Car ownership in Singapore is not easy because of the additional payment for Certificate of Entitlement (COE) which is introduced to regulate the number of cars on road to prevent congestion. When you consider this, purchasing a second-hand car will seem like a much better option. 

A second-hand car in Singapore can cost you 50%-70% less than a new car. However, before your purchase, there are some factors which you need to consider when choosing your second-hand cars.

History of the Second-Hand Car

When you are considering which second-hand car to choose, on top of the exterior condition, you need to find out the interior condition too. It is easy to check the exterior condition to see if there is any wear and tear on the car’s seat and scratches. It will be harder to determine the internal condition like the car’s engine.

One way to measure the car engine’s condition is to consider the used car’s total mileage. It may seem like the exterior is furnished and new, the car may have already clocked a very high mileage. On the flip side, extremely low mileage may not be favorable too because lack of use can also lead to some problems with the engines. 

Find out the history of the used car from the previous owner and make sure you get a car with an acceptable mileage for its age which is about 15,000 to 18,000 km per year.

PARF car or a COE car?

Before your purchase, this is one important question that needs to be answered because it will determine the scrap value of the car in the future. A PARF car is one that is less than 10 years old. It means that before the COE expires, you will be able to recover at least 50% of the car PARF value when you choose to deregister it.

Whereas the COE car is older than 10 years old because the previous owner has renewed its COE to continue using it. 

COE cars may seem cheaper because when you choose to deregister it in the future, you will only get the unused portion of your COE back and not get back any PARF value. On top of that, COE cars are older so you may end up spending a lot more money on repairing the old engines. 

Thus, you need to consider this when choosing a second-hand car. 

Check Road Tax

One of the hidden costs of a second-hand car is the road tax. It is paid annually so if you manage to purchase a car when the seller had already paid road tax for that year, you will save some money too. 

When you are considering on which second-hand car to purchase, remember to consider these factors and make an informed decision.

Joseph Norton