Soaring repair costs are seeing slightly damaged cars being declared total write-offs
This growing trend is largely attributed to the challenges in sourcing spare parts due to a multitude of issues, including the implementation of import tariffs by the United States
FILE: A car accident. Picture: © angurt/123rf.com
Stephen Grootes interviews Warren Tucker, a motoring enthusiast and vehicle reviewer about the growing trend in South Africa where vehicles with minor damage are being declared total losses due to soaring repair costs.
Listen to the interview in the audio player below.
Repairing a damaged vehicle is no longer as simple, and as easy as it used to be.
Vehicles with minor damage are being written off by insurance companies, due largely to soaring repair costs.
This growing trend is largely attributed to the challenges in sourcing spare parts due to a multitude of issues, including the implementation of import tariffs by the United States.
Other factors that have contributed to this include the impact of loadshedding on the manufacturing sector. South Africa had for many years manufactured car parts for the vehicle repair market.
Several tire manufacturers in South Africa also scaled-down several of its operations in the country in recent years, which also contributed to the decline in the vehicle manufacturing market in the country.
Speaking to Stephen Grootes on The Money Show, Warren Tucker, a motoring enthusiast and vehicle reviewer says South Africa's vehicle market is being impacted local and international trends and occurrences.
"Previously, we would rely on the local manufacture of parts. Vehicles were assembled locally, therefore the parts manufactures were local as well. Fast-forward to where we are now, that's not really the case anymore. We're importing more than what we're producing."
- Warren Tucker, motoring enthusiast and vehicle reviewer
"South Africa in the '90s, we produced most of the vehicles for export purposes...fast forward a couple of years, we've got loadshedding. That impacted a whole lot of the manufacturing sector."
- Warren Tucker, motoring enthusiast and vehicle reviewer
"If you look at Uitenhage, you've got the likes of Good Year, Bridgestone, Continental. All the big ture manufacturers started shutting down plants and that had a knock-on effect down the line."
- Warren Tucker, motoring enthusiast and vehicle reviewer
Scroll to the top of the article to listen to the full interview.