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How much you’ll save per month when buying a car with a 10% deposit

Putting down a deposit can make a big difference to how much you’ll end up paying for your new car, yet many South Africans are foregoing a down payment on their next set of wheels.

A recent TopAuto poll asked readers what size deposit they put down on their previous vehicle purchase as a percentage of the asking price.

These were the results:

While a deposit can seem like a big pill to swallow when buying a vehicle on a finance plan, it will ultimately save you money in the long term with lower monthly instalments and less interest paid at the end of the contract.

What you’ll save with a 10% deposit

To illustrate the effect that an initial deposit can have on a car’s monthly instalments, we used 10 examples of South Africa’s most popular cars and calculated the difference in payments depending on whether or not a 10% deposit was made.

The interest rate was set at the current prime rate of 11.25%, and the length of the term is at five years, translating to 60 repayments.

This is how much you can expect to save each month when opting for a 10% deposit on your next vehicle.

Click on the underlined prices for more information.


Toyota Fortuner – Save R1,429 per month

  • Starting price – R653,500
  • Monthly payment without deposit – R14,290
  • Monthly payment with deposit – R12,861


Ford Ranger – Save R1,015 per month

  • Starting price – R464,200
  • Monthly payment without deposit – R10,151
  • Monthly payment with deposit – R9,136


Toyota Corolla Cross – Save R834 per month

  • Starting price – R381,200
  • Monthly payment without deposit – R8,336
  • Monthly payment with deposit – R7,502


Isuzu D-Max – Save R759 per month

  • Starting price – R346,800
  • Monthly payment without deposit – R7,584
  • Monthly payment with deposit – R6,825


VW Polo – Save R731 per month

  • Starting price – R334,400
  • Monthly payment without deposit – R7,312
  • Monthly payment with deposit – R6,581


Toyota Hilux – Save R725 per month

  • Starting price – R336,100
  • Monthly payment without deposit – R7,350
  • Monthly payment with deposit – R6,615


VW Polo Vivo – Save R541 per month

  • Starting price – R247,300
  • Monthly payment without deposit – R5,408
  • Monthly payment with deposit – R4,867


Toyota Starlet – Save R509 per month

  • Starting price – R233,000
  • Monthly payment without deposit – R5,095
  • Monthly payment with deposit – R4,586


Nissan NP200 – Save R465 per month

  • Starting price – R212,500
  • Monthly payment without deposit – R4,647
  • Monthly payment with deposit – R4,182


Suzuki Swift – Save R426 per month

  • Starting price – R194,900
  • Monthly payment without deposit – R4,262
  • Monthly payment with deposit – R3,836


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