Other than the fact that they drive on the wrong (metric for left) side of the road, having an automobile in Singapore is a reasonably simple process.  (Except for getting your driver’s license, which will encompass Episode IV, Episode V, and Episode VI of this saga.  (I probably should have told the last three stories first, but then the first three stories would be cheap and commercial and would ruin the childhood memories of countless individuals and in the middle the Stockdales would need to get another hamster and call him Dale-Dale.))

To buy a car in Singapore there are a few ‘costs,’ a few ‘taxes,’ and a few ‘other things’ that you need to pay.

Let’s pretend you are going to buy a new Toyota Wish.  A Toyota Wish is a small station wagon with a third row of seats, in case you need to transport any of the friends of the little Stockdales in addition to transporting the little Stockdales.  Owning a Toyota Wish in Singapore is metric for owning a small reliable crossover vehicle in the US.   It would probably cost around $35,000 USD at your local Toyota dealer.

The current price for a 2014 Toyota Wish is about $140,000 SGD (metric for $112,000 USD).   This includes the actual cost of the car, the 100% import duty, the 20% custom duty, the 7% sales tax and some other stuff.   However, before you can drive the Wish off the lot, you need a Certificate of Entitlement (COE).  The COE is basically the license plate, which is valid for ten years.  COE’s are sold montly at auctions.   The current price is $63,880 SGD (metric for holy sh&*t).

So, for more than double the cost of Dale and Mrs. Stockdale’s first house, you can own a midsized family car and drive it for a decade.   On the plus side, I’m willing to bet you get a totebag.

Watch for Episode III – LEASING A CAR IN SINGAPORE.