All the Minister had to do was change the rules for car financing and make some adjustment in taxes in February, and the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) for cars above 1,600cc plummeted from $92,667 to $58,090.
Then, even the resale market was hurt, and the Minister decided to relax the pruning measures to give the dealers some breathing space. Whoever made the representation for their case must be well connected in the grassroots organisations.
Back in December 2012, small car COEs shot up as high as $82,000. Open COEs hovered at the astronomical heights of $95,000. Some said that’s enough to buy a small island in Greece - or even Greece itself, given the precarious financial standing of the beleaguered country at that time.
Of course we know how the motor madness was incubated. First, the government announced that the car quota was going to shrink, while it was boosting population import numbers on the quiet. Then there was the red carpet welcome for the big rollers, guys who can afford to buy three or four cars. These are probably the same guys who put 449 Ferraris on the road in Singapore (up from 142 in 2001), while the Maserati fleet has grown from 24 to 469 in the same period. To them the COE must be just the cost of a speeding ticket.
So while the car dealers and the tax collectors were smiling all the way to the bank, the rest of us poor folks were herded to the flakey train and bus services. The more desperate simply jumped into the tracks.
The clue for the turn of events has to lie in this statement: "The expectation is that COE premiums will soften, so no dealer will bid aggressively in case it affects his margin". So spare no pity for those manning the car showrooms. The day of reckoning cometh, Singaporeans have woken up to the conspiracy. Next step, say no to the COV.
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Collusion. Consumers are left to fence for themselves.
ReplyDeleteIs this even legit? On the website of streetdirectory.com":-
"We strongly encourage you to use your NRIC or ID Number e.g. S7118333B as your Login ID. Please note that all ID must be 7-20 characters long."
I guess that not many Singaporeans know their rights.
You pictured a nice car parked in nice condo, I can tell you our CCP friends have bought a brand new mercedes 300 series parked in their kim keat HDB flats. They were anxious to assure us they bought from C&C, not some 2nd hand repossessed car dealer like those connected ones to the papigs. We then discoovered they were renting out the hdb flats to their fellow countrymen students! How loyal they were to their own folks. ell, the semi-annual MAS "pa tan guarantee" to all CCP cadres who bring their hot money into red dot came and went: 2% appreciation of Sing dollar guaranteed for next 6 months. PRC too polluted with smog? Huangpu river too many dead pigs? Property bubble? High inflation? Chicken not safe to eat? H7N9? No worries, all PRCs are welcome to red dot on red carpet, guaranteed 2% yield, direct from MAS! Elsewhere... private property prices continue to rise in Q1....
ReplyDeleteYour good self rarely put pics on your posts. This time is an exceptionl. I like the last 2 pics. The coveted lot was reserved for the well connected and powerful elite. I thought I saw it somewhere. BTW, they have "solved" the problem of desperate people jumping onto the tracks by erecting half height screen doors. But did they solve the root of the problem or just push it elsewhere? Really langgar!
ReplyDeleteIt can be equitable if they shared the spoils with the masses.. free MRT & Train rides for all who do not own any cars.
ReplyDeleteJust a simple software to match NRIC/passport # to car ownership. Then they can collect as much taxes as they want and I couldnt give hoots about COE and car prices.
Next time choose your master properly not blindly. Specifically, not a party that implemented coe, cov, gst.
ReplyDeleteSinkies are so lucky, so many can afford COE, COV, Executive Condo, super expensive condom and plenty of electronic gizmos.
ReplyDeleteWhat else do they want?
We want a Workers' Party government in GE 2016.
Deletewho will be ultimate losers if these second hand car dealers go into liquidations???
ReplyDeleteman in the streets??
financial institutions??
but one group will benefits ... the lawyers
Auction rooms full full liao, but no worries these 2nd hand car dealers get their money from either "investors" or money launderers from prc.
DeleteTalking about banks, POSB advertisement "guarantee 2.5% housing loan for 10 YEARS", maybe young bankers never around in 1998 to witness HSBC offer Sing dollar deposit at 10% interest. No one told them interest rates will go up faster than you can say Gua-Ran-Tee" when hot money looking to escape. When bailout time comes, we better not leave any money in POSB/DBS liao.