Owning a car is gradually becoming unaffordable even for the supposedly rich in the capital, as some owners of luxury vehicles have had to abandon their once-priced assets at mechanic workshops.
Soaring insurance premiums, rising cost of fuel and maintenance are driving car owners out of their cars.
Vehicles have become very important means of transport and a key component for running the country’s economy.
However, these days, owning even the smallest of vehicles is considered luxury or a social signifier of an aspiring middle-class household.
The prices of vehicles have reached eye-popping levels, yet even more costly have spare parts and maintenance become.
As such, the title ‘car owner’ is becoming a privilege for a few.
Prices of some cars
A newly-imported 2010 Toyota Yaris, a dependable compact car with good fuel economy but by no means a luxury car, sells for GH¢93,000.
A newly-imported 2008 Toyota Corolla sells for GH¢85,000. A 2013 Honda Fit sells for GH¢135,000.
It’s no wonder the price of Ghana-used cars have shot up as people hold on to their cars with care, knowing they will not be able to afford new ones.
Observation
In a striking trend, some owners of luxury cars are increasingly leaving their vehicles at mechanic workshops.
Some of these cars have been there for nearly two years.
“We are unable to trace a lot of the owners whose cars end up at our shops,” a mechanic, Isaac Adjei, told TV3 in an interview.
Models of Benz, Toyota and BMW have been left at the mercy of the weather and decorated with dust.
The mechanics, who receive over ten faulty cars daily, are worried about the limited space to keep the piled-up cars.
According to Adjei, “we usually repair a lot of the cars by the roadside due to insufficient space.”
The cost of maintaining luxury vehicles in terms of routine servicing and parts replacements for brands like Jaguar have exploded.
Vehicle dealers blame exchange rates, import duties and soaring insurance premiums.
Clifford Ansu is an official with the Vehicle and Assets Dealers Union of Ghana (VADUG). He observes that even the cost of parts replacements for ‘smaller’ cars have skyrocketed.
“The fact that I am driving a V8 doesn’t mean that you should increase the prices of the duty of V8 and the prices of its parts. Even these days the smaller cars that have small engines, their spare parts have also gone up.”
“Toyota Corolla 2016-2017 engine now is selling for 55,000-60,000 [cedis]. So, if you want to talk about V8 engine, then you are talking about a lot of money,” Ansu said.
Visit to Abossey-Okai
Abossey Okai is a town in the Ablekuma Central Municipality of the Greater Accra Region.
It hosts the largest automobile parts market of Ghana, with busy streets of traders.
In my off-record interactions with some owners of the luxury vehicles, they admitted the challenge they face in maintaining their cars.
Top of their worry was the rising cost of spare parts.
“Items I used to buy for 500 cedis have shot up to 600 cedis in less than 2 weeks,” a spare parts dealer, Kojo Acheampong noted.
Another dealer, Nana Atuobi, added that “these days I need the dollar equivalent of 150,000 cedis to import items that previously cost 38,000 cedis.”
Some wonder – whether owning a luxury vehicle means one is necessarily rich.
“If somebody is using V8 or any of those luxury cars, it is probably because of their safety. But don’t assume they are using such cars because they are rich so you want to increase taxes on the spare parts of such vehicles,” Clifford Ansu opined.
For spare parts dealer Acheampong, the message is simple: “Buy cars you can afford to maintain because we’d continue to increase cost of spare parts.”
On the other hand, there are some who are unable to drive their luxury vehicles due to wrong chassis or identification numbers, making the cars mere decorative items at home.
The safety, comfort or cozy rides these cars come with are in no doubt, but the explosion in maintenance and spare parts costs is depriving the owners of their once envied status in the neigbourhood.