Here are some affordable new cars

Most Ugandans are of the view that brand new vehicles are costly hence the rise in number of used vehicle dealers. About 10-15 years ago, they were just a handful of dealers, but today, they are more than 20 used vehicle dealers with some in places as far as Masaka. That said, unknown to many people, there are some brand new vehicles that cost less than some used ones as Jude Katende found out.

Any mention of brand new vehicles usually sends shivers down the spine of a prospective car buyer with a limited budget. Used vehicle dealers will even make it sound worse when they tell you how brand new cars will burn your pockets. But these same dealers will not tell you about the benefits of buying a brand new car.
All said and done, there is a wild thinking that all brand new vehicles are out of our reach. This is not true at all. There are some used vehicles that are more expensive than brand new ones, something most prospective car owners hardly think about. That is why it is good to window shop before buying whether new or used.
And obviously after knowing what the vehicle is going to be used for. Is it for school drops, shopping, family duties, commercial duties, tours and travel, for rallying and other adventures? Brand new car dealers include Spear Motors, Toyota Uganda, Tata Uganda, Motorcare, Victoria Motors, Foton, CFAO, AFM, CMC, Motorcentre and Kampala Motors, among others.

Brand new cars below or at Shs150m
Although the Motorcentre CEO, Joseph Ssemuwemba declined to mention the exact costs, he said it is for the prospective buyer to find out. He, however, replied an email with the following vehicles listed as all being under Shs150m after taxes. Kia Sorento, Kia Sportage, Kia K2700, Kia Soul, Kia Cerato, Kia Optima. In fact he said, all Kia vehicles.
At Motorcare, agents of Nissan, the managing director, Chris Ndala, says they are currently observing Nissan Week, a promotional campaign whereby they let prospective clients ask about their products and buy some at a discount. Currently, Motorcare is in a partnership with Stanbic Bank and lets people buy vehicles in installments starting at less than $1,000 (Shs2.6m) a month up to five years.

Critical view
Ndala takes a critical view of people’s choices of buying used and brand new vehicles. “What the market forgets is the cost of the car and not the entire ownership. If I buy a car at $30,000 (Shs80.2m) it includes maintenance and servicing. I will perhaps only do oil and filter changes. I will not do anything with the engine or gearbox because they are under warranty,” he argues.
Ndala explains that when buying used, you don’t know how the vehicle was maintained. “New cars’ cost of maintenance is cheap because warranty does not stop at the gate as is the case with used cars,” he notes. He says the Nissan Almera and Nissan Qashqai are both under the Shs150m threshold with the latter costing $44,000 or approximately Shs117m.

At Spear Motors, authorised importers of Mercedes Benz, Jeep vehicles and Fuso trucks, Gilbert Wavamunno, the Sales Director, says they have the new SUV (2014) Jeep Compass at Shs127m, the 2014 Jeep Patriot at Shs130m, the 2014 Dodge Journey at Shs130m, the 2014 Jeep Wrangler at Shs146m and the 2014 Mercedes-Benz A-class at Shs150m.
Toyota Uganda’s national sales and marketing manager Baisama Awori lists all current models of RAV4s both manual and automatic as being under Shs150m after taxes. Other Toyotas in this price range include, all current (2014) Corollas, including the recently launched model, all Hilux pick-ups and some of the Hiace vans.
Paul Bazibwe of Victoria Motors cites Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, Mitsubishi L200 double cabin pick-up and Mitsubishi Lancer, a saloon car, as being under Shs150m after taxes.

Used vehicles above Shs150m
Looking at cheki.co.ug, a renowned vehicle website, the statistics are glaring. There is a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 2010 model year at Shs210m.
For Mitsubishi Pajero, there is manufactured in 2013 going for Shs100m before taxes. That means after taxes, the price automtaically goes higher. The popular Range Rover Sport of 2010 is at Shs210m, the 2013 model year at Shs172m before taxes, 2014 model year at Shs380m, one of 2006 at Shs170m and a 2008 model year at Shs150m. The small Range Rover Evoque of 2013 is at Shs153m before taxes. The ball is in your court that is if these prices are within your budget when answering the question should I buy new or used?