In part one of this article, my last question was:

“Ask yourself, what do you use your car for?”

Let's face it, the vast majority of us use our cars to travel from home to work and back again. We drop our kids off at school and we pick them up later in the day. We do the monthly grocery shopping and occasionally visit friends.

Yes there are those of you, that do far more than that with your cars, but take a look around you. How many people do you know, that do more?

How many people do you know, that actually need a car capable of traveling at 180Km/h or more?
How many people actually need a vehicle, capable of going off road at a moments notice?
How many people actually need most of what you get in a modern car?

Yes, I can understand ABS brakes, AIR bags and other life saving equipment. I can not understand dashboard integrated radios and steering wheel heaters?

There was a time when car manufacturers understood, that the average family could only afford one car, and that it had to be far more practical and maintainable, than being a fashion statement. Take a look at the statistics, examine the two cars that have sold the most in all history of car sales.

Don't know what they are? Here is a hint from Wikipedia:
It was in its day, though, more comfortable and powerful than most European small cars, and ultimately the longest-running and most-produced automobile of a single design (a record that will not take long to be beaten by its younger "cousin" the Type-2 Bus or Kombi, which is still in production in Brazil with the same basic characteristics of the first series).

For those of you who still don't know, the quote refers to the Volkswagen Beetle and the Volkswagen Bus. Of all the car manufacturers, Volkswagen understood it the best. People need cars, not fashion statements. Especially new market entrants. Cars, that are cheap to purchase and run while being cheaply and easily maintained. Cars for the family unit. They understood it so well that they made it their marketing slogan. Anyone remember: “V W and me, all part of the Volkswagen family”?

Today, the cheapest Volkswagen is the City Golf (TanaCity 1.4). For sale at just under 73,000 ZAR (Car Magazine April 2008).

EXCUSE ME!!! That is almost a fifth of my bond!!!

I'm already struggling to pay of a house, now why would I go and spend, that amount of money on a car, that looses 20% of it's value the moment I drive it off the show room floor? Keeping in mind, that this price includes no luxuries, not even a radio, I see absolutely no reason of any kind to purchase this vehicle new.

Do not make the mistake of thinking, that I consider the Golf to be a bad car. It is a wonderful car, but the price is not justifiable. Not by a long shot. My personal estimate of the true market value of this car, is closer to 30,000 ZAR. It is little more than a box with an engine, 4 wheels and a steering wheel. If it was sold new, for 40,000 ZAR, I would have bought it last month.
But it isn't, so I managed to find an equally reliable, usable, maintainable and lovable car. You guessed it... I bought a Beetle.

No, it's not cool. No it's not going to clock 180 down the highway. Yes, it will do everything I ask of it, and more. Not only that, the purchase price was less than a fifth of the Golf's, while the running and maintenance costs are comparable to most entry level vehicles. In a lot of cases, it's actually cheaper, but there was always another option that I only explored after I bought the Beetle.

One of my neighbors, builds kit cars. He manufactures the chassis and bodies himself. The engines are sourced from Nissan and BMW. He quoted me 65,000 ZAR for building one of his kits. Now, can someone please explain to me, how a private individual can price his vehicles lower than a corporate, that has mass production as a weapon?

After spending the last 3 months investigating car prices. I'm convinced, that car manufacturers have well and truly lost the plot! They no longer sell cars, they sell fashion and status symbols, designed to last almost as long as it would take you to make the final payment.

Yes, there are those who want fashion and status symbols. There are far fewer able to afford it, and even fewer truly in need of it. I challenge anyone reading this, to prove otherwise.

Why then, do I see advertising for the latest SUV and performance vehicles, but none for the vehicles the vast majority of us need? Why do car manufacturers prefer to build and market exactly those cars almost none of us can either afford or use?

If any of you have the answers, please be so kind as to let me know.