Guides

Buying, owning and paying for a bakkie

Written against the live market, not from a brochure. Every price in these guides is checked against what is actually listed for sale in South Africa.

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A silver Changan Hunter double cab kicking up sand on a sandy track with bush behind it

Models · 29 Oct 2026

Changan Hunter review: is it worth buying in SA?

Changan is the old Chana, and last time its importer went bust. Now it is back with a double cab that testers rate and dealers advertise for R100,000 under list. What a Hunter really costs, what it does badly, how the hybrid works, and what else the money buys.

A white early Ford Bantam with a canopy and FORD across the tailgate, driving up the M1 double-decker highway in Johannesburg

Buying guide · 29 Oct 2026

Buying a used Ford Bantam: what to pay, what to check

Everybody's uncle had a Bantam, and you can still buy one for under R100,000. This is what a used Bantam asks by year, which engine is which, what owners say goes wrong, what to check before you pay, and what an NP200 or Corsa Utility gets you for the same money.

A beige Kia Tasman double cab with black wheel arches and all-terrain tyres on a dirt track beside sandstone rocks and pine trees

Models · 29 Oct 2026

Kia Tasman review: SA price, specs and used prices

Kia's first bakkie costs R680,000 to R1 million new. Here is what each version gets, what the road tests said, what nearly new ones ask, and how it stacks up against a Ranger, Hilux, D-Max and Navara.

A grey LDV T60 double cab 4x4 with Gauteng plates climbing a rutted red-dirt track through bushveld

Models · 29 Oct 2026

LDV T60 and Terron 9 in South Africa: should you buy one?

An LDV gives you more power for the money than its rivals. It also comes with 15 dealers, almost no owner record and the biggest first-year price drop of the double cabs we compared. What each one costs, what has gone wrong, and who should buy one.

An orange Ford Ranger Wildtrak double cab on black wheels and all-terrain tyres, parked at a filling station in Cape Town

Buying guide · 08 Oct 2026

Best Bakkie Under R300,000 in South Africa (2026)

R300,000 buys a 2017 double cab with about 170,000 km. R400,000 buys a 2021 with about 119,000 km. Here is what each bakkie gives you for the money, the six worth buying and the ones to walk away from.

A brown GWM P-Series double cab with a chrome grille and a loaded roof rack, parked on grass at its South African launch with hills behind

Buying guide · 08 Oct 2026

Used GWM P-Series: prices, problems and warranty (SA)

The P-Series gives you a lot of bakkie for the money. This is what a used one asks by year and trim, what has really gone wrong for owners here, why most used ones carry the old five-year warranty, and what to check before you buy.

A silver Isuzu D-Max V-Cross double cab driving through a muddy puddle on a grassy track, thick green bush behind it

Buying guide · 08 Oct 2026

Isuzu D-Max and KB buying guide: SA prices and problems

The Isuzu is the bakkie a farmer buys twice. This is what a KB or D-Max costs by year and engine on live listings, what Isuzu charges new, what to check before you buy, and how it holds its money against a Ranger and a Hilux.

White Mahindra Pik Up double cab on a muddy gravel track in the veld

Models · 08 Oct 2026

Mahindra Pik Up Review: Is It a Good Bakkie?

The Pik Up costs far less than a Hilux or D-Max and the engine is tough. Here is what owners complain about, what used ones ask and who should buy one.

A silver BYD Shark 6 double cab throwing a plume of sand as it powers across desert dunes at low sun

Buying guide · 23 Sept 2026

Hybrid and electric bakkies in South Africa: what they cost and what they actually do

South Africa builds the plug-in hybrid Ford Ranger and sells it to the rest of the world. You cannot buy one here. What you can buy is six electrified bakkies, and the numbers on them are not what the adverts say. Toyota's own paperwork shows the 48V Hilux saves a 4x2 buyer nothing. The BYD Shark 6 tows a tonne less than a Hilux and drinks 17 litres per 100 km pulling a caravan. Here is every one of them, with live asking prices.

A blue Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 Legend double cab climbing a rocky slope under a storm sky

Models · 19 Sept 2026

The hydrogen Hilux is confirmed for 2028. Here is what it actually means for South Africa

Toyota has put a date on the fuel-cell Hilux, and the prototypes that got it there started life on the Prospecton line in Durban. The bakkie is real. Whether you will ever be able to fill one up in South Africa is a different question, and this is an honest look at both.

A Ford Ranger and a Toyota Hilux double cab parked side by side on a Karoo road at sunset

Buying guide · 17 Sept 2026

Ranger vs Hilux: which double cab should you actually buy in South Africa?

The argument South Africans have at every braai, settled with numbers: like-for-like used asking prices by year and engine, what R300,000 to R700,000 buys on each side, the faults priced in rand, the Toyota tax, theft, insurance, resale and which one to buy.

A Ford Ranger double cab on a gravel road in South Africa, dust hanging behind it and open veld to the horizon

Buying guide · 16 Sept 2026

Buying a used Ford Ranger: what to check, engine by engine

More South Africans buy a used Ranger than any other bakkie, and most of them are ex-fleet. This is what each engine costs, what goes wrong with it, what the repairs cost in rand, which recalls to check, and how it stacks up against a Hilux for the same money.

Two white Toyota Hilux Raider double cabs side by side: a 2024 2.8 GD-6 on the left and a 2013 3.0 D-4D with the bonnet scoop on the right

Models · 14 Sept 2026

Buying a used Hilux: 2.4 or 2.8 GD-6, or one of the old D-4Ds?

Nine in ten used-Hilux buyers are shopping a GD-6 and arguing about the 2.4 against the 2.8. The tenth wants the old shape with the scoop, and pays Toyota tax to get it. Live asking prices for every Hilux engine sold here since 2005, the faults priced in rand, the Ranger comparison, and the theft, cloning and clocking checks that come with owning the most hijacked bakkie in the country.

A black GWM P500 double cab powering through white coastal dunes, towing a trailer with two quad bikes

Models · 12 Sept 2026

Chinese double cabs in South Africa: P-Series, T9, Tunland, Landtrek and Shark 6, compared

Nobody on a bakkie forum recommends a Chinese double cab unless you ask. South Africans buy about 5,000 P-Series a year anyway. What each one costs new and used, what goes wrong and what it costs to fix, what a used one is worth at three years, and what a Hilux or Ranger buys for the same money.

A blue Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 Legend double cab climbing a rocky slope under a storm sky

Money · 11 Sept 2026

Bakkie resale values in South Africa: which models hold their money

What a used bakkie asks after three and five years, version by version. Which Hilux, Ranger, Amarok, D-Max, Navara and P-Series hold their money, what the new shape does to the old one, and what the Toyota tax costs you in rand and insurance.

A Ford Ranger double cab parked on a hillside in the Drakensberg foothills

Money · 09 Sept 2026

Financing a bakkie in South Africa: what a R500,000 double cab actually costs per month

The dealer sells you an instalment. The bank sells you a term. This is what a used Ranger double cab, a Hilux 2.8 and a single cab workhorse really cost a month and over six years, worked at today's prime rate, with the balloon, the finance desk extras, the diesel and the insurance added in.

A white Ford Ranger XL single cab on steel wheels with a load of timber, on a dust road at sunset

Buying guide · 07 Sept 2026

Buying an ex-fleet bakkie: what to check before you take the bargain

The cheapest bakkies for sale in South Africa used to belong to a company: a rental firm, a mine, a courier, a municipality or a bank. Some have the best service files in the country. Some were driven by whoever had the keys. This is how to tell them apart, what they ask, what an auction really costs and what the papers must say.

A Toyota Hilux single cab carrying hay bales along a dirt road through green farmland

Buying guide · 05 Sept 2026

Double cab or single cab: what the price gap actually buys you

A used double cab asks about R180,000 more than a single cab of the same bakkie. Compare the same year, engine and trim and the second row costs R60,000 to R90,000. Here is where the rest of the money goes, what the single cab gives you back, the VAT rule, and which body suits which buyer.

Rear view of a Ford Ranger double cab on a gravel road with mountains behind it

Ownership · 03 Sept 2026

Bakkie towing capacity in South Africa: every model's braked rating in one table

The 3,500 kg on the brochure comes with conditions most buyers never read. What each bakkie is rated to tow, what the gross combination mass does to that number once the bakkie is loaded, which licence you need, and which engines are actually pleasant with a caravan behind them.

A blue Ford Ranger Sport double cab standing on a red gravel road in South Africa, green summer hills and cosmos flowers behind it

Ownership · 01 Sept 2026

Bakkie tyres in South Africa: the right size for every model, and what a set really costs

The factory tyre size for every current bakkie, off the maker's own spec sheet. What named tyres cost at two South African retailers in September 2026, why the all-terrain is now often the cheap one, and the pressures for a load and for gravel.