Cost of owning a car in Singapore

A mid-range car typically costs around $200,000 to $300,000 in total over 10 years once you add depreciation, loan interest, road tax, insurance, petrol, parking and maintenance. Depreciation alone is usually 40 to 50% of that. Enter your numbers above for an estimate.

Under MAS rules you can finance at most 60% of the price if the car's OMV is above $20,000, or 70% if the OMV is $20,000 or below. The maximum loan tenure is 7 years.

Depreciation. Because the COE lasts 10 years and makes up a big part of the price, the car is worth very little at the end, so most of what you pay is simply lost over time.

For a petrol car it is based on engine capacity, rising in bands. For example a 1,600cc car is roughly $740 a year. The calculator works it out from the engine size you enter.

Car loans quote a flat rate on the full amount for the whole tenure, so the effective rate is almost double. A 2.78% flat rate is roughly a 5.3% effective interest rate over 5 to 7 years.

The Certificate of Entitlement is a 10-year licence to own a car, bought at bidding held twice a month. It's one of the biggest parts of a Singapore car's price and swings with demand, often tens of thousands of dollars (Category A and B premiums have ranged widely). It expires after 10 years, which is why depreciation is so high.

OMV (Open Market Value) is the car's basic import value. ARF (Additional Registration Fee) is a tax charged as a percentage of OMV on tiers (100% up to S$20,000 of OMV, then higher bands). The PARF rebate is part of the ARF you get back if you deregister the car before 10 years, which offsets depreciation.

For most people, yes. A car's all-in cost often works out to S$2,000-S$2,500+ a month once depreciation, loan, insurance, road tax, petrol and parking are counted. Unless you drive a lot or have specific needs, public transport plus occasional Grab or car-sharing is usually far cheaper.