Where to buy affordable brand new cars in Kenya

Brand new cars, especially imported ones are costly in Kenya, this is mainly because of the high taxes imposed by our government on imported cars, the freight(transportation) cost, port clearance costs and dealers’ profits. On the other hand, you can get yourself a brand new car that has been assembled locally, the government has waived taxes on locally assembled cars and in addition, you will not pay other costs such as port clearance. This means that the price you pay is lower, but where will you get these low-priced brand new cars from? To answer this, we will look at the where to buy affordable brand new cars in Kenya below.

Note: The biggest percentage of cars from dealers in Kenya are usually foreign used(These are what most people call new cars). Since you can not import a vehicle that is older than 8 years in Kenya, dealers import cars that are around, 8, 7 and 6 years old. The reason for this is that the majority of Kenyans can only afford cars that fall under this category, the cost of these foreign used cars ranges from Ksh 1 million to 4 million depending on the model and car make.

From the above, you can see where the problem is, you are buying a vehicle that has been used for 8 years at a price that would give you another brand vehicle that is available locally. It is hence important to first compare what you would get as brand new with the same amount you are paying for a foreign used vehicle.

Advantages of brand new cars in Kenya

There are benefits that will come with owning a brand new car over a foreign used or even a locally used one. Let’s look at them below:

Zero maintenance costs- both imported and locally assembled new cars will serve you for years without requiring regular maintenance and servicing. These cars will also not have frequent breakdowns. That means you will save on repair costs and maintenance headaches. It is important to note that the vehicle will still need minor serving as recommended by the manufacturer.
Warranty- Most brand new cars will come with a warranty of more than one year or up to a certain mileage(distance covered). This means you will enjoy free repairs if the car breakdowns.
Efficiency- since parts have not been worn out even an inch, you will enjoy the full performance of the engine and optimal performance of other car parts.
Made to our terrain- this mainly applies to locally assembled cars. The vehicles are made to fit our driving conditions, for example, some foreign-manufactured cars have a navigation system that can not be used in Kenya, and others have driving modes that do not apply in Kenya, like snow mode. All of this will be factored in or out for locally assembled vehicles.
Affordable- similarly, locally assembled cars are more affordable than the foreign ones, as we explained at the beginning, the locally assembled cars do not have a lot of additional costs such as freight, or port clearance, plus the manufacturer enjoys tax waivers. As result, the prices drop.

Disadvantages of locally assembled brand new cars

As you may have noted, our main focus is the locally assembled brand new cars, this is because they come at affordable prices compared to the imported ones. However, there are still disadvantages of these vehicles as we will see below.

Fuel efficiency and economy- in most developed countries where we import cars from, manufacturers are fined when they go beyond set emission standards. On the other hand, our country does not have regulations for emissions, which means manufacturers can make cars with high emissions to the environment. The fuel economy of such cars will also not be excellent.
Lack of some features- as we mentioned, locally assembled cars are customized to fit our market, but some manufacturers will take it a notch higher and remove some important features. This mainly includes tech features such as lane departure assist, rare mirror dimming, keyless entry etc.
Low safety- this will also apply to some cars. It will happen when the manufacturer decides to cut costs by removing some features, most tech features in cars are made to enhance safety. Reducing other things such as airbags will lead to less safe vehicles.
Rebadging and overpricing- Rebadging is a legal practice where manufacturer A can rebrand a car from manufacturer B with their own logo/identification and sell it with permission from manufacturer B. Some dealers for locally assembled cars have been accused of using this to rebrand less known vehicles with a logo of trusted vehicles on our roads and selling these rebranded cars at high prices. This is tricking the client and it is immoral.

Where to buy affordable brand new cars

There are various well-established dealerships in Kenya where you can buy your vehicle from. Lets us look at them below.

Note: We will give prices below so as to try and paint the picture of the affordability of vehicles from these sources, however, the prices are quoted as were during the time of writing the article.

1. Toyota Kenya

This one of the most known car dealers that offers different brand new vehicles from Toyota and other brands such as Suzuki, Yamaha and Hino at an affordable price. For comparison, a brand new Suzuki Swift from Toyota Kenya costs around Ksh 1.6 million, if you were to import one with this money, you can’t get a brand new one, instead you will have to go for a foreign used one which is 2018 or 2019 model.

Cars from Toyota Kenya also come with a Warranty, the timeline is not fixed and it will depend on the car you go for, for example, Toyota Bella has a warranty of 5 years or 150,000 km mileage, RAV4, on the other hand, has 3 years warranty or mileage of 100,00 Km.

When it comes to availability, Toyota has offices and showrooms all over the country, you can see them over here. The dealer also does offer after-sales services such as repair and maintenance.

2. DT Dobie

For someone looking to own a brand new European car in Kenya, DT Dobie should be at the top of your list. The car dealer offers cars from Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz and Hyundai trucks/buses. A new Volkswagen Polo Vivo from DT Dobie costs around Ksh 1.7 million, for a foreign used 2015 model of VW polo Vivo, you will pay around Ksh 1.5 million, this shows the advantage you get by considering cars from DT Dobie, with just Ksh 200k more, you get a brand new polo which also has a warranty.

Also see, the best cars for first-time car owners in Kenya.

3. Isuzu Kenya

If you are looking for a pickup, truck or even a bus, you should have Isuzu Kenya on your list of options. Vehicles from the dealer come with a warranty of up to 3 years or 100,000 km mileage. One of the most popular vehicles from Isuzu is the D-max double cab, buying it from the dealer will cost around 4 million. f you were to import it, you will pay way beyond that.

4. Mobius

Mobius is the only Kenyan car manufacturer. The number of models to choose from this manufacturer are not that many. However, you can go for the Mobius 3 which is an SUV made to transverse our terrains and its cost is way below when you compare it to its competitor SUVS.

5. CMC motors

CMC Motors is a car dealership operating in Kenya, it offeres different vehicles from different car brands. This includes trucks, pickups, lorries and even SUVs. Some popular car brands from the dealer include Ford, Suzuki, Mazda and Renault trucks. This might be the right dealer to consider if you want to buy a tractor.

There you have it, those are among the places where you can get affordable brand new zero mileage cars in Kenya. Make sure you consider them to see if you would get yourself a good deal instead of going for a secondhand vehicle.