Average cost of buying and maintaining a car in Singapore
Car ownership costs can be categorised into initial purchase costs and recurring costs.
Initial Purchase Costs
•Certificate of Entitlement (COE) - The Vehicle Quota System is an initiative to control the number of cars on Singapore's roads, by determining the number of new vehicles allowed for registration per year. The vehicle quota for a given year is implemented through the monthly release of what is known as Certificate of Entitlement or COE. The COE is a certificate that entitles you to to register and own a vehicle for 10 years. If you wish to buy a car in Singapore, you must participate in a COE bidding exercise. This is an auction of sorts where you have to bid for the certificate in order to fall within the pre-determined quota. Most often, the demand for COEs outweighs the limited quota that is released. This imbalance often results in unaffordable COE costs.
•Open Market Value (OMV) - OMV is the value of the car as assessed by the Singapore Customs, taking 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 click here.
•Goods and Services Tax (GST) - GST is 7% of the Custom Duty. For more information on GST click here.
•Registration Fees - SGD 140
•Additional Registration Fees - 100% of OMV
•Excise duty - 20% of OMV
•Vehicle number Plate - usually around SGD 25 - 30
•Radio licence fee (if applicable) - SGD 27
Note: The above mentioned costs were accurate as of March 2009 and exclude the car dealer's profit margins.
To find out on the exact amount you may end up paying for a car, you can refer to the latest costs of cars.
Recurring costs
•Motor Insurance - Motor insurance is compulsory in Singapore and you must show proof of insurance each time you renew your road tax. Insurance premium depends upon the type of policy.
•Road Tax - Road tax rates are variable depending upon your car's engine capacity. A surcharge ranging from 10% to 50% on the road tax, is applicable for cars that are more than 10 years old. For more details on how to calculate road tax, click here.
•Petrol costs - for current petrol prices click here
•Parking charges - for details click here
•Vehicle Inspection charges - the frequency of inspections depends on the age of your car and the price quoted by the respective inspection centre
•Electronic Road Pricing - electronic system of road pricing based on a pay-as-you-use principle. For details click here.
•Car Maintenance costs - depends on how frequently you use your car and the amount of wear and tear it undergoes
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