
• Average age – 3 years

9. Toyota Starlet – 467units

• Average price – R238,141
• Average mileage – 33,466km
• Average age – 2 years

10. Nissan NP200 – 434 units

• Average price – R177,817
• Average mileage – 86,044km
• Average age – 5 years