COE hit 100k again, is it worth buying a car in Singapore or just Grab everything?

Question

Category A COE crossed 100k in the latest bidding and I'm seriously reconsidering. Family of 4, two young kids, staying in Sengkang. Currently we Grab and take MRT everywhere. The convenience of a car is tempting especially with kids and groceries, but the total cost is insane. For those who did the sums, is owning a car in Singapore ever financially 'worth it' or is it purely a lifestyle luxury?

FinBro Darren · Accepted Answer

I ran the numbers properly for my own family. A typical new Cat A car all-in (COE 100k, car price, road tax, insurance, parking, petrol, maintenance) works out to roughly 2.5k to 3k a month over 10 years of ownership. My family's Grab and public transport spend was about 900 to 1.1k a month even with two kids. So purely financial, a car costs us an extra ~1.8k a month, which over 10 years is around 200k. Nobody buys a car in Singapore because it's cheaper; you buy it for the intangibles like door-to-door with sleeping kids, spontaneous trips to JB, no waiting for surge Grab in the rain. Be honest that it's a lifestyle purchase, not an investment.

Hawker Ah Boy · Answer

Honestly for your specific situation (Sengkang, MRT on the line, no crazy work commute), I'd stay car-lite. Sengkang has decent LRT plus MRT connectivity, and for the occasional heavy grocery or family outing, Grab or even a car-sharing service like GetGo works out far cheaper than ownership. We do BlueSG and GetGo for weekend errands, maybe 200 to 300 a month, versus 3k for owning. Unless your job requires driving or you have elderly to ferry daily, the car is a want not a need.

Physio Coach Marcus · Answer

COE is cyclical, don't buy at the peak if you can wait. 100k is near historical highs; a few years back Cat A was 30 to 50k. If you're not desperate, hold off, keep Grab-ing, and pounce when the quota loosens and premiums soften. Timing the COE market is like timing any market, but buying a depreciating asset at its most expensive point is the one thing you can clearly avoid. Patience here can save you 30 to 50k on the same car.

Insurance Sis Priya · Answer

Consider a used car with remaining COE instead of chasing new. When COE is 100k, buying a 5 to 7 year old car where the previous owner already ate the COE depreciation is much smarter. I bought a 6-year-old Japanese make for around 45k total, drove it for the remaining 4 years, and my monthly cost was closer to 1.5k. Once COE renewal or scrap comes you reassess. Don't fixate on new car; the sweet spot is late-life COE cars if you just need reliable family transport.

Divorce Survivor Karen · Answer

With two young kids in Sengkang, I say the car pays for itself in sanity, not dollars. Try lugging a stroller, a diaper bag, and a screaming toddler onto a packed MRT during peak hour, then talk to me about 'just Grab'. We bought a used car with mid-COE and it changed our lives, sick kid at 2am to KKH, weekend Cold Storage runs, visiting both sets of grandparents in one day. The financial hit is real but with young kids the time and stress saved is worth every cent to us.

COE hit 100k again, is it worth buying a car in Singapore or just Grab everything?

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