https://www.budgetdirect.com.sg/car-insurance/research/car-ownership-singapore
k_X_car_dependency
Q: Looking at the stats below, what’s the need/motivation for a car in the family of Kevin.A, kun.H, Jun.Z, yu.Lin, and all of my 92S27 classmates
Based on very limited observations (not “evidence”) I will stick out my neck and venture to offer my opinion that it’s possibly lifestyle creep. Many of my friends live in condos located far from public transport. I guess a lot of HDB dwellers and office workers are in familiar situation — owning a car mostly for leisure and convenience of the family with kids and grandparents. If (a big if) my opinion is valid, then
- it helps explain their cash flow stress level.. brbr, Fuller wealth, early retirement
- it helps explain their worry about the impact (not “likelihood”) of job loss .. high monthly burn rate. Re OC survey 2020. In contrast, Raymond can last years without a job.
- it helps explain their housing preference .. they use their car to discount the commute tcost. Well,
tcost is a hard cost and can’t be discounted! - Let’s remember the the other tcosts — stuck on road; maintenance; insurance; paperwork; recon on bills (remember BGC rental)
- it helps explain their lack of time for exercise.. In contrast, non-drivers walk longer for commute, and some commuters stand or even do yoga in MRT.
- it helps explain why SGD 200k spare cash pile is not easy or common for them.. they would use this “pile” to pay off car loan or upgrade to a better car
In (tentative) conclusion,
- I think I’m better than many of these car owners in terms of earn / save / invest.
- perhaps car ownership is really valuable to them. If no more than “marginally important”, then it’s a huge waste of resources — both $$ and time.
— stats .. As of 2021, Singapore has
- 577k personal-private cars excluding taxi/private-hire cars
- 68k private hire cars
- 15k taxis
- 142k motorbikes
As of 2018, 35% of Singapore households owned at least one car (presumably including private hire cars), down from 42% in 2013, presumably due to Grab etc.
— Convenience .. is a lubricant and important to my life as well. Convenience is very subjective, not rational .
Convenience comes at a $cost. Some people are willing to sacrifice brbr (like 2 to 1.5) for convenience, but I won’t.
— 150k / 10Y total cost of car ownership … I won’t spend too much time. There are many breakdown analysis online, usually including loan interest.
- https://dollarsandsense.sg/2018-edition-cost-owning-car-singapore-10-years/ uses a $94k model to derive –> SGD 157k over 10Y. A 2022 POEMS webinar also used this estimate.
- https://www.singsaver.com.sg/blog/car-maintenance-cost-in-singapore#final uses an $80k model to derive –> $12557/Y * 10Y + $19155 for Y1 = $145k over 10Y