Many people have toyed with the idea of building a complete car from new parts.
One or two have actually done it, while others have calculated the cost of doing
it. The cost of buying the parts is easily more than ten times the price of a
new car, and when labour charges are added, it could easily cost 20 times as much.
The last line of the accompanying parts price survey charts suggests that if one
were to attempt such an exercise at the moment, the best car to do it with would
be the BMW 318i. For this model, the ratio of parts basket price to the car price
is 0,123, or 12,3 per cent. Other models with low ratios are the Volkswagen CitiGolf
Chico 1,4 (14,5 per cent) and the Mercedes-Benz C180K Classic (14,9 per cent).
The worst car to do it with is the Daihatsu Charade CX, with a whopping 46,7 per
cent ratio.
One cannot calculate the cost of a complete car from a sample basket, but the
(parts cost)/(car cost) ratio is a good indication of the extent to which the
parts prices are loaded. It’s far easier for an expensive car to achieve a low
ratio than it is for a cheaper model, because many parts cost the same whether
they’re fitted to a Mercedes or a Fiat. The Chico’s low percentage is a noteworthy
achievement, particularly since all the other cars in its price group have ratios
that are over 20 per cent.
Why are parts prices loaded? To make more profit is the easy answer, but there
are other factors that enter into the price decision process. These include production
run length, material and tooling costs, the level of expert knowledge required
to set up the process, and the cost of keeping the parts on the shelf. A lack
of local infrastructure to supply the parts will also be a factor for companies
such as Tata that have recently entered SA.
Many fully imported models are bound to have high parts prices, so that, in general,
one can say that the automotive companies that have been in South Africa for a
long time tend to ask less for their parts.
Choosing the models
The models chosen for this year’s survey are divided into four groups. The first
group consists of entry-level models costing less than R70 000. The only model
not represented is the new Hyundai Atos, whose parts prices were not available
in time to meet our deadline. However, we’ve been assured by the parts manager
that the prices will be similar to those of the Kia Picanto.
Next, we chose all the significant models costing more than R70 000 but less
than R100 000. This has meant that the Toyota Tazz, which has hardly changed
in price, is now no longer in the entry-level group, but with six other models
in the second group. Because three of the entry-level models have prices specially
pegged just below R70 000, we could not justify keeping the Tazz in the lower
group.
The third group gathers all the popular models costing between R100 000 and
R133 000, consisting mainly of cars with 1,4-litre engines, except for the 1,2
litre Fiat Punto and the 1,6 litre Kia Cerato. Many of the country’s best sellers
are represented in this group, including the least expensive Volkswagen Polo
and Toyota Corolla.
The final group collects together the cheaper luxury models, including the inevitable
BMW, Audi and Mercedes trio, as well as the Volvo S40, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord
and the Mazda6. These cars cost between R190 000 and R245 000, and their inclusion
has meant that we’ve had to skip the models costing between R133 000 and R190
000 due to space constraints. However, most of these omitted models are gadget-laden
price-heavy versions of less expensive cars, so that not a great deal of information
is lost by their exclusion.
Entry-level models costing not more than R70 000
If one sorts the models in order of the total basket cost, and lists the vehicle
with the lowest cost first, the results will be:
1. Volkswagen CitiGolf Chico. The Chico has the cheapest accident repair
basket cost and the cheapest mechanical parts basket cost. It has been the overall
winner since we started this survey five years ago. These parts prices show
the effect of a long production run, but Volkswagen’s pricing policy must also
take some of the credit.
2. Chevrolet Spark. The Daewoo-based and facelifted Spark also came second
in the accident repair basket section and the mechanical parts basket section.
3. Kia Picanto. This very promising new model has the lowest-priced service
items. This is quite an achievement for a new, fully-imported model.
4. Opel Corsa Lite. This model has also been in production for some time,
but not as long as the Chico, and although its total basket price is a not unreasonable
R16 792, it is more than those of two newcomers, the Picanto and the Spark.
However, these two have considerably smaller engines than the Corsa.
5. Tata Indica. Many people are expecting a lot from this model, because
production costs are reputed to be low in its country of origin, India. But,
perhaps it’s too soon, because the company is still in the process of establishing
an infrastructure.
6. Daihatsu Charade. This is the most expensive car in this group to
buy parts for, with a total basket price 3,4 times more than that of the Chico,
despite the fact that prices were not available for the fuel filter, wiper blades
and clutch replacement kit. One expensive item is an air filter that costs R644,85.
This is only R58 less than the
complete service item basket cost for the Kia Picanto! The Daihatsu parts manager
was not able to offer any sensible reason for this crazy price.
Cars costing between R70 000 and R100 000
We again list the models in total basket price order:
1. Toyota Tazz. It has the lowest total basket price, but it achieves this
position only because the body parts are the least costly in this group. It
is second in the service items section, and third in the mechanical parts section.
2. Chevrolet Aveo. A newcomer, and its total basket price places it second
overall for this group, which is quite an achievement. It goes one better by
achieving first place in the mechanical parts section. Aveo shows what General
Motors, the world’s biggest auto-motive group, can do if it wants to
capture a market.
3. Ford Fiesta. It just beats its stablemate, the Ikon. This is quite
surprising because the Ikon costs less and has been in pro-duction for a longer
time. It also places
second in the mechanical and accident repair parts sections.
4. Ford Ikon. The lowest basket price for service items belongs to the
Ikon. This befits a car with a locally-manufactured engine, but it comes only
fourth in the mechanical parts section, and a surprising sixth in the accident
repair parts section.
5. Renault Clio Va Va Voom. Has the most expensive body parts, but this
is to some extent due to the fact that it is a de-specced model, and really
belongs in the next
price group.
6. Hyundai Getz. You see a lot of them on the road, so one would expect
the parts prices to be lower. However, the Getz is sold with a 45 000 km/2 years
service plan, so that these prices will not affect most owners for at least
this length of time.
7. Fiat Palio II Go! The most expensive total parts basket in this group
belongs to this model, which has the smallest engine.
This is a pity, because Fiat is using this de-specced model to try and get back
to the days when the Fiat Uno was the least expensive car on the market.
Cars costing between R100 000 and R133 000
The listing results in another Toyota victory.
1. Toyota Corolla. The total basket price is R3 768 less than the price
charged for any other basket in this group. Once again, this has been achieved
by having the least expensive body parts, and in spite of coming second in the
mechanical parts section and having the most expensive service items. These
items are fast movers, so perhaps Toyota know where the most money is to be
made…
2. Peugeot Popart. This 206 derivative has the second-lowest accident
repair parts prices and the third-lowest mechanical parts basket prices, in
spite of being a full import.
3. Kia Cerato. This is the only 1600 in the group, but it shines by having
the lowest service items basket price and coming third in the accident repair
parts basket.
4. Fiat Punto. It has the cheapest mechanical parts, just to negate the
remarks made about Fiat in the previous section, but doesn’t shine in any other
group.
5. Nissan Micra. Not having a timing belt to drive the camshaft, but
a longer-lasting chain (see panel), has helped the Micra to achieve second place
in the service item basket section.
6. Volkswagen Polo. All this model’s baskets were surprisingly expensive.
Mechanical parts are the most costly in the group, and the service items were
second last in the ranking. Perhaps Volkswagen is adding onto Polo prices what
it takes off from Chico prices.
7. Honda Jazz. This has a surprisingly low service items basket cost
(again, no timing belt), but the other baskets were near the bottom of the list.
8. Citroën C2. It has the most expensive total basket in this group,
mainly due to some ridiculous body parts prices, but a piston-with-rings price
of R2 594,37 doesn’t help its cause, either. It is a new model, but the Peugeot
Popart from the same manu-facturing group shows that there’s no need to inflate
the prices to this extent.
Cars costing between R190 000 and R245 000
The interest here is to see how the other nameplates fare against the three
top German brands, and the listing starts with a surprise:
1. BMW 318i. This model has the cheapest total parts basket. It achieves
this by being the cheapest in two of the three sections, and coming second in
the other. Unfortunately, it will soon be superseded by the new 3 Series, and
this will drive the prices upwards.
2. Toyota Camry. We expected this model to have the lowest-priced parts
basket in the group because of the large numbers being produced overseas, but
it came second overall, with the cheapest mechanical parts, and the second-cheapest
service parts and body parts. It still offers great value for money.
3. Mazda6. Parts prices for this model are where one would expect them
to be – more expensive than the Camry’s, but not as expensive as a Volvo’s.
4. Mercedes-Benz C180K. The parts prices don’t shine in any section,
but don’t come near to being the most expensive, either.
5. Volvo S40 2,4i. We expected Volvo parts prices to be cheaper than
they are, because the company should benefit from Ford buying power. The prices
are most likely suffering from a new model mark-up.
6. Honda Accord 2,4. It achieves sixth position in all the sections,
reinforcing the perception that Honda parts prices are generally high.
7. Audi A4 2,0. Last year, the previous A4 had the cheapest total parts
basket in its group, but the new car is now the most expensive overall, as well
as for body and mechanical parts. The latest A4 is the result of a very comprehensive
facelift, and this must affect the pricing.