Car in Singapore: Importing, Buying, Renting, Leasing, Sharing
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If importing a car to Singapore has been ruled out, there are three other option on owning a car in Singapore, which is either buying your ownand renting or leasing a vehicle. Alternatively join a car sharing scheme.
Take into account the following: If you spend S$ 5 a day on Bus or MRT commuting you spend 1,825 S$ a year. If you drive taxi for S$ 10 each day including weekends and holidays you would spend 3,650 S$.
With regard to the rate of depreciationof cars in Singapore, buying a car makes sense if you stay in Singapore longer than three years.
Leasing a car will cost you anything above SGD 1,000 a month, while the monthly cost for a purchase depend on your downpayment and consequent financial monthly installments added to the monthly running cost.
Hire purchase is a viable alternative to buying a car. You pay a fixed monthly sum over two or more years. Servicing, road tax, insurance and any accident claims are taken care of by the leasing company and a replacement vehicle is also provided when necessary. At the end of the lease period you can exercise your option to purchase the car.
See below table of comparison to evaluate the various options.
| Info: Buy - Rent - Lease | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ARF | Additional Registration fee, 100 per cent of the Open Market Value calculated by Singapore Customs |
| COE | Certificate of Entitlement. If you want to buy a car in Singapore you need to auction for this document ( auctions are twice a mont) which is to secure with a SGD 10,000 deposit per bid. Pre-condition: you must register a car within six months when bidding for category A (cars up to 1,600 cc) Category B (cars above 1,600 cc). For category C (mostly for used cars) you need to register the car within three months. |
| Excise Duty | Similar to an import duty this is 45 per cent of the OMV |
| GST | Goods & Services Tax, 7% of a new car after deducting excise duty. |
| OMV | Open Market Value as calculated by Singapore Customs. |
| PARF | Preferential Additional Registration Fee is a rebate to offset registration taxes of new vehicles. |
| Registration Tax | SGD 140 |
| Road Tax | Ranges from SGD 413 a year to SGD 10,548 (for a Rolls Royce!) |
| Transfer Fee | The Government levies a tax when a car changes hands. Flat fee of SGD 10 per car plus 2 per cent of the vehicle's value. |
| Used Car Surcharge | SGD 10,000 - to discourage import of used cars! |
The price of any car in Singapore depends on
The bid for the Certificate of Entitlement (COE)
The Open Market Value (OMV)
Custom Duty
Additonal Registration Fee
| Info: COSTS of buying a car in Singapore | ||||||||||||
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The Open Market Value of a car s assessed by the Singapore Customstaking into account purchase price, freight, insurance and all other charges incidental to the sale and delivery of the car from country of manufacture to Singapore. To get an estimated OMV of a particular car model, please visit the website below and enter the make of the car, select a model and view the estimated OMV of a model you wish to pruchase.
The next step to estimate the cost of a car visit the dealers list of registered cars in Singapore which features all cost involved as listed in the Info table below for the modell of your choice.
| Website: |
| Average OMV in previous month |
| Cost of Car in previous month |
Owing a car in Singapore has been made purposely very expensive by the Singaporean Government to control traffic on the small island. The Vehicle Quota Scheme for a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) of 10 years from the date of registration limits the number of cars considerably and drives up the costs. Singapore is one of the most expensive places in the world to own a car!
Note: you may own a car on an off-peak scheme entitling you to drive the car evenings, weekends and public holidays only. As thereby you are not contributing to peak hour congestion the COE is much lower. You can convert to normal usage and back again any time.
To save you money and trouble, make sure that the car dealer is willing to negotiate the purchase of the Certificate of Entitlement for you. If you agree on a price for the car with the dealer, close the deal, get your certificate and then register the car. Check the value of the car according to the Land Transportation Authority (LTA) by submitting the registration number of the vehicle for assessment. Then, pay the LTA's transfer fee to complete the transfer of the car from the seller to you.
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Road Tax needs to be paid annually. Visit the Road Tax Calculator below for details.
One months before the expiry date you will receive a road tax renewal notice. Before the renewal you need to
| ensure cover of the full period of the new licence by the insurance |
| check if your vehicle is due for a statutory inspection. |
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| You may then renew your Road Tax |
| Online at the web site below |
| Visit one of the Road Tax Collection Centres mentioned in the renewal notice |
| Pay by Giro or cheque to the Land Transport Authority |
| The Land Transport Authority provides the following services at the web sites mentioned below |
| Buy a new vehicle |
| Maintain a vehicle |
| Buy/Sell a used vehicle |
| De register a vehicle |
| Online Road Tax renewal |
| Pay fines and charges online |
| View and print check-lists for various tasks |
| Renew your COE |
| Change your particulars (Address etc.) online |
The Automobile Association Singapore is an authorised Service Collection Centre for Road Tax Renewals. Motorists can now visit AA Customer Service Centres at two convenient locations (River Valley and Leng Kee) and even choose to pay via OCBC's 0% interest instalment plan. For more information on our locations and operating hours, please visit www.aas.com.sg.
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Second Hand Cars When buying a used car additionally to the normal evaluation you need to check the remaining time of the Certificate of Entitlement and the numbers on the number plate. Numbers containing a 4 are particularly difficult to sell due to Chinese superstition! The same applies if you are the third owner of the car and the next buyer would be number four. A transfer fee amounting to 2% of the assessed vehicle value will be levied. Car auctions are becoming very popular in Singapore and are a good source for assessing prices and selling cars when leaving the country.
| Watch out for misrepresentation or unsatisfactory services: | |
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Beware of oral agreements and paying high deposits |
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Beware of assurance given such as securing a COE or car loan |
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Beware of the statement that prices would be raised soon |
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Beware of the offer to back up a higher price of the car to secure a bigger loan. The loan limit is 70 percent of the sales price |
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Beware of loans offered through the dealer |
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Car Sharing: Joint Car Ownership Schemes
The Joint Car Ownership Scheme is ideal for those who do not need a car every day or only a few hours per day. You join the scheme and are permitted to reserve a car by SMS, online or by automated phone booking system (24 hours). You access the car by keying in the reservation code via your cellphone and pick up the car key with your personal smart card. Instead of renting a car for a dayfrom the glove compartment. Rates are between SGD 8 - 11 for an hour plus an additional 30 - 40 cents per kilometre for samll cars such as a Nissan Sunny 1.5 Saloon. You have to resigster for a fee of about SGD 130 - 150 a year and pay a security deposit of SGD 100.
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