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| Motoring journo Malcolm Kinsey's latest parts basket comparison is out |
THE latest 2015 Kinsey Report, which covers 74 vehicles in nine
categories, showed some alarmingly high parts prices.
Pinetown-based motoring journalist Malcolm Kinsey said: “I don’t
think the prices can be blamed entirely on the deteriorating rand. There are
instances where items like mag rims and windscreens cost R10 000 and more.”
Kinsey said his annual price list is now presented in two parts,
with the cars selected using monthly sales figures, alhtough some “iconic”
vehicles are also included, even though their sales are not in the Polo/Corolla
league.
All prices on the list are collected within the same calendar
month, including VAT.
Prices are sourced almost exclusively from franchise dealers around
Durban, to replicate as closely as possible what the customer would experience.
“Where possible we provided a VIN number for the exact vehicle
required. For the customer it is very important to take note of the VIN number
found on all vehicles when getting a quote for any parts required,” Kinsey
advised. “This will ensure that everything from trim to engine, gearbox, tyres
etc will be specific to your model vehicle and with all the variations on the
market this makes part identification both easier and more precise.”
(This 17-digit number is on the left bottom corner of the
windscreen.)
CITY AND ENTRY LEVEL (11 cars)
The new Datsun GO is a clear winner here with a
parts basket of R37 631 (and a low selling price of R102 500). It’s a great
first-time purchase, making owning a new car affordable. It may lack a few
refinements like ABS brakes and airbags, but it’s a solid little vehicle for
basic transport.
Second overall in parts is the Nissan Micra at R44 479 (both are
sourced from India) and third is the Polo Vivo at R49 805.
Best for servicing parts is the fourth placed Ford Figo followed by
the Micra and Spark. The GO shines in repair parts and crash parts with Micra
second and Figo third in repair parts and GO, Nissan Micra and Polo Vivo taking
the top three spots in crash parts.
SUPER MINI (10 cars)
The Renault Sandero (R65 517) narrowly pips the
Fiat 500 (R65 738) with the Peugeot a not-too distant third with a parts basket
of R67 463.
The least expensive car to service is the seventh placed Polo, some
R250 less than the Sandero in second place, followed by the Fiat. In the repair
portion you are better off with a Fiat 500 while accident parts costs are lowest
for the Sandero, followed by the Peugeot 208 and Fiat.
FAMILY FAVOURITES (9 cars)
A pair of real family favourites, two Toyota
Corollas take first and second — the Prestige just edging out the Quest at
R67 078 and R69 466. Third is the Alfa Giulietta, which always seems to surprise
with its competitiveness.
Most economical to service is the VW Golf 7 ( sixth overall)
followed by the Hyundai Elantra, both substantially less than the
Corollas.
In the repair section the Elantra and Kia Cerato are tops, with the
Golf in third spot.
The Corollas come into their own with substantially less expensive
crash parts, over R15 000 better than the third-placed Alfa.
It’s important that if the purchase price of a vehicle is
comparatively low that the crash parts are inexpensive to avoid reaching the
write-off point. With any insurance you are still better off repairing than
writing off the vehicle as you are seldom paid out enough to replace your
vehicle and end up having to pay in a considerable amount. The Alfa, with a more
expensive selling price, is one of only two cars in the survey with a parts
basket to selling price percentage of under 20%.
COMPACT CROSSOVER
(4 vehicles)
The Toyota Avanza heads up this class with a
parts basket of R67 786, ahead of the Ford Eco Sport, one of the latest
one-litre Turbo engine vehicles. Third is the Renault Duster.
The Duster is the least expensive vehicle to service followed by
the Avanza and new Citroën Cactus 1.2 (fourth).
The Avanza is substantially less pricey for both repair and crash
parts, with the Renault Duster second in repair parts and the Eco Sport second
in crash parts. Citroën has come up with an innovative idea to deal with minor
scratches — the Cactus has plastic panels on the sides of the vehicle which are
capable of absorbing impacts of about 3 km/h, like supermarket trolley damage.
These can be individually replaced when necessary.
CROSSOVER (10 vehicles)
Toyoya’s Fortuner heads the list here once more
with a parts basket of R77 413 compared with the second-placed Kia Sportage at
R92 992 and the Toyota Rav4 at R97 708.
Most economical Crossover to service is the Mitsubishi ASX,
followed by the Hyundai iX 35 and the Nissan X Trail.
Repair cost honours go to the Fortuner just ahead of the Chev
Trailblazer (fourth overall), both well ahead of the third placed Kia
Sportage.
The Fortuner is also the most economical in the crash parts section
by close to R14 000, followed by the Sportage and Rav4.
As a percentage of basket price to selling price, the Fortuner has
the lowest figure in the survey at 16%.
EXECUTIVE CROSSOVER (7 vehicles)
These are the real top dog SUVs and Kinsey felt
they warranted a class of their own. Priced at over R750 000, and all automatic,
the parts prices are probably more of academic than economic interest to their
owners, but might be an eye opener to many others of us.
The winner here is the Volvo XC 90 with a total parts basket price
of R164 508, followed by the Audi Q7 and close on its heels the Toyota Prado.
All these vehicles have extensive service plans and it is only if
they are kept for a long time or run up very high mileages that the cost of
servicing could become an issue.
Volvo has the lowest service parts cost at R4 810, followed by the
Range Rover Evoque (fourth) and the Prado.
In the repair section the Evoque has the least expensive basket
ahead of the Quattro and the Volvo. The Toyota Prado is severely hampered by
having very expensive shock absorbers, which make the repair basket the most
expensive of the group, but is able to pull back to a competitive position by
having less costly crash parts than the Volvo and Audi.
DOUBLE CABS (8 vehicles)
Here three countries of origin compete for the
top position. India wins with the Tata Xenon (basket price of R58 527) followed
by Japan with the Toyota Hilux Raider (R85 986) and China’s GWM Steed 6
(R89 437).
The GWM has the most competitive service costs at R2 269 ahead of
Tata and Isuzu KB300 (fourth overall).
Repair parts winner is the VW Amarok — though it must be noted here
that most Amarok double cab sales are with automatic gearboxes, so there are no
clutch and pressure plate and flywheel prices in the list, as with the manual
transmissions.
GWM comes second.
Crash parts sees Tata Xenon the clear winner by more than R20 000
on the second-placed Toyota Raider
SINGLE CABS (8 bakkies)
We are not exactly comparing apples with apples
here, since we have included two half-ton bakkies agaist the full-tonners.
The Nissan NP 200, with a parts basket of R47 026, just pips its
larger brother NP 300 Hardbody for first spot.
Third is the other “small fry” the Chev Utility 1.4 Club.
Servicing honours go to Nissan Hardbody, a scant R23 from the NP
200 with the Chev Ute in third.
The Chev Ute retaliates by having the best repair parts basket
ahead of the two Nissans.
And in the crash parts it’s the two Nissans in first and second
place again.
However, it is interesting to look at the rest of the bakkies in
this section
— the one tonners — the Isuzu 250 leads the
Toyota Hilux, Mazda BT 50, Ford Ranger 2.2 and VW Amarok.
EXECUTIVE SALOONS (7 cars)
The first three places are very closely
contested — R2 500 separated them in their parts basket prices.
Leader is the BMW 320, followed by the Audi A4
and the Infiniti Q50, which is a first in the Kinsey Report.
All these vehicles are automatic, so there are no pricey clutch and
flywheel costs.
Audi comes out top in the servicing section ahead of the Infiniti
and all the cars are within a thousand rand or so.
The repair portion has the Infiniti well ahead with a larger range
of costs.
The crash parts costs reflect the overall basket — first to the
BMW, second to the Audi and third to the Infinity.
