Car 01 (May 08 - Dec 12)

[b0rderc0llie]

Saw the journal. Nice trip

[Musicwhiz]

Your friends who got subsidized loans are quite common. A few of my cohort bot their first 700K condo back in 1999-2000, just 3 years after starting their working life when they are still paying for their car loans. The 20% downpayment was part of the "parental" gift toward their matrimonial home. Now they have mostly upgraded to the million dollar condo. The starting pay back then was only around 2.7K/month, so that is no way they could have saved 140k in just 3 yrs after working with a car loan when there was also an Asian currency crisis in that 3 yrs.

Their parents see it as "helping their kids" to get "one rung up the social ladder".

To each his own la...

I know I won't do it for my kid. If he can't afford it, he needs to figure out a way to get what he wants

Hi MM, I may write a blog post on it. Feel quite strongly about it in my usual opinionated way. Hahahaha....

[helios]

YO Poland,

That was a long trip! 168 days (about half a year of exploration)!

Companion must be sexy, chic, lor ...

[helios]

I may write a blog post on it. Feel quite strongly about it in my usual opinionated way. Hahahaha....

whizzy ... as usual ... curious: do you have a driving license?

[Musicwhiz]

whizzy ... as usual ... curious: do you have a driving license?

Hi San San, yes I do.

[Musicwhiz]

COEs for all vehicle categories surge in latest bidding exercise
By Lin Jiamei | Posted: 24 March 2010 1721 hrs

SINGAPORE : COE prices have shot up by as much as S$14,000 in the latest bidding exercise.

The market appears to be reacting to an expected reduction in the supply of COEs next month.

The market has been bracing for the prices of COEs to head north, but what it did not expect was the size of the jump in just one bidding exercise.

The biggest increase was in the Open category, where the premium closed at S$42,001, an increase of S$14,411.

The COE for big cars also saw a significant jump. It rose S$9,700 to S$36,089. For small cars, the new premium stood at S$28,389 - up S$7,587.

In other categories, the COE for commercial vehicles climbed S$5,889 to close at S$32,890, while premiums for motorcycles went up S$41 to S$1,200.

Car dealers MediaCorp spoke to did not expect this wave of increases to be so big.

Chin Kee Min, senior manager, KIA Motors, said: "(I was) a bit taken aback, but in all honesty, if it does not come now, it will come later, so it is a matter of time. I think it is mainly a knee-jerk reaction... it is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

"When you expect the prices next round to increase, you will actually see it this round. Since it did happen this round, so the next round we are not expecting as huge a jump as what we see now. Not only is the public worried, the car distributors are also worried that they may not be able to circulate the COEs."

This is the latest COE bidding for this quota year. From next month, a new quota system will kick in, whereby the number of COEs available will be determined by the actual number of cars de-registered. This means fewer COEs and higher prices.

But car dealers MediaCorp spoke to said they do not expect the jump in the COE prices next month to be as drastic as what they have seen this time round.

They expect to raise car prices by another 20 to 30 per cent, with higher COE prices and a supply cut.

And as new cars become more expensive, second-hand cars may be a more popular option. One second-hand car dealer said he has seen a 10 per cent increase in sales since the COE supply cut was announced.

Raymond Tang, Yong Lee Seng Motors Pte Ltd, said: "For used cars, I think at the moment, the increase will still be there, maybe around S$3,000 to S$5,000 expected. The prices for used cars are still quite moderate, still very far away from a new car, so I feel that the prices are still very stable. So even if they increase by S$3,000 to S$5,000, it is still a very big gap."

There will be 4,238 COEs available in the next bidding exercise and dealers said high COE prices are here to stay. - CNA/ms

[kennynah]

influx of foreigners....

[Aspellian]

everything also can point to foreigners???

probably garmen way of showing that they are in control - next will be policies to reduce COE prices as people complain too expensive. So if garmen still wants to do its part to protect the ozone layer and control car population, it will confess that it has no choice but to raise maintenance prices (eg. car parks, ERP etc) for the better of humanity...

so another rounds of up and downs... like relationship between bonds and interest rate.. another analogy is boiling a frog slowly but upping and lowering the temperature... slowly but surely...

frog porridge anyone?

[iam802]

the COE will come down when the taxi company wants to buy.

[Musicwhiz]

Car prices rising, property hitting new highs. No wonder cost of living in Singapore just keeps going up and up!

24-year old teacher can afford a S$60,000 car? Sometimes I am quite surprised by this kind of news. You really have so much savings at 24 years old?

Mar 26, 2010
Prices of cars rise by up to $22,000
Motor firms expecting COE premiums to increase further; used car sales likely to soar
By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent

MOTOR firms have increased car prices by as much as $22,000, in anticipation of certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums going up further.

The price rises came just a day after car premiums soared by $8,000 to $14,000, which many players see as a sign of things to come.

Toyota agent Borneo Motors, the biggest player in Singapore, has raised sticker prices by between $10,000 and $15,500. A Toyota Corolla costs $85,000, up $11,000 from its previous rate before Wednesday; and a Camry is $116,000 - up $13,000. The Vios, a popular budget model, is now about $70,000 - up $10,000. It cost around $41,000 just a year ago.

Honda agent Kah Motor has raised prices by $8,000 to $11,000, and Nissan agent Tan Chong Motor has increased prices by up to $14,000.

Car prices of the Korean brands have gone up, too. Hyundai agent Komoco Motors, which raised the price of its i30 by $8,000 after the COE supply cut was announced two weeks ago, has increased it again by $5,000. The hatchback now costs around $75,400. Rival Kia is keeping its Cerato Forte sedan below $70,000, but delivery is not guaranteed at that price. This means buyers may eventually have to fork out more if they want to secure a COE within a realistic timeframe.

Cycle & Carriage Kia senior manager Chin Kee Min said: 'The whole market is still reeling from the COE results. There is quite a lot of uncertainty now, and many people are just adopting a wait-and-see approach.'

Cycle & Carriage's Mercedes-Benz division, for instance, has not decided on price changes yet. It will do so only after a meeting today. 'Between now and then, we're not supposed to quote any prices,' a Merc salesman told The Straits Times.

BMW agent Performance Motors was more decisive. It has raised prices by roughly $20,000 across the board. The list price of the entry-level 3-series for instance is now $150,800 - up from $128,800.

Performance Motors managing director Say Kwee Neng said the company held the previous rates up to 3pm yesterday, and many customers were rushing to the showroom to beat the deadline.

'It was like a fish market here,' he quipped. 'We've had a flood of orders.'

With the spike in prices, industry observers reckon many so-called marginal buyers who used to go for Chinese and Malaysian brands might drop out of the market. Others might switch to used cars.

Mr Kevin Kwee, executive director of Group Exklusiv, which distributes Geely of China, said: 'It's definitely going to be a challenge.'

Geely prices have gone up to more than $50,000 now - still among the lowest rates in town - from as little as $30,000.

With COE prices expected to soar to at least the $40,000 mark, second-hand cars are looking more attractive. Used car dealer CarTimes has seen increased sales in the last couple of weeks. Managing director Eddie Loo said: 'I think it will go back to the time when we used to sell seven used cars for every new car.'

In recent years, new car sales outpaced used car sales four to one. With resale values improving, the supply of used vehicles has increased too, as traders no longer find it necessary to re-export cars.

Car exporter Ng Cheng Swee said 'only older cars are shipped out now, and those which are not popular here'.

Motor traders said current prices are now the new reality. And buyers like Ms Joyce Lee, who managed to secure a car just before the price spike, are breathing a sigh of relief.

The 24-year-old school teacher bought a Chevrolet Cruze 1.6 for about $60,000 two Saturdays ago. Chevy prices have gone up twice since, and the same car is now about $70,000. 'I think I'm quite lucky,' Ms Lee said. 'It'd be quite hard to secure a car once the COE quota cut sets in.'

The Consumers Association of Singapore said those who missed out on pre-hike prices should not rush in. Its executive director Seah Seng Choon said that the important thing now is 'not to follow the herd' but to take stock of how much one can afford to pay. 'Consumers should put off a purchase if buying a car now will result in overstretching themselves financially. They might end up losing the car if they fail to service the loan.'

[email protected]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Current prices of some cars after price hikes:

Toyota Corolla: $85,000 - up $11,000

Camry: $116,000 - up $13,000

Vios: about $70,000 - up $10,000

Honda: up by $8,000 to $11,000

Nissan: increased by up to $14,000

Hyundai i30: around $75,400 - up $5,000 after an earlier $8,000 increase

BMW: up about $20,000 across the board

BMW 3-series: $150,800 - up $22,000

Chevrolet Cruze 1.6: about $70,000 - up from about $60,000 two Saturdays ago