Try the tool
Car Affordability Calculator
Most people budget for the car repayment and forget the rest. In reality, the repayment is often less than half the true cost of running a car in South Africa. Here is the full picture.
The full monthly cost breakdown
| Cost | Typical monthly | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Repayment | R4,500 | On ~R230k financed |
| Insurance | R1,200 | Comprehensive |
| Fuel | R2,500 | Average commute |
| Maintenance | R900 | Services, tyres set-aside |
| Licensing | R50 | Annual fee, monthly |
| True total | ~R9,150 | Double the repayment |
Work out your own numbers in seconds:
Calculate what you can truly afford →Depreciation — the invisible cost
A new car can lose 20–30% of its value in two years. On a R300,000 car, that is up to R90,000 gone — a cost you do not see monthly but pay when you sell or trade in.
How to reduce your true cost
- Buy a 2–3 year old used car to skip the steepest depreciation
- Shop around for insurance annually — it adds up
- Keep the car longer once it is paid off — those are your cheapest years
- Stay within the 15% repayment and 25% total-cost rules
Run your real numbers through the car affordability calculator, then check it fits your monthly plan with the lifestyle affordability calculator.