Lebogang Gaoaketse | Head | Marketing and Communications | WesBank | mail me |
Most of us know the feeling. The car goes in for something small. Then, the workshop calls back, and the quote lands well above what you budgeted for. A few months later, it happens again. Somewhere between the second and third invoice, the thought arrives: is it time to let this one go?
It is a fair question, and it deserves more than a gut feel. Consumer inflation cooled to 4,3% in July 2026, down from 5,0% in June, according to Statistics South Africa. However, the relief has been uneven. Annual transport inflation sat at 8,9% over the same month. Petrol remained 19,3% more expensive than it was a year earlier.
How do you know when it is time to replace your car?
Keeping a vehicle on the road has been getting steadily more expensive, month by month. These costs seldom show up as a single big number. The good news is that you can work out this decision on paper. Age on its own answers very little.
A ten-year-old vehicle that has been serviced consistently and covers modest distances can be considerably cheaper to run than a five-year-old one. The difference becomes even clearer when the newer vehicle spends every second month in a workshop. The useful question is what the vehicle costs you each month once everything is counted.
Owners tend to compare a repair bill against a monthly instalment, and that comparison is incomplete. What a vehicle costs over time includes servicing, tyres, fuel, insurance, licensing and the repairs you did not plan for. Once you add all of it up and divide by twelve, you have a number you can actually decide with.
Work out what you are really spending
Start with the past twelve months. Add up everything the vehicle has cost. Include services, tyres, brakes, batteries, unscheduled repairs, insurance premiums, licence renewal and fuel. Divide the total by twelve to get a monthly running cost.
Owners who have never done this exercise are often surprised by the result. Keep receipts and workshop invoices where you can. Where records are patchy, a reasonable estimate is still more useful than a guess based on the instalment alone.
That monthly figure is what you should measure a replacement vehicle against. A newer vehicle carries an instalment. However, it also carries lower repair exposure, a warranty or service plan in many cases, and generally better fuel consumption. The comparison only works when you count both sides in the same way.
When considering replacing a car, therefore, start with the complete monthly cost. Do not focus only on the finance instalment. A vehicle that appears cheaper to finance could still cost more when you include fuel, insurance and maintenance.
Look at reliability, and at what unreliability costs
Once a vehicle is out of warranty and past its service plan, the owner carries the full risk of every failure. That risk is worth pricing. Watch for repeat faults on the same system. A component that has failed twice will often fail again.
Consider how long the vehicle is off the road when it breaks. This matters particularly where the vehicle supports your income or your ability to get to work. Parts availability matters too, especially on older models where lead times can stretch.
Where repairs are being funded on short-term credit or a credit card, the true cost of keeping the vehicle is higher than the invoice shows. Interest charges can therefore change the calculation significantly.
Signals that replacement may be the better decision
If you are considering replacing a car, reliability should form part of the calculation. A predictable monthly payment may offer greater certainty than repeated unexpected repair costs. However, the decision still depends on the complete financial picture.
A few practical indicators are worth checking:
- Repair costs over twelve months amount to a meaningful share of the vehicle’s trade or resale value.
- The same system keeps failing despite being repaired.
- Safety-critical items are due, such as tyres, brakes, suspension or a timing component.
- Fuel consumption has drifted upward as the engine has aged.
- Your monthly running cost is now sitting close to what a replacement instalment would be.
These indicators do not automatically mean you should replace the vehicle. Instead, they highlight areas that deserve closer financial attention. They can help you determine whether replacing a car makes sense based on your own numbers.
If you do replace, decide on affordability first
Replacing a vehicle should be a planned financial decision, and affordability is the starting point. Work out what you can comfortably commit to each month, factor in insurance and running costs, and understand what your current vehicle is worth as a deposit or trade-in. Stretching the term to force the instalment down makes the vehicle more expensive over its life.
Establish the full monthly commitment before you shop. Use a repayment calculator to test different deposit and term combinations. Also, compare finance options before you apply. Where your current vehicle still holds value, that value can reduce what you need to finance.
The right answer differs from one household to the next, and both answers are valid. What matters is that the decision is based on your own numbers. Understand what you are spending now, understand what a replacement would commit you to, and then choose the option that moves your household forward.