Our story
Built by car people, for car buyers
Car4Less wasn't dreamed up in a boardroom. It came from decades of selling cars — and the conviction that buyers deserve a permanently better deal.
The dealership years
Decades on the showroom floor
Founder Edward Thwaits built his career owning and operating new-car franchise businesses across South Africa — Toyota, three Nissan dealerships and the original Delta stable, including Isuzu and Opel. At its height the group ran seven new-car franchise outlets and four independent used-vehicle operations across multiple towns and cities.
The realisation
The price of a car was never the whole story
Years of selling cars made one thing obvious: the manufacturer's retail price is fixed, but the cost of owning a car doesn't have to be. The real opportunity wasn't a bigger once-off discount — it was returning value to the buyer every single month of their finance term.
Three years of groundwork
Building the backstop
Turning that idea into a promise customers could trust took more than three years of commercial, compliance, actuarial and operational work with major South African underwriting institutions — establishing the contingency-based performance guarantee arrangement that Car4Less holds to support its ability to fund the Payment Saver Plan today.
The invention
A patented model
The completed model — new-vehicle retailing with the Payment Saver Plan (Post & Share and Shop & Save) attached, which today takes the form of the Car4Less Programme Car — was protected by a government-gazetted provisional patent, with Edward Thwaits as the named inventor.
Today
A growing national ecosystem
Car4Less now lists every new passenger vehicle sold in South Africa, delivers nationally through the franchise dealer network, and is expanding its business agency network across the country — with one goal: making new-car ownership genuinely affordable.
“The only way to buy any new car for less — guaranteed.”
Our slogan describes how the whole model is built: any new car as a Programme Car, with a plan designed to lower what you pay every month. Any cash-back remains ex gratia and subject to the plan's terms.
Our story — questions
Where did the Car4Less idea come from?+
From decades inside the motor industry. Founder Edward Thwaits owned and operated multiple new-car franchise businesses, and saw first-hand that ongoing monthly value beats any once-off discount. Car4Less was built to deliver that value to every buyer.
Why did the performance guarantee take three years to establish?+
Because it had to be done properly. The performance guarantee arrangement that Car4Less holds to support the Payment Saver Plan involved commercial, compliance, actuarial and operational engagement with major South African underwriting institutions — designed for long-term sustainability and verification integrity, not as a marketing gimmick.
What exactly is patented?+
The Car4Less model itself — the combination of new-vehicle retailing with participation-based Payment Saver Plan cash-back — is protected by a government-gazetted provisional patent naming Edward Thwaits as inventor.
Is Car4Less trying to replace dealerships?+
No — dealerships are our delivery partners. Every Car4Less vehicle is supplied, registered and delivered through the national franchise dealer network with its full manufacturer warranty. We changed how you buy, not what you get.
What's next for Car4Less?+
Growing the national business agency network, adding more loyalty partners, and continually expanding the Payment Saver Plan ecosystem — so that more South African households can drive a new car for less.
Be part of the story
Buy your next car for less — or build a business on the model.