High COE Prices – Can You Afford That Car?

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The latest COE Bidding Results are out. With the exception of the motorcycle category, all other categories recorded their highest prices in recent years.

To buy a small car, you now have to pay $28,389 for that “Certificate of Entitlement”. (I heard an NUS degree costs less. 🙂 )

Car dealers have also promptly adjusted their car prices upwards, some by more than $10k.

Previously, I said one should make at least $7,650 in order to prudently own a car. Maybe now it should be even more.

If you are a car owner, do you (and your spouse) make more than $7,650/mth?


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168 Comments

  1. Are you referring to Ho Ching in your last statement? 🙂

    I can think of 2 “world class” companies founded by Singaporeans.

    Creative is still a very good company, despite its recent stock price. It’s built up from scratch by Sim Wong Hoo, who’s a poly grad.

    Another company, though smaller, is Interwoven. It’s founded by Singaporean Ong Peng Tsin. He also co-founded Match.com, which is one of the largest dating networks.

  2. I didn’t sleep with Jack Neo: One more point. The fact that India has a much larger pool of talents helps as well. The probabiliy of success will be much higher as there are more Indians than Singaporeans everywhere in the world.

  3. I didn't sleep with Jack Neo on

    To Haha: I am not sure how time plays into it. China and Indonesia are very old, but have you seen anyone for these 2 countries kicking ass outside their country? Not really. In fact a lengthy history may very well server as a big hindrance since old culture and ways of doing things tend to stand in the way. And talking about infrastructure, Singapore is much more advanced than India so who is the baby and who is the adult? The facts are as is: the best of certain countries will always in general outperform the best of other countries. Another example the Germans will always outperform the rest of the Europeans (always have, always will). The rest of the Europeans only win when they gang up with the rest of the world against Germany. Facts will always be facts. Another uncomfortable fact: many more Jews have won the Nobel price compared to other races.

  4. I didn't sleep with Jack Neo on

    Well two Indonesians also cofounded Marvell Semiconductors and if you look it up, they supply some of the biggest companies like Apple, and they are US Dollar billionaires, but I still think working up the ladder in Pepsi and McKinsey is harder. You are Asian and you have to overcome the glass ceiling i.e. whites only club and in the case of Pepsi the person is a woman, which makes it quadrably hard.

  5. I didn’t sleep with Jack Neo: Well said. For the time factor, i am only looking at Singapore and not China/Indo. I stil believe that if given the same amount of time and same number of talents as India, Singapores will be able to achieve global success as well.

  6. Haha…

    I just stated a fact…The kind of students we have in IITs is far better than NUS…it is a fact…now, dont get hurt over this fact…i was not trying to insult anyone here…btw, NUS openly gives scholarships to IIT grads to study or do research in NUS…

    Just bcus I went to NUS to study does not imply that I should keep singing praises of Singapore Univs…I said that NUS is world class in terms of facilities but not students…IITs are world class in terms of Students , but not in terms of facilities…

    Indians come to SG bcus they get better facilities n infrastructure…If India had the same infrastructure, no one will come to SG…so dont feel hurt that a poorer country like India can produce smarter people…Just admit SG has strengths and so does India…

  7. applBy: I have never deny that SG has strengths and so does India. Well you can claim that students in IITs are far better than NUS but i dont agree with you. I have worked with countless indians like you before and i dont find them much superior than me. Maybe there are indeed a few brilliant ones from IITs who have achieved some global success but that does not mean the general IITS students are better than NUS students. If in generall all IITs students are really better, i must have been real unlucky to have worked with so many sub-standard ones who came to SG and complained so much but never able to show that they are really that good.

  8. Haha:

    u r taking things personally. i am saying an average guy from IIT is better than an average guy from NUS. IIT’s admission criterion is also a lot tougher. obly, if u take a poor student from IIT and compare with the good ones in NUS, its unfair.

    also, u shd realise that Indians have a tendency to take jobs in management n IT irrespective of their background. now, usually such people are good but not great. good enough to get jobs abroad but not exceptional. what can u expect from a Civil grad who is in IT. but u will find lots of such non-IT people in IT in singapore.

    also, just bcus someone was more motivated when he was 18 does not imply he will outperform u when is 30-35 too. in the long run, a lot of things matter in addition to an intelligent mind.

    i find that in most areas today, India offers better prospects. but people still live in Singapore bcus the Infrastructure is better, life is better too. they are not focussed on jobs but more focussed on life.

  9. let me also point out to u that most indians who get scholarships at NTU/NUS undergrads are those who cannot make it to IITs in India (atleast not in good depts). and they must be better or atleast above average than what SG offers else why would they be given scholarships.

    in my view, NUS offers a good life n education. i studied in Europe for 2 years and then joined NUS. and i was always happy with life at NUS. NUS has all the facilities one needs to do research. so i feel that good students will surely benefit from NUS. however, admission standards are definitely not as tough as IITs. its indisputable.

  10. there is always one better and one worse on

    i thought we talking COE…why is everyone discussing a piece of paper.

    It is kept in my drawer for years now. I recognised it is a life experience, very good part of my life in fact. it is not all.

    be content with you have. make the best of your capabilities. i studied Ozzie land because i cant get into uni. but 8 yrs gone. i having being earning 5 digit pay, got my own private apt (2 bedders, a BMW….) – and many of my friends are doing better in fact.

    but i think it is more hardwork, working diligently and more “continue to grow”..

    and be content with what you have …

  11. Entrepreneur on

    Dear all elites,

    No matter which Us or JCs you from, which cars you drive, you are the elites. Please help Singapore to set up big Singaporean MNCs like Acer, MSI, Gigabytes, HTC, Proton, Perodua, Hyundai, Kia, Philips, Toshiba, Fujitsu, LG, Samsung. No Nobel prize never mind.

    You have benefited from your good education here or overseas, please help Singapore, our motherland to do us proud.

    Very paiseh to go IT Show, Comex. All Taiwanese brands, Korean brands. Our Creative Technology is running out of steam. While TSMC is getting bigger, we are losing our CSM – Chartered Semi-con.

    Don’t just graduate and find a 5-digit job, come help us to build a few solid Singaporean companies. Nobel prizes too siong. Come elites, we need you!

    We are Singapore! Save Singapore!

  12. I’m a student on a stat board overseas scholarship studying in US now. eh, studying overseas very sian 1 leh.. very lonely, now weather so cold, -20 degree, miss singapore food, miss friends n family. haiz.. its really not easy studying overseas. but anyway, studying overseas is really not as glamorous as people think. people paint such a beautiful picture of it but its not really true. you must be in my shoes to really understand what i mean. there’s really not much difference in uni education too. just that the professors are ang mo usually, sometimes if suay will tio AH TIONGS (prc) professors and TAs also.. sama sama to singapore nus or ntu.

  13. very true. any place is good only if you either has deep passion for what u r doing or u have sufficient resources at disposal. being a student with limited resources (money n all), its easy to realize and miss the benefits of singapore. but then u r a student n young, so just focus on studies and hopefully, u will appreciate this opportunity in the future.

    good luck

  14. I have studied abroad as well 10 years ago and what I value today most about that experience are the friends I made and learning about living & thinking independently. Don’t stress out about your studies but try to enjoy it and socialise as much as possible.
    Not likely that you can do such a thing after you graduated…

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