Kaya 959 Reporter
The increase in fuel, interest rates as well as prices of food in the country is having a very hard knock on people’s pockets.
With the current economic environment, many people in South Africa are considering ways to reduce the financial burden they are experiencing.
Taking a car back to the dealership for a more affordable model could be a wise decision that could lessen the impact of the current economic climate.
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Point of view with Phemelo Motene was recently joined by Tumelo Maketekete, a motoring expert to unpack ways to effectively downgrade your vehicle without losing too much money.
The decision to downgrade can sometimes be a hard one to make, especially for many South Africans who have an intimate connection with their cars.
“I have realised that we many of us love our cars big, its a reflection of who we are, but it is not really what we need. You then realise if you have to downgrade maybe one model down, you are still able to do what you need to do and still afford it with the features you had in the upper class,” says Maketekete.
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Adjust your driving behaiviour
Maketekete, advised Kaya 959 listeners to change their driving behaviour, he said that this goes a long way in saving money in the long run, this is also key above and beyond the car downgrade.
“You can’t really compromise on services and those kinds of things because a lot of them are safety-related. I think its a lot more to do with driver behaviour, and just being aware of where you should go, and planning properly,” says Maketekete,
To go downgrade privately or through a dealership
Maketekete also cautioned against selling your vehicle privately, particularly because of all the scammers and shady dealings that happen in the sector.
“Privately, yes you might get a better deal but sometimes it is dodgy, you might end up losing the car or being hurt somehow. We are living in interesting times… It is no longer safe. Maybe the dealer might be a better option.” says Maketekete,
He also advised what need to happen in different scenarios, and shared important things to look out for when undergoing the downgrade process.
