Top-selling used cars in South Africa right now – including average price, year, and mileage

·19 Nov 2023

Despite several financial pressures, South Africans are still buying vehicles, especially from the used car market, in a bid to find a value-for-money deal – and there have been some clear favourites among the cars bought in October.

AutoTrader used car sales data shows that sales of used cars in October grew 4% month-on-month to 32,839 units.

“While used car sales grew by an additional 1,203 units in October, the average selling price dipped to R385,460 from R403,626 in September, signalling consumer affordability pressures. Increased sales of more affordable models supports this view,” said George Mienie, CEO of AutoTrader.

As in previous months, Toyota, Volkswagen and Ford maintained their top three positions as the brands that sold the most vehicles. Back in the top ten was Renault, but Audi fell two places and out of the placings, noted AutoTrader.

There were few changes to the top ten sold models. The Ford Ranger still leads, but in October, Toyota Hilux sales eclipsed those of the VW Polo by 57 units, allowing the bakkie to nab second spot from the hatchback. No changes, though, to the three best-selling variants.

“The VW Polo 1.0 TSI, VW Polo Vivo 1.4 and Toyota Hilux 2.8GD-6 remain ahead of the pack,” the online vehicle market said.

“But it was not all a case of the same old same old in October. There were some interesting developments, not least of which was the plight of the Jeep Wrangler,” it added.

After exponential growth in previous months, the adventure SUV plummeted from 6th to 24th position. This was likely due to price point and fuel consumption biting a bit higher, said Autotrader.

The Suzuki Swift’s month-on-month growth of 13.64% saw the roomy Japanese hatchback in the top ten best-selling models. And it was not the only model to display significant sales growth.

Two premium sedans, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and BMW 3 Series, upped their sales by 13.34% and 13.65%, respectively.

“Older year models with high mileage are no deterrent to Mercedes-Benz and BMW buyers. The models’ continuous presence in the top ten says much about the faith that car buyers have in the build quality, safety and longevity of these two German models,” said AutoTrader.

It added that seven-year-old models with around 100,000km mileage averaged selling prices of R439,806 and R366,577, respectively.

The top 10 best-selling used cars in South Africa – including their average price, year, and mileage – and how many units where sold in October 2023 are listed below.

1. Ford Ranger – 1,790 units sold