Car or NO Car - with a 2 year old & 3 year old

[nutnut]

I've just been having a discussion around this and think the good argument for having a car in Singapore aside from what has already been mentioned.

When you have a situation like the OP, a 2 and a 3 year old, chances are they are not in carseat buggies and therefore when travelling in a car there is a real issue with no car seats, taxi drivers are all mental (no arguments please, it's true!) and therefore the safety is at risk.

Cars for families with kids of toddler age makes sense, otherwise, not really.

And thanks for the spam zontyfenals!

[SingLaw]

We also have a toddler and are considering getting a used compact car after having one too many cab rides with him in no car seat.

I saw someone quote $1000 per month in terms of costs. How is it possible that it could be that high? Was this including car payments as well or just monthly fees, ERP, etc.?

I'm trying to get a sense of the all-in costs related to owning a car and it seems like it's possible to get a car with 3-4 years left on the COE for around $20,000. Other than the up front cost of the car itself (which includes the COE, right?), what other expenses am I looking at?

We would mostly use the car on the weekends or after 7pm, so we are strongly considering the revised OPC option.

[x9200]

We also have a toddler and are considering getting a used compact car after having one too many cab rides with him in no car seat.

I saw someone quote $1000 per month in terms of costs. How is it possible that it could be that high? Was this including car payments as well or just monthly fees, ERP, etc.?

Yes, this is likely with the payments of the instalments.

I'm trying to get a sense of the all-in costs related to owning a car and it seems like it's possible to get a car with 3-4 years left on the COE for around $20,000. Other than the up front cost of the car itself (which includes the COE, right?), what other expenses am I looking at?

We would mostly use the car on the weekends or after 7pm, so we are strongly considering the revised OPC option.

We bought a car exactly for the reason of the kid car seat safety. It is a mid size 3yo Japanese thing, normal (not the off-peak) and our monthly expenses are I believe around $1200 including the instalments and everyday use. On top of this there is ~$700 for the road tax and ~$2k insurance paid annually and some peanuts for other assorted things. If you want to pay cash (no loan) I would estimate the monthly costs to be within $200-500 range (plus the annual ones).

[SingLaw]

We also have a toddler and are considering getting a used compact car after having one too many cab rides with him in no car seat.

I saw someone quote $1000 per month in terms of costs. How is it possible that it could be that high? Was this including car payments as well or just monthly fees, ERP, etc.?

Yes, this is likely with the payments of the instalments.

I'm trying to get a sense of the all-in costs related to owning a car and it seems like it's possible to get a car with 3-4 years left on the COE for around $20,000. Other than the up front cost of the car itself (which includes the COE, right?), what other expenses am I looking at?

We would mostly use the car on the weekends or after 7pm, so we are strongly considering the revised OPC option.

We bought a car exactly for the reason of the kid car seat safety. It is a mid size 3yo Japanese thing, normal (not the off-peak) and our monthly expenses are I believe around $1200 including the instalments and everyday use. On top of this there is ~$700 for the road tax and ~$2k insurance paid annually and some peanuts for other assorted things. If you want to pay cash (no loan) I would estimate the monthly costs to be within $200-500 range (plus the annual ones).

Assuming we paid in cash and went the OPC route, it shouldn't be that expensive at all per month. If I understand the OPC idea correctly, the government cuts you a check each month? Is it possible to have a "free" (after purchase) part-time car then?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Is it possible to have a "free" (after purchase) part-time car then?

No.

Everything you need to know about owning a car in Singapore....

http://www.onemotoring.com.sg/publish/o ... ng/en.html

Lot's of good links on my links page below......

[x9200]

How this coud be free under any circumstances? You have to pay for insurance, road tax and petrol anyway. The only significant financial advantage of OPC is at the time of the purchase. You will save some money on the road tax but this is nothing impressive comparing to cumulative cost of petrol.