When acquiring a car, individuals do it being fully aware that it comes with great responsibility. A large number of duties attached to being the owner of a motor vehicle can be mentioned, from hiring comprehensive car insurance, to being able to pay maintenance costs and also fuel. Accordingly, and without any doubts, these responsibilities mean spending further money after paying off the purchase of the vehicle, and this is becoming more and more expensive in South Africa by the day.
From this number of necessary things done when owning a car there can be mentioned some which are becoming more expensive these days. In the country, the price of fuel, most specifically petrol, has changed and gone up in the past months, says BBC. Together with this rise, the number of body repair components has gone down, too, making them hard to find when in need of one and also, making them more expensive. The South African Motor Body Repairers Association (Sambra), has announced that there exist supply constraints and that the shortage has become an urgent and pressing matter. Consequences of the shortage are that the pieces needed for the repairs are harder to obtain and also are getting more expensive by the day because of their absence in the market.
There are many reasons why this is happening. Among others, one of the reasons is that shipping the motor parts is now more expensive (source). Not surprisingly one of the explanations for this is resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed our lives further than we can begin to imagine, even now, after two years have passed. Still nowadays there are consequences deriving from the measures taken during the long lockdown periods enforced during the worst months of the pandemic. Another argument for this shortage comes from a lack of containers to deliver goods.
In order to be prepared for this situation some pieces of advice have been given to the population that owns a vehicle. Experts suggest that owning a comprehensive car coverage that fits the needs of each driver is a wise move. If an accident occured or should the vehicle’s owner need to repair their car urgently, not being protected by car insurance would make the process of vehicle reparation take longer. One valuable recommendation is that if individuals are not covered by an adequate policy, a car insurance calculator would bring the necessary information to obtain one and be properly prepared for any circumstance that should arise. In the future, this will accelerate the process of getting hold of the motor repair parts needed, even amidst the shortage.
Having all these facts in mind, it is of paramount importance to keep track of how the international panorama changes, as regards business and imports and exports. Although not every event can be predicted, being alert will allow citizens to take the decisions that will prepare each household for the possible difficulties to come.