Car guards: How much do they earn?

If you’re a South African motorist, you probably encounter car guards numerous times every single day.  They’ll often direct you to an open parking spot and then promise to watch your car while you’re doing your shopping, or at the beach, watching sport at a stadium or anywhere you’d leave your vehicle in a public place. 

The unspoken rule is that when you return, you tip the car guard for keeping your vehicle safe.   

Car guarding has been around in South Africa since the early 1990s, but what do we actually know about car guards in South Africa?  

• How much does the average car guard earn?  
• How much do they pay to be allowed to stand there?  
• Which cars generally tip more and which ones tip less?  
• What do car guards really expect of us when we park our vehicles in their allotted area?   
• And, what happens when something actually happens to your vehicle while being watched by a car guard?  

To answer these questions, and a whole lot more, Carol Ofori sat down with two car guards, Steve Muabilu and Philip Retief - who operate in the Durban area.  Both men were candid and honest about what it’s like to be a car guard in South Africa.  

Listen to the full conversation at the top of this page or directly below. 

Meanwhile, in an earlier episode of The Carol Ofori Podcast, Carol hosted a debate around gun violence in South Africa and asked the question, ‘Has South Africa become a gun-wielding society, and if so, how do we fix it?’ 

Carol’s guests were three seasoned role players in the firearm space in South Africa: Claire Taylor, Gideon Joubert, and Dr. Sibusiso Ntsele.

 ALSO LISTEN | LISTEN | ‘I cannot forgive a faceless person’ – Tony Forbes

It's a lively debate. Listen below.

If you’d like to suggest a topic for The Carol Ofori Podcast, please email Carol’s producer, Rory, at [email protected].

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