BakkiesSA

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 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.

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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.

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A white Isuzu D-Max X-Rider parked on dry grass under trees

Buying guide · 07 Sept 2026

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

A large share of the cheapest bakkies on the market are ex-fleet: rental returns, mining and construction vehicles, municipal and security fleets. Some are the best-serviced vehicles in the country. Some have been driven into the ground by a different driver every day. Telling them apart takes twenty minutes and a torch.

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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

On the same bakkie, in the same year, the second row of doors costs between R60,000 and R240,000. Here is the premium on every major model from live listings, why it exists, and when the single cab is the smarter buy.

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