Cars.co.za creates Apple iPhone and iPad App

Johannesburg, South Africa. Local car sales website Cars.co.za released their new App for iPhone and iPad today. Incorporated in the App are many of the same tools available on the full website. The App enables users to browse used cars, new cars and new car specials. There are also a number of other useful tools packaged within the App - motoring news, finance calculators and insurance quote generators.

Full press release 
Download the App

Cars.co.za launches new mobile site

Yesterday Cars.co.za launched their new mobile website. The site has a completely new design and has plenty of added features. The site feels clean and easy to navigate.

According to the press release "...our goal was to create a lightning fast mobile website, which looked good and enabled users to find their next car easily. The site underwent a complete redesign as we identified key features that the new mobile site needed to include."

Enhanced mobile site features

• Improved design and layout
• Improved navigation
• Improved used car browsing interface
• Powerful refine search feature
• Multiple car images supported
• Simplified enquiry process
• Complete database of new cars available in South Africa
• Browse for new cars on your mobile phone
• Book a test drive / Enquire on new cars
• Browse monthly new car specials
• View the latest motoring news

Quicklinks

Cars.co.za mobile site

Cars.co.za mobile site launch press release

Car sales figures for Feb 2010 showing impressive increases

As noted in previous articles, the car industry is making an impressive recover from last year’s recession. Sales figures for almost all of the major brands are on the rise since late last year and things don’t seem to be slowing down.

Consumers are having an easier time spending and there is far less fear regarding the economy and the automobile market. This is great news for car dealerships who really had a hard time in 2009 with really low sales figures and little consumer interest.

February’s sales figures continue the upward trend though, and many of the big manufacturers are noting impressive continued increases. The new and used car market seems to have made a complete recovery and the future looks bright, especially for these 3 major brands.

BMW Group increases sales by 14.0 percent in February




The BMW Group once again improved sales volumes substantially in February of this year. A total of 91,758 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce automobiles were delivered to customers (prev. yr. 80,474) – representing an increase of 14.0%. The figure for the year to the end of February was 173,911 units – 15.3% higher than the previous year (150,893).

Source: BMW

Audi Maintains Strong Sales Growth in February


Mar 8, 2010 - AUDI AG reports worldwide sales of around 75.900 automobiles in February. The sales tally for the month is thus 19.9 percent up on February 2009. For the first two months of the year combined, unit sales by the Ingolstadt-based brand showed a rise of 28.7 percent on the prior-year period.

Source: Audi

Mercedes-Benz Continues Success of Past Months – Sales Up 13 Percent in February


In February, Mercedes-Benz was once again able to continue its momentum of the past months, with sales increasing by 13 percent to 72,100 vehicles (February 2009: 63,600). As a result, the total number of deliveries has risen by 18 percent since the beginning of the year.

Source: Mercedes-Benz

The fact remains that these brands are so big it really takes something huge for their sales to drop. This did happen during 2009 but they have rebounded with force and are once again thriving in the new and used car market. Along with Volkswagen, these 4 German car makers are hugely popular in South Africa and as usual you can find a comprehensive list of their cars at Cars.co.za

Gauteng’s most popular used car brands.

Cars.co.za – Gauteng’s most popular used car brands.

As the business hub of South Africa, Gauteng has no shortage of high LSM residents. This additional spending power is often visible in the cars that residents of South Africa’s smallest province choose

JAZZ Tops table for holding its value

The Honda Jazz is Britain's best car for retaining its value according to Parker's annual depreciation report which surveyed almost 300 model ranges.

As well as class-leading residual values, the latest Jazz – which went on sale in 2008 – offers many features of a bigger car such as load space, driving feel and high-spec equipment, but with the great fuel economy, low emissions and more affordable running costs of a small one.

“The latest version of the Honda Jazz picks up where the previous model left off as a very desirable used car,” said Kieren Puffett, editor of Parker's. “A combination of incredible flexibility for a vehicle of its size, the interior space of a much larger car and low running costs make it just as appealing to used car buyers as it does to those choosing new. It proved to be the safest investment on four wheels during 2009.”

The Parker’s survey uses the value of cars, as if they were being sold privately, in good condition with 10,000 miles on the clock and compares this to their cost as new, 12 months earlier.

Small cars showed they are certainly the safest bet for depreciation, taking 35 of the top 40 places in the index.

The Honda Jazz is Britain's best car for retaining its value according to Parker's annual depreciation report which surveyed almost 300 model ranges.

“The latest version of the Honda Jazz picks up where the previous model left off as a very desirable used car,” said Kieren Puffett, editor of Parker's. “A combination of incredible flexibility for a vehicle of its size, the interior space of a much larger car and low running costs make it just as appealing to used car buyers as it does to those choosing new. It proved to be the safest investment on four wheels during 2009.”

The Parker’s survey uses the value of cars, as if they were being sold privately, in good condition with 10,000 miles on the clock and compares this to their cost as new, 12 months earlier.

Small cars showed they are certainly the safest bet for depreciation, taking 35 of the top 40 places in the index.

The best performers of 2009

1 Honda Jazz (08 on) - £1379

2 Fiat 500 (08 on) - £1460

3 SEAT Ibiza (08 on) - £1552

4 Hyundai i10 (08 on) - £1650

5 Mazda 2 (07 on) - £1702

The biggest losers of 2009

1 Maybach 62 (03 on) - £127,526

2 Maybach 57 (03 on) - £115,253

3 Rolls-Royce Phantom (03 on) - £81,183

4 Bentley Arnage (98 on) - £66,040

5 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti (05 on) - £51,627

Source: Honda

Quality used cars over R500 000?

As a follow up to the article I wrote last week on Quality used cars for under R30k, I thought it would be only fair to write something on some of the options in a slightly more expensive range. And by ‘slightly’ I mean ‘quite a lot more than slightly’. It is however a far more difficult topic to write about, as there are so many more options of used cars over R500 000 at Cars.co.za to look at. That said I have picked out three which for one reason or another just make you feel good.

Hummer H2 S.U.T

As for any kind of used car at or around this price, you will expect it to be at least fairly new. There will be some exceptions that will be from the 90’s but its going to be rare. As for the Hummer, it’s probably the coolest of the 4x4 range. There is obvious competition from the likes of Land Rover and Jeep etc, but those vehicles actually have a use and a purpose. Hummer vehicles on the other hand are made simply as … I’m not even sure, but that’s the appeal.

The Hummer slogan is ‘Like nothing else’ and I think that about sums it up, the sheer audacity and ridiculousness of the Hummer is what makes it a worthwhile buy. If you happen to have R899 000 lying around and are going to be attending movie premiers with your fishing rods in the back and a canoe on the roof, then this is the car for you.

Mileage: 27 098km

Year: 2008

Cost: R899 000

As for any kind of used car at or around this price, you will expect it to be at least fairly new. There will be some exceptions that will be from the 90’s but its going to be rare. As for the Hummer, it’s probably the coolest of the 4x4 range. There is obvious competition from the likes of Land Rover and Jeep etc, but those vehicles actually have a use and a purpose. Hummer vehicles on the other hand are made simply as … I’m not even sure, but that’s the appeal.

The Hummer slogan is ‘Like nothing else’ and I think that about sums it up, the sheer audacity and ridiculousness of the Hummer is what makes it a worthwhile buy. If you happen to have R899 000 lying around and are going to be attending movie premiers with your fishing rods in the back and a canoe on the roof, then this is the car for you.

BMW Z4 2.5 si Roadster

Mileage: 3563km

Year: 2009

Cost: R529 000

The BMW has the prestigious honour of being the cheapest car on this list, at just over half a million, ‘cheap’ is a relative term. When looking at used cars valued at over R500 000 you would probably expect to find a list of supercars, but the BMW Z4 hardtop holds a special place in my heart. I’m not sure what it is, but I just really like it, which is strange because I don’t like the convertible soft top at all. I can’t actually imagine why anyone would buy the convertible version over the hardtop, my imagination apparently stops before the ‘wanting to drive with the top down’ part.

At a paltry 3563km this car is practically new but you will be saving around R70k on a brand new version which definitely seems worth it. You won’t be able to fit your canoe on the roof, like the Hummer, but you will have a lot more speed and with almost no seating at all, you will at least never be asked to pick up kids from school.

Lamborghini Gallardo

Mileage: 20 201km

Year: 2006

Cost: R2 500 000

I think it’s only fair that in an article of this nature I include at least one car that for all intents and purposes has no intents and purposes and exists purely as a sick joke. You could never logically justify purchasing this car and assuming you can afford to buy one; you won’t need to ever justify it. By simply owning this car you automatically win every argument, become the sexiest person on earth and are the best friend ever to anyone you take for a drive in it. That right there is probably justification for the price, in fact when you look at it like that, it’s actually quite cheap.