What to do with a car stipend of $1250/month?

the lynx · Post by **the lynx** » Fri, 02 Mar 2012 3:54 pm

zzm9980 wrote:Ok so, working out the numbers on a used car here. What extras should I account for besides the monthly payment of the car itself?

Road tax = Included in car payment, correct?

Parking at HDB = No idea what this costs, or how to even "pay" for it. input?

Payment can be made using AXS machine or directly at HDB branches. https://services2.hdb.gov.sg/webapp/BN2 ... 22Main.jsp

Depending on where you stay, you may pay from SGD75 up to SGD120 per month. You can find out the actual cost from the website. First-time application must be done in person in HDB branch, which you will be issued the RFID tag to be placed on your front screen. Successive monthly payments can then be done using AXS machine.

Parking at Work = Free

Lucky you

ERP charges = variable

If you do your homework, you may figure out the best route/time frame to avoid it

Gas / Petrol = ~$2.20 per Litre it seems, which is about a quarter gallon.. Ugh. Now I know why Bush spent so much bombing the Middle East

It all depends on your car and its consumption. My Honda gulped around SGD70 per week and that is already with 5% discount from my Caltex card.

Car Insurance = Any online sites I can get a quote? If not, a rough guideline on how to calculate?

Sorry, can't help on that one because my former company handles my car insurance.

Anything else?

the lynx · Post by **the lynx** » Fri, 02 Mar 2012 4:00 pm

Another note to add, an used car may command a higher insurance premium in comparison to a brand new one so best if you can look for one that can compromise for you. Always compare with at least 3 insurance companies.

zzm9980 · Post by **zzm9980** » Fri, 02 Mar 2012 4:23 pm

the lynx wrote:Another note to add, an used car may command a higher insurance premium in comparison to a brand new one so best if you can look for one that can compromise for you. Always compare with at least 3 insurance companies.

Really? That's at complete odds with the US. My mother runs one of the bigger insurance agencies in the Chicago area, so I've had a lot of experience with it there at least.

Any suggestion for the card / petrol brand with the best discount?

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Fri, 02 Mar 2012 4:34 pm

Are you aware that even if you are not at fault, once you report an accident to your insurance company here, even if the other driver's insurance pays, you premiums will go up? Insurance here and there are two different kettles of fish.

zzm9980 · Post by **zzm9980** » Fri, 02 Mar 2012 4:41 pm

sundaymorningstaple wrote:Are you aware that even if you are not at fault, once you report an accident to your insurance company here, even if the other driver's insurance pays, you premiums will go up? Insurance here and there are two different kettles of fish.

Yeah, actually happens in the US in a lot of states now via "shared" or "assigned" responsibility. This often happens especially when the same company insures both drivers. For example, they can do a 67/33 split of blame or something if they think the 'victim' could have done something about it.

sanjivvohra · Post by **sanjivvohra** » Fri, 02 Mar 2012 7:37 pm

I went through the same analysis (had the same amount of budget).
Tried driving a rental first to get the 'feel' of driving in Singapore and got hooked.
After three months, did some research (internet and physical visits to Ubi) on pre-owned cars. Beat a hasty retreat when 90% wouldnt even let you do a test drive before committing!
Tried the "new car" route, but with COE prices so high, could only settle on a KIA Cerato (guess OP has a thing about Korean box, but wheels are wheels!)

When I factored in insurance (S$2000/annum), road tax (~S$ 750). maintenance (~S$450/ annum) and depriciation (~S$ 8k per annum), decided to pay the long term rental of about S$ 1300/month for a Korean box (one year old). Everything included except petrol, ERP, parking and fines.
Best is that you can walk away and not get into the hassles of selling the car when you transfer out or need an upgrade.
The company that I hired from was good to let me go on a month-on-month basis at a two year long term rental rates (negotiated that one!).

viper2512 · Post by **viper2512** » Tue, 13 Mar 2012 8:32 am

sanjivvohra wrote:..... decided to pay the long term rental of about S$ 1300/month for a Korean box (one year old). ....

So you pay $1300 for 2 years then? Any idea what it would cost if we sign up for say 6 months?

zzm9980 · Post by **zzm9980** » Tue, 13 Mar 2012 10:02 am

So just an update then. I looked far and wide, and from lots of advice here and from coworkers, the sweet spot is a used Japanese car 3-4 years old. I wound up buying a "top of the line" (hah) Honda Fit that was four years old, and the financing came out to $917 a month. Insurance here for was $2000/yr, thats for 30s and married. Parking is 120/month in an HDB carpark. So 917 became 1217 before we counted petrol, ERP, and parking away from home. I could have gone about $100/month lower for a different Honda fit, but the boy-racer in me picked one of the 1.5 Liter RS models with all of the sports mods that was imported from Japan and in mint

Since I don't have an "end date" here, it made more sense I believe in my case to not lease. It seemed to be about a 25% per month markup.

sunil816 · Post by **sunil816** » Fri, 16 Mar 2012 1:06 pm

zzm9980 wrote:I legitimately thought it might be a specific type of... "something" here. I really didn't know!!

So I've been here 10 months now, and have yet to see a used car dealer. Admittedly most of my time is spent in a few specific areas though around CBD, the East, then the normal places around Orchard. Where can I go to find a "decent" used car place? Are there any semi-trustable online sources? I've seen a few, but werent sure if they were scams or not.

If you want trustworthiness, then go for the 2nd hand cars owned by the larger car dealers here (e.g. Cycle & Carriage has one).

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Fri, 16 Mar 2012 1:21 pm

zzm, why is your HDB season parking so high? I only pay $75/month.

the lynx · Post by **the lynx** » Fri, 16 Mar 2012 1:57 pm

sundaymorningstaple wrote:zzm, why is your HDB season parking so high? I only pay $75/month.

Must be staying close to prime areas, I think.

Jacksontanyy · Post by **Jacksontanyy** » Sun, 25 Mar 2012 5:08 am

I'm renting out my 3 year old 520i, incase if u are interested, pm me for more details

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Sun, 25 Mar 2012 5:13 am

Jacksontanyy wrote:I'm renting out my 3 year old 520i, incase if u are interested, pm me for more details

No thanks, that would be illegal.

Jacksontanyy · Post by **Jacksontanyy** » Sun, 25 Mar 2012 5:23 am

JR8 wrote:
Jacksontanyy wrote:I'm renting out my 3 year old 520i, incase if u are interested, pm me for more details
No thanks, that would be illegal.

Hey you and I know you've broken the forum rules by advertising, but are you also advocating that people break the law?

Just wondering.

Just for your info, it's not illegal. It's just that the insurance for the car don't cover for subletting just incase if accident happens. In most cases, you don't have to let the insurer know that you rented the car but merely was driving a "friend's car" and that would settle the problem.

Definitely for a private arrangement trust is important and things can be worked out and definitely easier on your pocket as well. Do let me know if u change ur mind.

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Sun, 25 Mar 2012 5:25 am

You're joking right?

You're soliciting strangers on the web to hire your car as 'a friend'?

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