New car or Used Car?

[joeyy]

Let me chip in my views as well. 2 years ago, I changed my job which requires me to commute between Changi and Town. I stay in Novena and has always take Grab/Uber (when it still exists). If I am working in Town only, I would probably never get a car. However, with the commute, I figured it is easier to get a car.

Disclaimer, I am a self-proclaimed terrible driver (another story for another day) and I am not sure where to get the car fixed (given the frequency I get it scratched and some bumps), how to get insurance sorted, etc. I figured the easiest approach (at that point) is to rent a car, given I have zero experience towards owning a car and the responsibilities that comes with it. Essentially, its like buying a property versus renting a property. For me, I wanted some basic understanding before I jump in to buy a car.

Pros: When I have a problem with the car (think scratch/bumps, etc), I call the rental company, they pick up the car and provide another alternate car for me to drive. I dont have to care about insurance, maintenance, etc. I only need to focus on monthly rental, parking, ERP charges and petrol.

Cons: Its obviously a lot more expensive and I dont get the "No Claim Discount" for insurance if i had own a car.

After two years of renting, I am ready to buy a car and am shopping. I would be getting a second handed car for a few reasons based on my "window shopping" experiences so far. Obviously, they are cheaper (try to avoid the Hitachi loan arrangements even though it allows you to put in a lower deposit because it is likely you will lose money when you sell the car) versus renting. If you do plan to buy a brand new car, you should be quite sure that you will not leave Singapore within the next 2-3 years because the depreciation are the highest and the downpayments are significant as well. I don't have a fixed plan on how long I will stay, so I prefer some flexibility in case I need to sell the car within a short period.

Hope you find these information useful!

Great thanks for sharing your own experience and thoughts. Will put this into our consideration too! (:

[K@therineL33]

Having the consideration of getting a car however.. due to the current market, should I get a new car or used car? Too much consideration to look into. Or renting a car will be much better?

Would like to hear some opinion from you guys.

It depends on your preference because if you buy a new car, you have something of your own. For used car, the car must be in a great shape or else you need to fork out money to repair if it cause you any problems. Overall also must see your budget.

[h0nd4l3g3nd]

Depends! You can get a used BMW for the price of a new Kia Cerato! So it really depends on you. For me, I decided on a used car because I just wanted to try driving a European car and I couldn't afford a new one so..... If you ever need it, got mine from here: https://classifieds.singaporeexpats.com ... php/cat/16

[bgd]

I knew a car guy who moved here. He rented for a month and decided not to get a car. Sg isn't a place for people that like cars.