Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Collection options to avoid drinking and driving

South African drivers are often left with a very serious dilemma... How to get home after having a few drinks. With even stricter laws being enforced to keep our roads safe, having even a couple of drinks could result in large fines or even jail time. While this hard stance is very necessary from a safety point, it does throw a potential dampener on the festive season, as a spontaneous drink or two is out of the question... or is it?
With the advent of designated driver collection / taxi / chauffeur services, South Africans and their cars can now be collected from just about anywhere in the country after having a few too many. This solves the riddle of getting both yourself and your vehicle home safely after a night out. To find out more about these drunk driver collection services, visit Cars.co.za's article post : Designated driver services in SA. The article fully discusses the procedures, costs and benefits of such services, as well as providing a lost of some of the major chauffeur services available in South Africa.
With options like this available, there really is no excuse left to drink and drive. Lets make South Africa's roads safer!

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Volkswagen Cross Coupe concept

German car manufacturing giant Volkswagen has debuted  its new concept car the  VW Cross Coupe, which is a compact hybrid crossover SUV, at the Tokyo Motor Show.

The electric car is said to be able to cover 40km on electricity alone, powered by 2 electric motors. Typical of hybrid cars, there is also a 148hp / 110 kW petrol engine.

From the images, the car looks very unique, and I am unsure as to whether I love it or hate it. The dimensions seem all wrong, and at times I am not sure if I am looking at a SUV or a compact car, which I assume is the point. The car almost looks squashed at times. Though I must say, the longer I have looked at the pictures, the more the VW Cross Coupe has grown on me. It certainly looks sleek and powerful. Personally, though  unlikely that you will see this Volkswagen for sale any time soon, I think that by blending many different styles of cars together, both aesthetically and functionally, VW have stumbled onto what may in the future be a winner.

To read the full article, including images, of this new concept car, visit the following link: Volkswagen Cross Coupe Concept

Looking for a car dealership in your area?

Finding the right dealership to buy your car from is important. As a consumer, you want to feel that your best interests are being looked after when it comes to price, quality and service.

Some users prefer to use our simple search facility to shortlist potential vehicles, contact the dealership though the Cars.co.za website and then visit the physical dealer stand for viewing. Others prefer to deal with a single car dealer. By visiting our car dealers page, you may browse thousands of car dealerships nationwide, and view the stock of all participating dealers who advertise on Cars.co.za.Cars.co.za has hundreds of dealer partners from across South Africa. These dealers make up the bulk of the used car stock which is advertised daily on the Cars.co.za website.

Viewing car dealer stock online is a great way to not only find your car, buy also key negotiating information such as competitive prices, other dealership offerings etc.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

How to save money instantly with car refinancing

Car financing is a common enough practice in South Africa, where car buyers obtain a loan to purchase their car and pay the lender back over a period of time. The monthly installments are usually fixed, with a slight increase every year. This enables the buyer to get the car immediately and pay it off over a predetermined budget period.

Car refinancing (car financing's lesser know sibling), enables buyers to obtain a second loan after a period of time to pay off the balance of the initial loan. This leaves room for renegotiation of interest rates and usually a reduction in monthly loan installments.
Why is this so beneficial?
The major benefit is that by refinancing your loan, you are able to increase your monthly expendable income overnight, which, in times of financial difficulty can be a prayer answered.

Cars.co.za has compiled a comprehensive article on car refinancing, highlighting the advantages of refinancing, disadvantages of refinancing, requirements for refinancing and examples of how car refinancing can save you money.

Follow this link to view our article on: Car refinancing and see how you too can save money overnight on your car finance, then simply complete our car finance form to get a quote from our independent car finance provider.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

December new car specials launched

With Christmas around the corner, shopping becomes the order of the day. Cars.co.za, together with our dealer partners, has launched our new car specials for December to help you get that new car you have always wanted.
This month's specials include:
  • Buy a 2011 Volkswagen Polo 1.5 Comfortline for the price of a 1.4
  • Get an Opel Astra 1.4 Turbo plus from only R 3 779 per month
  • Drive a Citroen DS3 150 Turbo high pressure sport from R 261 900 incl VAT
  • Buy the new Suzuki Kuzashi from only R 295 000
  • Drive a 2010 Toyota Corolla 1.6 Professional from only R 3 865 per month
Plus, there are still a few days left to cash in on our November car specials. There is no time to lose! Start the festive season with a bang and treat yourself to your dream car at a great price!

Should I buy my new car from a dealership or a private seller?

Information is power, especially when making a major purchase like a new car.

The next article in the car buyers guide series has been released. This article covers the topic of whether to buy your next car from a car dealer or from a private seller. While the answer is purely subjective, the article discusses both the advantages and disadvantages of each form of purchase with the aim to helping each user make the right choice for themselves when buying a car. Though a lot of the main reasoning is well documented and well know, there are a couple of intricacies discussed, which are often overlooked by the hurried buyer.

To read the full article comparing buying a car from a dealer and a private individual in South Africa, follow this link to Cars.co.za : Should I buy my car from a dealer or private seller

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Should I buy or lease my car?

We have recently launched a new article into our car buyers guide. This article, the first in the car buyers guide section, tackles the question of whether to buy or lease your next car.

The decision to buy or lease has many financial repercussions and is pivotal in determining where to look for you new car. Buying is a fairly common transaction in our South African society, but leasing is a term which is often misunderstood. To make this decision less daunting, the article defines both terms and highlights the advantages and disadvantages of each form of purchasing.

If you are in the market for a car, are likely to be in the near future, or know of anyone who is looking to purchase a new vehicle, this article is definitely the first place to start.

Link to the full article buying vs leasing article : Buying vs Leasing a carLink to the Car buyers guide : The Car Buyers Guide

Car buyers guide launched

Buying a car inherently comes with many difficult decisions. Wrong decisions could result in the wrong purchase, and with cars being such a indispensable and yes, expensive, commodity, a wrong purchase is just not an option.

Cars.co.za has begun creating a car buyers guide which will take the consumer through the intricacies of the car buying process, with the goal of aiding our users find the right car. This 15 step process will enable users to make more confident buys, which should in turn result in better pricing. Once the buying process, or part thereof, has been successfully completed by the user, they will be able to use our online facility to find the car which matches their new-found criteria, making Cars.co.za a one stop portal for all your car buying news.

Educating the our users is very important, and we hope that this will be the first step in providing valuable guides to South Africans.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Cars.co.za breaks the 17000 barrier

Cars.co.za has worked tirelessly over the past few months to ensure that our South African users now have even more choice when shopping for cars online than ever before. This hard work has resulted in CARS crashing through not only the 15,000 vehicle mark, but both the 16,000 and 17,000 vehicle stock marks as well. With a current number of 17,216 active cars for sale, there is definitely a car for everyone on the website.

This, however, is not the end of the line, as we continue to endeavour to acquire new stock daily in a quest to become the single most comprehensive car advertising website in the country. Look out 100,000 ... here we come!

There are also a number of other user enhancements planned in the near future, so stay tuned... you don't want to miss it.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Cars.co.za selected as one of South Africa's top 20 E-Commerce websites

Years of hard work has been rewarded for the Cars.co.za as we have been named as one of South Africa's top 20 E-commerce websites in the Jump Shopping 2011 South African E-commerce awards. Cars.co.za was also the only car focused portal to make the finals, a great achievement for us going forward. We are proud to have been voted by the public, who have justified all the extra attention paid to improving both user friendliness and customer service. Thanks to all who voted for us.

The finalists will now compete head to head for the top honours in the awards and the winners will be announced in November 2011. Lets hold thumbs that Cars.co.za can continue our strong run.

New car specials launched

Cars.co.za has taken a giant leap forward in our quest to help users find the best deals on their dream cars with our recently launched new car specials section. Some users prefer buying new cars over used cars and with these vehicle specials, the option now becomes a lot more attractive.

The new car specials section will be updated regularly with the hottest new car deals from around South Africa and will enable users to get that new car at the best possible price. The obligation free enquiry process is as simple as ever and users can expect the same high quality service from Cars.co.za that has always been our goal.

So whether you are interested in new cars or used cars for sale... Cars.co.za is the place to begin your search.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Cars.co.za nominated for E-Commerce awards

Cars.co.za has been nominated as one of South Africa's top websites in the 2011 South African E-commerce awards.
The annual event, hosted by Jump Shopping, allows the South African public to vote on their favourite E-commerce websites.
This is the second year in which Cars.co.za will compete in the awards and we are excited that with all the hard work done in the last 12 months, the public will back us and help us take honours in this prestigious event.
To Vote for Cars.co.za in awards, simply visit Jump Shopping and click on the large "Vote Now" button. Feel free to like / tweet the page as this will also help other users to become aware of their ability to cast their vote in the initial phase of voting.
Here's to hoping we get a good response!

BMW's impressive new i8 concept car

BMW have outdown themselves with their new i8 concept car.

Not only is it the most impressively designed modern car I have seen this year, but the credentials that back it up are equally appealing. What could easily have been released as a top of the range sports vehicle has been moulded into a benchmark in environmental excellence on the car front. The BMW i8 is said to have zero emissions, run on electricity for up to 35km and have an hybrid engine.
The performance is equally impressive for such a green car, with statistics like 0-100km in 5 seconds and a top speed of 250km/h. The hybrid engine fuel economy is aimed at less than 3l per 100km.
Scheduled for release in 2014, this car will go a long way to creating a positive image of eco-friendly cars, where style is certainly not compromised in the pursuit going green.
I cannot wait for this car to be released!

Friday, June 24, 2011

South African motoring news

There is no shortage of resources when it comes to car news in South Africa. There are many car magazines, online car websites, virtual magazines who all offer similar things. With the advent of social media, portals like facebook and twitter are also fantastic resources for keeping one's finger on the pulse of the motoring industry. In fact, there is almost too much news readily available. Filtering through the mass of articles is the tricky bit.

Cars.co.za has paid special focus to our motoring news section, where we aim to post only the most relevant car news to our South African audience. We also strive to be first to print (or in our case, web) with these articles, so that you are always in the loop. We have also embraced the social media platforms that our audience so loves, and use both facebook and twitter to keep you up to date on the latest developements within cars.co.za and the car industry.

So if you are looking for news on your favourite car, the motoring industry as a whole or are just looking for something interesting to read today, visit our motoring news section on Cars.co.za today.

To keep updated with the latest news going forward, please use one of the following media:

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Cars.co.za car stock increased to over 15000!

Cars.co.za received a huge vehicle boost today, upping our cars for sale tally to a over 15 000! This is by far the most cars we have had listed on the website at any given time and is a momentous occasion in the websites history. With the 15000 mark being surpassed, South African buyers now have even more choice on Cars.co.za which is a step up in delivering our users the ultimate service offering. More vehicles = more choice for our shoppers!

This new stock, compiled from car dealerships across the country, comprises most of the major brands including South Africa's favourites Volkswagen, Toyota, BMW, Audi, Hyundai, Renault, Mercedes-Benz and many more.
We will continue to source more vehicles in the future with the aim to continually improve both the quantity and quality of vehicles listed on the website so that our users can be assured of the best car shopping experience.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Sell your car quickly with private online advertising

Selling cars privately has always been a bit of a grey area, especially in South Africa. There is potential for huge financial gains if done properly, but this is counteracted they inconvenience of it all, the inability to accurately price the car as well as the stigma created by stories of crime surrounding the private car transactions.
Weighing up these pros and cons, the individual must decide if the time and risk are worth the potential monetary reward. Some people will shake their heads and drive to the nearest dealership, taking the "safer" option, while others will decide on a price and begin the journey down the road of private vehicle sales.
So you have decided to begin the journey? We begin by analysing the pre-owned vehicle for sale. Here are some tips on how to sell car:

What is the vehicle worth?
The best way to determine the worth of a vehicle in the current South African market is to see what other sellers are selling their cars for. How do you do this? Simple, log onto a car sales website like http://www.cars.co.za and do a search for your car. Compare the specs and prices of each other returned vehicle results and logically position yourself in the market.
You may also wish to get some quotes from dealers on a trade in value of your car, this will probably be a little lower than its market value as the dealer will likely wish to sell this vehicle on.

What price should I sell my car for?
Now that you have an idea of what you second hand car is worth, you can price it according to how desperately you wish to sell. The lower your advertising price (below market value) the more likely your car will be sold quickly. If you have time on your side, you can always try and advertise it a little above market value to start with in a hope to get a sale. Should you not make the sale you can adjust the price accordingly.

Where should I advertise my car for sale?
Deciding to sell your used car is one thing, but you need to let the general public, and especially the car buying market that your car exists and is for sale! There are various ways to do this, but in this day and age none cheaper and easier than the internet. Cars.co.za offers private advertisers the ability to advertise their used cars to hundreds of thousands of car buyers each month for as little as R6 per day. That is cheaper than driving to a single dealership or show day!
With the right price and the right marketing, it shouldn't take long until you are receiving queries about your old car and are free to begin making queries about your future new car!

The most fuel efficient car in South Africa

With today's focus on being "green", the fuel consumption of cars has rapidly come into the spotlight. Where consumers previously wanted the biggest high performance engines, there now seems to have been a general shift towards smaller engines, and even hybrid cars, with a view to not only reduce petrol cost, but also to do a little extra towards saving our environment from the clutches of global warming.

South Africa, while a little off the initial pace, is slowly following suit and beginning to place more and more importance onto the fuel efficiency of cars when purchasing. A hot topic on the Cars.co.za forum, this article sheds a little more light onto what the most fuel efficient cars in South Africa are:

Most fuel efficient cars in South Africa

When first launched the Toyota Prius was considered by many to be the ultimate hybrid vehicle and the father of the modern day hybrid car. Will it still maintain the top spot in the fuel efficiency department going forward? In 2010 it certainly did!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

4 Top car brands achieve their Millenium!

With the recent injection of used car stock onto Cars.co.za, many milestones have been achieved. Cars.co.za now has four brands with over 1000 vehicles listed for sale.

Without further ado, I give you our Millenium brands:

1. used Volkswagen (2108)
2. used Toyota (1183)
3. used Chevrolet (1110)
4. used BMW (1077)

Whilst VW, Toyota and BMW are generally recognised as top car brands in South Africa, it was somewhat of a surprise to see Chevrolet pipping BMW for the third spot. Chevrolet, a huge brand overseas, has been underrepresented in the South African market for sometime. The introduction of the Chevrolet spark coupled with an aggressive marketing campaign has done wonders to further the Chevrolet brand in South Africa.

BMW official vehicle sponsor to the boks

It's official! BMW are now the vehicle sponsor to the reigning IRB Rugby world champs, the South African Springboks!
The deal, concluded in May 2011, will see Springbok players sporting BMW cars whilst playing Test matches on South African soil. In return the players will don shorts bearing the BMW logo when on the field, starting with their Tri-nations clash with Australia in Syndey next month.
It's great to see one of the motoring giants getting behind the national rugby side as they prepare for their World Cup defense in New Zealand later this year.

Cars.co.za now has over 12000 used cars for sale in South Africa

When it comes to buying a used car, having a good selection of vehicles to choose from is important. So often we are forced to compromise our wants simply because the ideal used car is not for sale, or it is for sale and we just do not know about it. Cars.co.za strives to offer South Africans the ultimate car buying experience, and having vast quantities of stock to choose from is imperative. With the 12000 vehicle mark recently being achieved, we have taken a huge step forward in enabling our users to have that much more choice when car shopping!

Gauteng, being the hub of South Africa and the South African motoring industry, is where the majority of these advertised cars are located. There are a whopping 6000 Used Cars for sale in Gauteng advertised by hundreds of different car dealers and private car sellers in Johannesburg, Pretoria and many other smaller metropolises.
Whilst the largest, Gauteng is not the only major area catered for by Cars.co.za. The Western Cape and Kwazulu-Natal are also well represented with over 2000 used cars for sale listed in each province. The other 6 provinces are also catered for, but with smaller markets, these areas have far smaller stock values.

So if you are looking to buy a used car, whether in Gauteng or Limpopo, visit Cars.co.za today and search our comprehensive database for the car of your dreams!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

The new way to trade in your used car

The car buying process is often made up of two parts - buying a new car and selling your current car. Whilst there is endless joy in the process of finding and purchasing a new vehicle, the second part is often met with less enthusiasm. Ridding yourself of your second hand car is often a chore. Selling your car privately, especially in our South African society, can be time consuming and dangerous and many people opt for the quick and painless option of trading in their car to the dealer from whom they purchase their new car. While convenient, the trade in value for the car is usually way under value and due to lack of options, the user is forced to take this reduced price.
Technology, however, is changing the way car trade ins work, by allowing the user to access a larger dealer market and enabling them to "bid" on the car. This allows the seller the convenience previously afforded by trading in, but also the competitive market of multiple buyers. Still, one will never quite get the price possible if selling privately, but its a step in the right direction!

To obtain an obligation free trade in quote, or to begin the trade in process, visit the Cars.co.za used car trade in page now!

Applying for car finance online

Car finance is a tedious process at the best of times. Let's face it, with the credit crunch still fresh in everyone's mind, its highly unlikely that any finance house is going to authorise credit for unworthy applicants. The result of such stringent finance application criteria is that applicants must be checked and double checked to ensure that they are in fact worthy of credit.

The car finance sector is no exception, and applying for car finance can be a lengthy and inconvenient process. Cars.co.za has recently taken steps towards offering our users a slightly easier alternative, by partnering with local car finance giant Carfin to offer users speedy online applications and pre-approval.

Carfin have been industry leaders in online car finance and have worked hard to streamline the application process. There team of professionals will guide users through the improved application process from the comfort of their home.

Looking to get finance for your car? Why not give us a try.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Car sales in South Africa hit by Tsunami?

The affects of March's catastrophic Tsunami in Japan will begin to be felt by the South African car community as parts for various Japanese manufacturer vehicles may become scarce. The natural disaster experienced earlier this year put a huge dampener on many Japanese industries, not least of all the Motor trade. Whilst the affects of this were not immediate on the majority of the world, largely due to shipping delays, they are certain to be felt in the near future, if not already. This could severely harm major brands like Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda.

While there is no certainty surrounding this matter, it is believed that it may impact hugely on new and used car sales in the South African market and around the world. Hopefully this should stabalise as the year wears on and the Japanese market recovers.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Oldsmobiles on the move

The scenic roads of the Garden route between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay offered a little more than the usual siteseeing this morning, as a convoy of vintage cars meandered down the road. Whilst these classic cars did cause a little delay en route, it was hardly noticed as passers by reveled in the rare sight.
The colourful convoy, driving between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, even included a stylish Rolls-Royce.
It was wonderful to see such old school beauties, more so on the road and not in some museum.
I must congratulate the people who have maintained these wonderful pieces of history, and hope one day to be in a position where I may acquire a collection of such cars for sale for my very own.
Until such time, Ill stick to driving more modern and probably reliable vehicles.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Volkswagen Date Drive

Volkswagen South Africa have taken a very different spin on marketing of late, and it seems to be working. The car manufacturing giant recently launched their new Polo GTI to it's South African audience with an interesting campaign called the DateDrive.

Although not a revolutionary concept, the test drive having been around for as long as cars themselves, the new marketing angle and use of social media platforms has helped VW to create some hype and genuine interest around test driving the new Volkswagen Polo GTI.

Sporting the tagline "Driving a Volkswagen Polo GTI makes you more attractive", the DateDrive allows couples to take the new Polo for a night on the town, whilst monitoring their vital statistics, through supplied instruments and their mental attitude through the popular social media platform Twitter. This information is published on the DateDrive site for public consumption and hype creation.

Looking at the users reaction to driving this car, it certainly seems that either Volkswagen's tagline claim is correct, or they have marketed it in such a way as to make it so.

Twitter Blanket Drive supported by Cars.co.za

The Twitter Blanket Drive #TBD is a South African charity initiative started be Melanie Minnaar, with the aim of providing warmth to the less fortunate during the colder months. A simple concept, fueled by passion and love, has turned into a great national event, where thousands of twitter users have come together over the platform to support the cause.

Tweet-ups were hosted across the country, where tweeps could drop off a blanket and have a cup of coffee and a chat. Cars.co.za took time out from the usual Car Sales to support this worthy cause, both my promoting the event and donating blankets in our corporate capacity.

This is a wonderful example of how we can use technology to come together and help build a better country, and I salute the TBD, its founders and supporters for making a positive difference!

Support the TBD and lets help make South Africa a warmer place to live this winter!

Cars.co.za Twitter Blanket Drive Press Released
Twitter blanket drive official site

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Are cars getting cheaper?

Naturally, as with all things, as technology gets more advanced, the cost of producing cars will diminish. This invariably means that the price of cars, or at least the price for the equivalent car, should come down. This is a wonderful theory, and quite solid, however in practice this is far from the truth.
The reality of the situation, is that car as technology improves, cars improve. You may be getting a lot more for your buck, relatively speaking, but you will still be paying the same, albeit inflated, price for your vehicle.
So, while we like to dream that one day the price of cars will drop so that we can all afford the cheap cars of our dreams, until such time as some new transport technology replaces the car, it looks very likely that the relative price of buying a car will stay very constant.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Gauteng Highway Tolling Tariffs Announced

The long anticipated announcement of the new Gauteng highway tolling tariffs has finally been made. SANRAL (The South African National Roads Agency Limited) has launched a online tariff calculator to enable motorists to calculate the effect the impending toll system will have on their finances. This toll system is aimed at improving the quality of the 185Km of highway in and around Gauteng.

The 4 step E-toll calculator is very easy to use, but the results are quite shocking. My initial reaction is that the prices are ridiculous, though SANRAL do offer various discounts which, when compounded, may offer some respite. These high prices could drastically effect all road users as those seeking to avoid tolls may cause additional congestion on previously quiet back roads.

The system looks to further extend the gap between social classes in South Africa, as the rich now have full benefit of a free flowing highway, well maintained highway, while the poor are left to duke it out on busier, less maintained side roads.

The highway may however have some positive influence, as high commuting prices may force the public to look to cut vehicle running costs in additional avenues, such as car pooling, buying cheap cars, petrol consumption or car insurance. This may lead to a rise in the number of small or hybrid cars on the roads, with an overall improvement on the environmental effects.