5 ms·

> in Singapore, a new Toyota Camry costs almost US$150,000 Wait, what? Surely that's a typo! If not, what makes it so expensive?

sdepablos 13y ago
Among other things the government wants to discourage the use of private cars: Singapore is too crowded a city for everyone to have a car, you reduce noise and pollution levels, the petroleum dependence of the country...
- mdda 13y ago
  To emphasize the point : In Singapore, the MRT (subway) and bus systems are excellent & frequent (and you can get exact ETA info via your phone). Taxis are everywhere and cheap. There's even less reason to own a car in Singapore than in NYC.
  - ewang1 13y ago
    Except that more and more wealthy people are moving to Singapore and so there's no shortage of people buying up Mercedes and Lamborghinis...
    - mdda 13y ago
      I understand that wealthy people may be conspicuously buying Mercedes and Lamborghinis : But that doesn't change the facts about the MRT, busses and Taxis... Agreed, it doesn't boost the morale of the general population to see, but it also really doesn't make living in Singapore significantly worse (particularly since the absolute numbers are pretty small, even if it's a popular/populist talking point).
      - sdepablos 13y ago
        Exactly. Seeing a Ferrari does not boost their morale, but it also does not boost mine and I own a car.
        deleted 13y ago
        [deleted]
brisance 13y ago
That's not a typo. It really is that expensive because of taxes. That does not include the cost of running the car; fuel, road tax, road pricing, maintenance, insurance and so forth. And you get to use the car only for up to 10 years. If you wish to renew the license for another 10 years then you've got to pony up another 70K (at current prices) and lose the scrap value of the vehicle.
jpatokal 13y ago
No joke: Toyota Camry 2.0 (A) $173,988 Toyota Camry 2.5 (A) $182,988 http://www.sgcarmart.com/new_cars/newcars_overview.php?CarCode=11137 http://www.sgcarmart.com/new_cars/newcars_overview.php?CarCo... (in Singapore dollars, US$1 ~= S$1.2) The vast majority of the cost is for the delightfully named Certificate of Entitlement, essentially a 10-year right to drive your car in Singapore, whose value is determined by auction -- and it's actually around $20k less than it was last year at its historic high. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_of_Entitlement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_of_Entitlement http://www.oneshift.com/new_cars/lcoe.php http://www.oneshift.com/new_cars/lcoe.php

sdepablos 13y ago

Among other things the government wants to discourage the use of private cars: Singapore is too crowded a city for everyone to have a car, you reduce noise and pollution levels, the petroleum dependence of the country...

mdda 13y ago
To emphasize the point : In Singapore, the MRT (subway) and bus systems are excellent & frequent (and you can get exact ETA info via your phone). Taxis are everywhere and cheap. There's even less reason to own a car in Singapore than in NYC.
- ewang1 13y ago
  Except that more and more wealthy people are moving to Singapore and so there's no shortage of people buying up Mercedes and Lamborghinis...
  - mdda 13y ago
    I understand that wealthy people may be conspicuously buying Mercedes and Lamborghinis : But that doesn't change the facts about the MRT, busses and Taxis... Agreed, it doesn't boost the morale of the general population to see, but it also really doesn't make living in Singapore significantly worse (particularly since the absolute numbers are pretty small, even if it's a popular/populist talking point).
    - sdepablos 13y ago
      Exactly. Seeing a Ferrari does not boost their morale, but it also does not boost mine and I own a car.
      - deleted 13y ago
        [deleted]

brisance 13y ago

That's not a typo. It really is that expensive because of taxes. That does not include the cost of running the car; fuel, road tax, road pricing, maintenance, insurance and so forth. And you get to use the car only for up to 10 years. If you wish to renew the license for another 10 years then you've got to pony up another 70K (at current prices) and lose the scrap value of the vehicle.

jpatokal 13y ago

No joke: Toyota Camry 2.0 (A) $173,988 Toyota Camry 2.5 (A) $182,988 http://www.sgcarmart.com/new_cars/newcars_overview.php?CarCode=11137 http://www.sgcarmart.com/new_cars/newcars_overview.php?CarCo... (in Singapore dollars, US$1 ~= S$1.2) The vast majority of the cost is for the delightfully named Certificate of Entitlement, essentially a 10-year right to drive your car in Singapore, whose value is determined by auction -- and it's actually around $20k less than it was last year at its historic high. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_of_Entitlement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_of_Entitlement http://www.oneshift.com/new_cars/lcoe.php http://www.oneshift.com/new_cars/lcoe.php