Singapore Expats

hello everyone...we have just shifted to Singapore and are deciding whether to buy a car or lease a car as we r unsure as to how long we would be in singapore ...at the moment 3 years is definate..
can some one please give an average monthly expenses on owning a car right frm monthly instalment payable to monthly gas expenses, road tax and or any other expenses.We r not looking at a high end something of starter car.Also if we plan to lease a car other than monthly lease amount what all other expenses will be there.Say we use to car mostly on weekends only and sometimes for going to work

Now might be an OK time to buy a car. The COE (Certificate of Entitlement to drive it) has fallen to a low of $5,000 to $5,600 verus nearly $20,000 just 6 months ago. Also, with many expats being repatriated there are many used vehicles for sale. Thus, you should be able to get a good deal on a used car.

mpp wrote:hello everyone...we have just shifted to Singapore and are deciding whether to buy a car or lease a car as we r unsure as to how long we would be in singapore ...at the moment 3 years is definate..
can some one please give an average monthly expenses on owning a car right frm monthly instalment payable to monthly gas expenses, road tax and or any other expenses.We r not looking at a high end something of starter car.Also if we plan to lease a car other than monthly lease amount what all other expenses will be there.Say we use to car mostly on weekends only and sometimes for going to work

I just hope my reply will help you out.

Avg mthly instalment: This is dependable on the initial % deposit you have put and calculated from the number of years loan you would like to pay for the balance amount of the car.

Mthly Gas: Generally, most cars will accept unleaded 95 octance gasoline. Price for gas are quite fix for any provider in the market now. So when you get your car, find out from the agent what is the fuel consumption like as different car differs alot. For me, I am driving a Honda Jazz. Manufacturer figures claims 16 - 18km / Litre. Car full tank @ 42 litres. Usage daily from home to work and back. Avg pump once a week. Each full tank if normal driving without heavy footing should get me about 500km before each filling. Mthly paying about $200 - $300

Road Tax: Dependable on the CC of your car. The bigger CC, the more rd tax you will need to pay.

Beside the above, there comes the car insurance, parking charges at home and work place, ERP and other misc charges like car repair if you encounter any car problems.

As for leasing for long term, I am not really sure so you got to check out with leasing company about the rates. But guess will definitely be abt 800+ and above every month. But good thing is car due for servicing etc etc will be taken care by the leasing company. What you need to do mainly is pay the leasing amount every month and pump petrol and drive. That is all.

I just hope above information helps.

@dedric...so can i say if we decide to lease a car say mthy lease of $1200 in addition to that i need to pay for gas+ road tax+ ERP/parkin+ insurance so total would be around 1600-1800 per mth

mpp wrote:@dedric...so can i say if we decide to lease a car say mthy lease of $1200 in addition to that i need to pay for gas+ road tax+ ERP/parkin+ insurance so total would be around 1600-1800 per mth

If you were to lease a car, only thing you will need to be paying will be the monthly leasing amount, gasoline, ERP, parking. As for the rest like car servicing, road tax... Those will be handle by the leasing company as the car was under their company name.

For insurance wise, short term lease will need to pay a small fraction amount. Not very sure for long term wise. But maybe you can try searching from the net on car leasing company in Singapore. That will definitely give you a more better idea and concept.

Then comes to my mind that there are this car sharing program from NTUC and Honda whereby you only pay for the time and mileage you are using the car as well as parking and ERP. As for the rest like insurance, road tax etc are all taken care by the company. Even petrol as the keys come with a tag which allow you to pump petrol at pertol kiosk and the bill will charge directly to the car company.

Maybe you can check this out as well since you mentioned you only need the car occasionally to go to work and weekend. Weak points about this will only be you need to go to the designated area where the car is parked near your house to pick up the car.

@dedric08
thanks a lot for all the help.......we will definately consider all the options.....

i found www.sgcarmart.com very helpful to look for second hand sellers, you can even low bid their asking price.

@carolynW

just checked the site in some cases there is COE and OMV amount mentioned in addition to the carprice...do we need to pay that amount also....whereas in some cases no COE amount is mentioned and it says COE car does that mean we dnt need to pay any COE....can u please clarify on that....if we go in for a used car hw ant COE and OMV...and if we decide to sell car after 3-4 years how is the second hand car market.....are there dealers who buy used cars like in US

If there is a COE figure it will be the price paid when the car was bought. Open Market Value (OMV) is almost unrelated in the calculations for buying a car but relates to later if you plan to sell or scrap it.

The price advertised in the mart or at a dealer is 99% of the time the On The Road price you pay.

Dealer will but second hand cars though be prepared to take a hit in its value. At least you get rid of it. If you buy second hand and sell on, the hit is less as most of any depreciatation happens when you drive the new car off the showroom floor.

tht means we need to pay the COE price if we buy the second hand car in addition to the car cost or is the COE cost included in the car cost itself

mpp wrote:tht means we need to pay the COE price if we buy the second hand car in addition to the car cost or is the COE cost included in the car cost itself

Ok, i'll keep it simple:

"The price advertised in the mart or at a dealer is 99% of the time the On The Road price you pay."


This is for second hand cars on the website you were refered to, and from where i found my car. New cars, from deales can come in various forms but generally the dealer will give you the price including COE.

Hi there... looking to pick up a car eh? Same here.. I've been doing my research, and sgexpat forums have been VERY helpful. Let me try to address your question.

The price listed on sgcarmart is the price they want for the car... u do NOT need to add the COE component to it.

For instance, let me run you through the parameters listed on a standard sgcarmart post.

EXAMPLE:
Honda Civic VTI 1.6A

Price $49,800
Road tax $740 per year
Transmission Auto
Engine cap 1595 cc
Reg date 29-Nov-2006
Mileage -
COE $12,979
OMV $18,877
Depreciation $5,198 per year
Category PARF Car
---------------------------

So the price you pay for this car is 49,800!! thats it... no further calculations required. You can of course negotiate the price downwards a little bit, but you get the idea

Road tax varies by engine capacity... i think it's $740 for 1600cc and below, about $1,000 for 1800cc, and $1,200 for 2000cc... or roughly there. If, however, you purchase a weekend car, the road tax is a flat $50 regardless of engine capacity, make or model [hmmm i like]

The COE is essentially the amount that the first owner paid to drive the car on sg roads. YOU dont hav anything to do with it now, but its good to know this when you're reselling the car, as you will price it according to how much of that amount is used up (straight line depreciation over 10 years).

Depreciation is just a dollar figure to give you a rough idea of how much value the car loses on the open market in a given year. However, this is calculated on a straight line too, which makes it rather irrelevant (i feel).
Category: this has two kinds of cars... PARF cars, and COE cars... u can read about this here: http://www.sgcarmart.com/news/writeup.php?AID=12

I am also evaluating the leasing option very carefully. However, if you're SURE that you'll be here for 3 years, then it's probably best to go for a used car... preferably under 3 years. There are some good deals out these days too !

Finally, based on usage and/or tenure, there is a business model for buying a car, buying a wkend car, and leasing a car. Each with its pros and cons.

Good luck! Happy hunting