Weighing the cost of owning a car in Singapore
With increasing use of third party taxi services, is it more cost efficient to own a car in Singapore or to use Grab for transport? While owning a car may signal affluence, status, wealth, prestige and the like, these are psychological barriers compared to actual concerns such as cost, convenience and time constraints. However, what if you Grab instead of taking public transportation or drive? Will it make more financial sense? Let's weigh the costs.
Owning a Car and Driving Costs
In Singapore, one way of finding out car ownership cost is to calculate how much you are likely to spend over 10 years. A 10-year period is a good basis to calculate cost, since new cars bought will come with a 10-year Certificate of Entitlement (COE). However, for a shorter term cost analysis of owning a car, let's stick with 1 year.
In general, there are 6 main cost areas you should look at before owning a car in Singapore;
- What is the cost of a car?
- How about the interest cost?
- How much is road tax for different cars?
- Which car insurance plan?
- Miscellaneous parking, servicing, ERP
- Monthly or yearly servicing
To further explain the cost of ERP, Singaporean drivers are additionally required to pay road tolls every day. Through Singapore's Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) framework, drivers are required to pay for driving on exceedingly congested streets amid very congested occasions.
Singapore controls activity clog in the city through this computerized, electronic toll framework, which charges drivers all the more amid crest hours and in zones that have a tendency to end up profoundly congested.
This urges drivers to drive at less very trafficked occasions and to take less exceptionally trafficked courses, and by and large debilitates superfluous driving.
It additionally supports utilization of open transport and enables Singapore to oversee contamination levels. Driving to the CBD and out on a work day can cost up to $10 per day, on top of excessive parking fees and petrol.
Not forgetting the cost of a driving license, if you want to drive the car you’re planning to buy.
No matter if you plan to buy a car or not, earning a driving license is a very useful asset. You would have the ability to rent a car, or borrow it from someone you know, or even possibly may need it to drive a company car for work purposes.
According to Channel NewsAsia; how much it really costs to own a car in singapore, they sum it up pretty nicely in this graphic.
Considering the annual costs of car ownership in Singapore, it adds up to $19,020 + parking fees outside + ERP estimated around $2,000 ~ $20,000 per year. Assuming a 30% deposit on a $100,000 car. Spreading the 30% deposit over the loan tenure of 7 years, it comes up to an additional $4,286 per year. Total cost of owning a car over a period of 7 years ~ $24,300.
Grabbing everywhere
Looking at Grab Singapore, JustGrab has a base fare of $2.50, and additional $0.50 per km + $0.16 per minute. Peak hour fees may cause prices to rise.
Base fare of Grab would come up to $10, and assuming peak hour charges for 2 rides a day to and fro work, plus 8 weekend rides and night out rides, it will come up to 18 rides a week ~ 18 * $20 = $360.
Annually, it will cost about $18,720.
If you Grab everywhere as compared to owning a car, you can save up to $5,580 per year or $465 per month!
Not to mention the time saved finding a parking space, actual driving time, environmental costs...
Of course, after paying off the instalments and looking at a time period of 10 years, the difference may not add up to much. However, renewing your COE or buying a new car will be an added cost, and car insurance/accidents are sometimes inevitable. Ultimately, priorities and personal preference come into play, but that's it for looking at the costs of owning a car in Singapore.
To conclude, in any case, your cost of owning a car will be considerably more costly than that! Especially since this costing does exclude any future increment in COE, street charge, vacillations in fuel cost, fines, mishaps, rising support expenses and ERP/stopping rate climbs.
In the event that all the above expenses haven't discouraged from you from thinking about purchasing a car, you can allude to Dollars and Sense point by point cost assessments of owning different classes of cars, beginning from the humble Mitsubishi Attrage at the low-end, to a Porsche or a Ferrari, lastly speculatively a Tesla 3.
At last, purchasing an auto is a genuine budgetary responsibility that requires watchful figuring that measures moderateness with Cost Of Owning A Car in Singapore
On a side not, for more information about getting a driving license in Singapore or buying/owning cars in Singapore, the following links will guide you:
To conclude, in any case, your cost of owning a car will be considerably more costly than that! Especially since this costing does exclude any future increment in COE, street charge, vacillations in fuel cost, fines, mishaps, rising support expenses and ERP/stopping rate climbs.
In the event that all the above expenses haven't discouraged from you from thinking about purchasing a car, you can allude to Dollars and Sense point by point cost assessments of owning different classes of cars, beginning from the humble Mitsubishi Attrage at the low-end, to a Porsche or a Ferrari, lastly speculatively a Tesla 3.
At last, purchasing an auto is a genuine budgetary responsibility that requires watchful figuring that measures moderateness with Cost Of Owning A Car in Singapore
On a side not, for more information about getting a driving license in Singapore or buying/owning cars in Singapore, the following links will guide you:
- Getting a international driving license
- Specific details about the driving license theory tests
- How to buy a car in Singapore
- Tips on passing your driving license in Singapore
The cost of owning a car in Singapore is definitely high, but if I believe it's worth it if you want to have your own personal space while travelling. I cannot stand being stuck with other people when taking public transport, especially so during peak hours!
ReplyDeleteI believe that there is no need to own a car in Singapore. After all, Singapore is a small country. We can reach almost anywhere with just public transport, and at an affordable price too! The cost of owning a car is just too much, I just don't see a point in getting one.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I've gotten my driving license several years ago, but I've yet to buy a car of my own, because the cost of owning a car in Singapore is just too ridiculous! Since taking public transport can just about get me anywhere in the country, I don't think it's worth getting a car of my own right now.
ReplyDeleteI've always ridden MRT for my daily commute. However, with the recent spike in MRT breakdowns, I've been contemplating on getting a car instead. Even if the cost of owning a car in Singapore is high, it's a small price to pay for convenience!
ReplyDeleteI find it quite interesting that even though the cost of owning a car in Singapore is extremely high when compared to many other countries, cars are still being bought here. It seems like to many, a car is a need rather than just a want.
ReplyDeleteThere are times when I feel that I should have gotten a car, even though the cost of owning a car in Singapore is crazily high. I got to admit, if public transport had been more reliable recently, I wouldn't have felt this way.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is true that the cost of owning a car is very high in Singapore, driving is a necessary skill that I think everyone should acquire as you can opt to rent a car rather than buying one. Furthermore, cars are a necessity in other countries that renting a car is the better option.
ReplyDeleteSeeing the recent news on the insane Grab prices, I think there is a possibility that the cost of taking Grab to owning a car will become the same. If so, car is now a better option as you don’t have to worry about the availability of a ride & the absurd price spikes.
ReplyDeleteI'd agree that buying a car will cost much more but you forgot about the factor that is on the other side of the scale: time. As the saying goes, "time is priceless". You’ll be able to accomplish more when your travelling time is greatly reduced.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, it all depends on how much of an importance you placed on your time. Getting a car is the better option if you’re a busy person with a very packed schedule. If you don’t mind the travelling time, by all means take the other option.
ReplyDeleteThanks for raising a very important point on financial responsibility. People rarely talk about the financial burden it brings to their life solely because it is meant to be a convenience instead. We should all stop having this mindset & really consider whether it’s a burden you’re willing to carry for the lifespan of that car.
ReplyDeleteNowadays it’s rare to see families who can afford but don’t own a car. When I finally come around one, I was shock to see how carefree they are all because they have one less financial burden than the others.
ReplyDeleteAlong side the financial freedom, if you don’t own a car, you also won’t need to worry about your mental & physical state when travelling because you’re not the designated driver. Just a little life hack for you guys out there.
ReplyDeleteI think some private hire drivers are particular about transporting pets and babies around, due to the increased chances of mess & smell after each lift. Therefore, if you have them within your family, the best option that’ll save lots of hassle is to opt for owning a car instead.
ReplyDeleteA comprehensive guide on the cost of Driving in Singapore, including petrol, car maintenance, and parking fees.
ReplyDelete