By Expats for Expats
In Jakarta, they are known for their traffic, terrible traffic – traffic that permeates every aspect of your life!
There, we were assigned a driver, 7 days a week, 12 hours a day - longer if we made provision for it - that took us everywhere. And I mean everywhere. If it were several kilometers away or what most might consider “walking distance.”
We couldn’t drive in Jakarta, they wouldn’t allow us to for our own safety. There wasn’t a mass transit system, the buses, were, well, a little suspect, you were taking your life into your own hands with an ojek or bajai , the taxis were somewhat reliable (BlueBird), and you’d have to compete with motorbikes to even walk on the limited sidewalks.
Singapore is the exact opposite of Jakarta when it comes to transportation options. Order, rules, safety, efficiency, and reliability are all earmarks of Singapore transportation (though not recently).
Singapore has open space, sidewalks that people actually walk on, a first rate MRT system, an efficient bus system, many excellent taxi options (except when it rains), and, if I choose, I could drive!!
Depending on where you choose to live in Singapore (an SRX.com.sg search by MRT can identify many options), you may not need a car. But I was intrigued by the opportunity to drive again after being chauffeured everywhere for the last 2 ½ years.
When deciding, we look at 3 Cs (not the 5 Cs that define a Singaporean's success):
1) Cost
I’ve heard about the outrageous Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums, and the overall cost of maintaining a car in Singapore. But, to amuse myself, I went to SGCarMart.com to see what it really cost to buy new or used.
A new Nissan Teana (a Maxima) ranges from S$135,000 to S$181,000!! While a used version would run between S$55,000 to S$112,000 for a 7-8 year old car. Better, but still much more than we would like to spend.
An alternative could be to lease a vehicle. Fortunately, another expat was leaving and we picked up the remaining 6 months of their lease. It would be a perfect opportunity to determine if we actually needed a car.
With a lease, the leasing company typically covers the maintenance, insurance and any emergency roadside support. But we are responsible for fuel, additional insurance (windshield), parking, and general upkeep.
The lease cost was expensive too, but with a car allowance, it was more in line with our budget.
2) Commitment
Next, we had to be committed to the process of having a car, which included becoming licensed drivers. Singapore will let you drive for 1 year on an existing license, but afterward, you need to apply for a Singapore driver’s license. You have to take and pass the Basic Theory Test (BTT) with a score of 90% or higher, plus any additional requirements may apply depending on your situation.
3) Convenience
Finally, we had to decide if we would we actually use the car enough to justify having it?
We use the car to transport the kids to Singapore American School after hours and on weekends, grocery shop, to take our dog to the vet, to drive to church and to have the flexibility to go out on a whim, if we wanted.
We heard the horror stories from other expats that had pets (we have an Indonesian street dog – Lucy) and the difficulty in getting transportation to/from the vet. Pet Taxis run in excess of S$75+, and you are beholding to their schedule.
Most grocery stores deliver, but I’d rather take mine with me rather than wait for delivery. So having a car makes this convenient and provides the necessary flexibility to just go grocery shopping whenever we wanted without having to book a cab.
Ultimately, what we found the most valuable about having a car was the freedom it provided. We loved the ability to go where and when we wanted. This was nearly priceless.
So the decision is yours, do your research, and finally it will depend on your specific situation.
Stay tuned to our next episode of By Expats for Expats.