Motorists who downsized to save money have been advised to upsize to save money.
SINGAPORE, Singapore (Catchpenny Asia) – The right to own a small, sensible car in Singapore now costs more than the right to own a large, unsensible one, after the latest certificate of entitlement bidding closed with small-car premiums once again edging past big-car premiums, leaving thousands of prudent motorists to wonder whether prudence has quietly been reclassified as a luxury good.
Category A, which covers cars up to 1,600cc and 130 bhp, closed at S$132,004 in the second October exercise. Category B, the tier for bigger engines and the people who need the whole carpark to hear them arrive, closed at S$131,901. The gap is S$103, roughly the price of a modest dinner for two at a hawker centre, provided neither party orders the chilli crab. Motoring site Motorist noted that Cat A finished above Cat B for the fourth time this year, a pattern industry watchers call unusual and ordinary Singaporeans describe using words that cannot be printed on a family website.
Downsizing Is Now an Upscale Lifestyle Choice
For years, a family that bought a compact hatchback was making a responsible sacrifice. Under the new arithmetic, that family is paying a S$103 surcharge for the privilege of less legroom. The Singapore Motorists’ Rationality Council, a volunteer body that meets on the top deck of a multistorey carpark in Bishan because it is the only place its members can afford to park, said it had received 1,400 complaints in a single week. Almost all were variations on one sentence: “So I should have bought the Mercedes?”
“Technically, yes,” said council secretary Desmond Teo Kah Seng, who drives a 1.3-litre sedan and has begun describing it to friends as “boutique.” “Purely on the certificate, the bigger car is now the discount option. You get more engine, more seats and more road presence for a hundred dollars less. It is the first time in aviation history that economy class costs more than business class, and nobody can find the airline to complain to.”
Mr Teo said the council had drafted new guidance for first-time buyers. It advises them to choose the largest vehicle they can fit into their HDB parking lot, then reverse it out again, then sit quietly in the driver’s seat until the feeling passes.
Survey Finds Car Buyers Know Premiums Better Than Blood Types
A study of 400 buyers interviewed at the weekend Car Expo by the Centre for Vehicular Despair, a research unit operating out of a shared office above a bubble tea shop in Toa Payoh, produced the following findings, which the centre presented on a whiteboard it had to borrow:
- 62 per cent of respondents could name the current Category A premium to the dollar, compared with 9 per cent who could name their own blood type and 3 per cent who could name their neighbour.
- 41 per cent said they had considered buying a bigger car purely to save money, and 18 per cent said they had briefly considered buying a bus, until they learned that the goods vehicle and bus category closed at S$92,900 and the bus does not come with a driver.
- Motorcycle premiums fell S$234 to S$10,778, prompting 27 per cent of fathers of four to ask whether a family of six can ride one scooter “if everybody breathes in.”
- One respondent said the certificate on his car was now worth more than the car, more than the house he grew up in, and considerably more than his relationship with his brother-in-law, who had advised him to wait.
The centre’s director, Dr Angeline Koh Mei Ling, said the most worrying number was not in the table at all. “Twelve respondents told us they had named a child after a bidding exercise,” she said. “We met a toddler called Second Window. He seems fine. His parents seem very tired.”
Experts Promise a Correction, Possibly, Eventually, Somewhere
The trade is divided on what happens next. One dealer told Motorist that when Cat A closes above Cat B, there is usually “a natural correction” at the following round, while another predicted premiums could climb past S$137,000, a disagreement that makes forecasting cars feel exactly like forecasting the weather, except the weather has never once asked anyone for a down payment. A guest columnist on the same site offered a calmer view, predicting that bidding activity would peak in November and then dip, and describing the forecast with commendable honesty as a crystal ball.
The Land Transport Authority, which runs the system with the cool detachment of a machine dispensing oxygen at altitude, publishes its full bidding calendar for the year as a tidy PDF. Residents in Punggol and Sengkang said they had printed it, laminated it and stuck it to the fridge next to the children’s examination timetable, in descending order of importance.
Overseas observers note that vehicle pricing is a global mystery. American farmers, for example, have reported that their tractors’ onboard AI can explain everything except what the tractor actually costs, which several Singaporean buyers said sounded restful by comparison. At least a tractor, one of them pointed out, comes with the field.
Comedians Take the Wheel
The city’s stand-up scene has seized on the numbers with something close to gratitude. Priya Ramasamy, who performs a monthly set at a Boat Quay bar under the title Cat A Is My Love Language, told her audience that the national dream had evolved. “In other countries, people save for a house,” she said. “In Singapore, we save for permission to save for a car. My father bought a Toyota decades ago and he still calls it the investment. He has never invested in anything else. He thinks the stock market is near Tampines.”
Comedian Marcus Lim Wei Jie said the premiums had changed the local dating scene. “When a guy tells me he drives, I am not impressed, I am concerned,” he said. “I want to see his CPF statement. I want to meet his parents. I want to know who co-signed. A man with a car in this city is either very rich or very brave, and I am not ready for either.”
A third performer, Farhan Ismail, closed his set at a Jalan Besar comedy night by unfolding a ten-year certificate timeline on stage. “The certificate lasts ten years,” he said. “After that you can pay again or say goodbye. That is not a car. That is a marriage with an exit clause, and the exit clause is the only part anyone reads.”
A Modest Proposal From the Back Seat
The trend has drawn attention abroad. Editors at the American humor magazine Bohiney reportedly circulated the latest results internally under the subject line “Singapore Has Monetised Patience,” and at least one staff member asked whether the figures were in US dollars before going to lie down.
Back in Bishan, the Rationality Council has ended its latest meeting with a vote to pursue what it calls the only logical step left: a members’ noticeboard for swaps. The first listing went up on a lamppost beside the carpark lift lobby within the hour. It read, in full: “FOR SALE OR EXCHANGE. One sensible hatchback, lovingly maintained, low mileage, certificate now worth more than the vehicle and the owner combined. Will trade for any larger car with fewer principles. No time wasters. Serious bidders only, which in this country means everybody.”
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/