Cape Talk, Sunday morning

Party that I believe will talk to my needs. What does that mean? It means out of the eight zero parties, if I believe no one talks or addresses my needs, it's my right not to vote. Now, the question will be: out of eight, how can there be no one? So go ahead and give us a call on 021-446-0567. And join the conversation on Cape Talk. It's time we get into it right now. The South African motorists are under sustained financial pressure and it's showing up.

In a place many wouldn't expect the workshop. So, Stats SA recently revealed that while nominal workshop sales are ticking up, the real inflation-adjusted volume of work being done has fallen sharply. It's been down by 6.6% year on year in June and 7.4% quarter on quarter between Q1 and Q2. Now, in plain terms, South Africans are paying more but are getting less done as fuel prices, interest rates, and rising maintenance costs push motorists to delay or skip services.

All together. And it's not just servicing, repairability itself is becoming part of the affordability equation. Now, modern vehicles from petrol and diesel to hybrid, as well as electric, are packed with advanced driver assistance systems, sensors, and lightweight materials. And that makes them safer, but also mean even minor collision damage can require replacing entire assemblies rather than individual parts. Now, to unpack this a little further, we now chat to Joan Hanakom, the National Director.

Of the South African Motor Body Repares Association. Now, John, these numbers show a steady decline since late last year, with only a brief uptake in March. What are you hearing from workshops as well as repairers on the ground about why motorists are cutting back? And has it gotten worse through the year? And thank you, Jacob. I think, what's name, what we're hearing on the ground, and I think you've actually covered it quite well in your introduction here, is that motorists are under financial pressure.

Besides vehicle repair complexity, that's gotten increasingly difficult. The issues of inflation and high fuel costs, interest rates, and everything else has just made it financially not sustainable for a consumer to actually decide what to do with their car. You know, if you had to choose between putting food on your table and taking care of a maintenance item on your car, you're going to go for the former. And that's just the reality of it. And we're seeing it in the shop.

In various ways and forms, less people are bringing their vehicles in. When it comes to motorbody repair, specifically, we're seeing more people taking the cash payout for the repair of the vehicle and not actually getting the vehicle repaired. And similarly in the different maintenance environments as well. So then, John, how should an everyday consumer like you and I weigh that option of when they're buying a car alongside things like fuel economy and safety ratings, what should they be considering?