Which COE car should I buy?

[Jamesc]

11 minutes ago, Limalimuthu said:

If you are honest with yourself, you will acknowledge the prestige factor and bragging-rights aspect. Badge buying is all about display of status, right? Explains why those who drive MB, BMW and Audi rather arrogant and exhibit self-important behaviour on roads and when

Yes its very true.

Many customers came in to buy a cheap used car and I got them to buy an expensive car.

My secret line is - young man like you worked hard now got de glee, good job should reward yourself with something nice to drive lah.

Then I follow up with the killa closing - YOLO.

As sure as they are no virgins in GL they will sign up a BM or Merc.

I like to call it UP SELLING.

A lot of used car dealers treat their customers as stupid and want to cheat and con them.

I use a different tactic - I tell my customers they are very SMART, SUCCESSFUL and they have ARRIVED.

The trouble with SG is too many salesman cannot sell.  

[Mkl22]

1 hour ago, Limalimuthu said:

If you are honest with yourself, you will acknowledge the prestige factor and bragging-rights aspect. Badge buying is all about display of status, right? Explains why those who drive MB, BMW and Audi rather arrogant and exhibit self-important behaviour on roads and when parking.

But I do recognise that MB and BMW design complicated engine systems unnecessarily, plus spec poor quality materials for their parts. All comes out during research and talking to mechanic.

Furthermore, if alternatives such as Lexus was available, you only have yourself to blame for remaining with MB. Not that no other choices.

btw did you buy that MB? Did you ever buy any Lexus?

Cheers, no offense intended.

Wow thanks very very much for the enlightenment! 

[macrosszero]

Usually when someone says no offence intended, offence is fully intended.

Sorry for the OT.

[Fitvip]

On 1/29/2021 at 9:13 AM, Mkl22 said:

Not totally true. I have experienced all ends of the spectrum. 
youll be surprised that some 1owner cars especially those nearer the end of their coe has many things to fix. 
what can be an “expensive” car to you is just a daily runner to them. Even some of the sports cars closer to the end of their coe can be neglected. 

 

also when you  see 1 owner car, used car dealer selling in SGcarmart with low mileages but with new leather, new this and that. your suspicions should be aroused. profits/margins are the priority in the used car business, they will never never dump more money into the car than they really have to. if they have to change leathers and do cosmetic works in order to sell a car, then it means that it is not so well taken care of. 

their mode of operation is always to flip the car as soon as possible for as little money put into it. the most honest a car can be is when it just got pulled into the dealers lot prior to washing and grooming. but then you seldom see such cases.

cause a seller of a soon to be a 10year old car will never dump more money into it. so it has to be done by the dealer. of course there are exceptions but rather rare.

True. especially those with a new coat of paint!

There are exceptional cases as you have mentioned.

My ex boss bought a used Merc for $100K. He change quite a few parts, including rewrapping the steering wheel and gear knob, which cost him $10K. He used the car for more than 1 year. One day, his wife and him walked into a showroom, on impulse, he just traded-in his Merc for $60+K!

[BobbyTan_74287]

4 hours ago, Limalimuthu said:

No, even sport tyres need to be changed about 40k km in tropics. Those MB bushings performed as intended, but tropics heat and humidity cause faster wear and tear. It is not as if the bar corroded n snapped.

Besides, you got the bragging rights of owning a MB. And complaining loudly about "affording" expensive spare parts. Were alternatives such as Lexus available? If you chose MB for the badge, prestige and bragging, then you got what you deserved.

No offence intended, cheers.

There is nothing about bragging of owning a MB. It is just a car. Most of my MB's friends are all very humble. Please note Lexus is not cheap and the parts and servicing is equally expensive as MB.

[Confusedboi]

heres my own current COE car experience in terms of parts that needed to be changed after buying the car

June 2009 registered Honda civic 2.0A ( manufactured 2008),COE valid till June 2024

Car bought in Dec 2019 ( COE left 4.5 years ) just before Xmas, 1 previous owner, milleage about 81Km supposedly.

Interior condition was immaculate with new leather seats, upholstery and steering wheel wrapped.
Roof lining done up with blacked out exterior roof. 

Things that were changed after buying the car over the past 1 year plus till now

All 4  new tyres, new car battery , air con filter, front brake pads and rotors, rear brake pads, , 4 spark plugs changed .

Plus the normal engine oil changes and air filter changes during servicing  and brake fluid flush, ATF fluid changed

Now engine mounts are starting to give way, so got to stand by to change all 4 engine mounts when the vibrations become unbearable. 

.So far so good, mainly wear and tear parts that needed to be changed. Fingers crossed it stays this way. 

[macrosszero]

I will never trust the odometer reading without a stack of dated receipts backing it up. 

A single service label on the windscreen is not good enough. The car can be clocked before going back to the AD for a cursory oil change to try to legitimize the mileage. 

I have traded a 250+k km car in before and asked the dealer if he wanted my service receipts which I had meticulously kept. He said no, not necessary, I will throw it away anyway. My guess is as good as yours why he doesn't need them!

Any COE car especially the B&B types will have accumulated their share of scrapes, dings and dents. The easiest way to "low mileage" a car is a quick putty job and an even quicker paint job so it looks good on the shop lot. And that new interior? They won't do it unless the original interior was full of holes and tears. 

Used car dealers try their best to give their customers the buy-new-car feeling for everything they can see, but beauty is only skin-deep. Customers also want to believe they are getting a wonderful deal, so they deserve each other. 

[Old-driver]

I don't believe most of the mileage advertised. If you browse thru a 2010, 11 or 12 vehicles, almost all of them are around 100k plus or minus. How can that be that all these

few hundred cars can clock the same distance over a 10-year period?

Look at the 2015-16 cars, most of them are in the 80k range already....  and i'll say it's likely to be genuine. So for all the 10 year olds,  most of them has to be in at least 150k and above, save a few rare ones.

 

 

 

[macrosszero]

15 minutes ago, Old-driver said:

I don't believe most of the mileage advertised. If you browse thru a 2010, 11 or 12 vehicles, almost all of them are around 100k plus or minus. How can that be that all these

few hundred cars can clock the same distance over a 10-year period?

Look at the 2015-16 cars, most of them are in the 80k range already....  and i'll say it's likely to be genuine. So for all the 10 year olds,  most of them has to be in at least 150k and above, save a few rare ones.

 

 

 

For many car buyers:

[Rskc]

51 minutes ago, Old-driver said:

I don't believe most of the mileage advertised. If you browse thru a 2010, 11 or 12 vehicles, almost all of them are around 100k plus or minus. How can that be that all these

few hundred cars can clock the same distance over a 10-year period?

Look at the 2015-16 cars, most of them are in the 80k range already....  and i'll say it's likely to be genuine. So for all the 10 year olds,  most of them has to be in at least 150k and above, save a few rare ones.

 

 

 

One of my previous was 80k+km for 8.5 years before i traded in. I am currently on my 8th car. All my cars, previous or current, mileage per year was/is 12k km to max 15k km. Less than 150k km is definitely possible. My own true experience.

Edited January 30, 2021 by Rskc

[Ody_2004]

43 minutes ago, Old-driver said:

I don't believe most of the mileage advertised. If you browse thru a 2010, 11 or 12 vehicles, almost all of them are around 100k plus or minus. How can that be that all these

few hundred cars can clock the same distance over a 10-year period?

Look at the 2015-16 cars, most of them are in the 80k range already....  and i'll say it's likely to be genuine. So for all the 10 year olds,  most of them has to be in at least 150k and above, save a few rare ones.

 

 

 

It is possible to get low mileage car.. just need to wait loh.. my ex cars (bought new) at 6 n 7 years never cross 60k.. current one 2.5 years 24k..

My COE car 90k 11.5 years old as owner is ex red plate.

[Ginyu]

2 hours ago, BobbyTan_74287 said:

There is nothing about bragging of owning a MB. It is just a car. Most of my MB's friends are all very humble. Please note Lexus is not cheap and the parts and servicing is equally expensive as MB.

Some took loan to acquire it so nothing much to brag about 😂 

[Jamesc]

2 hours ago, Fitvip said:

True. especially those with a new coat of paint!

There are exceptional cases as you have mentioned.

My ex boss bought a used Merc for $100K. He change quite a few parts, including rewrapping the steering wheel and gear knob, which cost him $10K. He used the car for more than 1 year. One day, his wife and him walked into a showroom, on impulse, he just traded-in his Merc for $60+K!

Please let him know if that happens again

I will give him a good price.

Cars like this the dealers very happy to buy.

[macrosszero]

5 minutes ago, Rskc said:

One of my previous is 80k+km for 8.5 years. I am currently on my 8th car. All my cars, previous or current, mileage per year was/is 12k km to max 15k km. Less than 150k km is definitely possible. My own true experience.

Everything is possible, but you are not representative of every car owner out there, you might just use your car for commuting to work and weekend outings. Some might use the car to do sales. Others are ex-PHV cars. It is a broad range of usage patterns. Some may have a second or third car that spreads out the mileage.

But chances of finding a car like that in the used car dealership is obscured because they have a pathological habit of clocking cars' odometers no matter how low it is to begin with. I usually keep an eye of friends and colleagues' cars after they get traded in - if it was 150k km, it gets clocked to 90k km. If it was 50k km, it gets clocked to 30k km. There is a trend. 

Even if you try to buy direct owner, it may be a dealer posing as a private seller, etc. But that's another story for another time.

[Jamesc]

Not all dealers clock mileage lah.

Most do it but I don't.

Some customer have 3 or 4 cars only drive the spot car on weekends.

Wife only drive to Orchard Rd and they stay in Ridley Park.

Husband always fly here fly there so car really low usage.

[Jamesc]

I got some low mileage cars if anyone interested.

Car broke down so often stuck in workshop

owner drive his other cars. 

[Rskc]

6 minutes ago, Macrosszero said:

Everything is possible, but you are not representative of every car owner out there, you might just use your car for commuting to work and weekend outings. Some might use the car to do sales. Others are ex-PHV cars. It is a broad range of usage patterns. Some may have a second or third car that spreads out the mileage.

But chances of finding a car like that in the used car dealership is obscured because they have a pathological habit of clocking cars' odometers no matter how low it is to begin with. I usually keep an eye of friends and colleagues' cars after they get traded in - if it was 150k km, it gets clocked to 90k km. If it was 50k km, it gets clocked to 30k km. There is a trend. 

Even if you try to buy direct owner, it may be a dealer posing as a private seller, etc. But that's another story for another time.

Agree. Just like you said it is possible, I am not saying I am representative. To say that all cars must be at least 150k km is a bit of a sweeping statement. 😊 Just to state that none of my cars hit more than that. I have only 1 car. And my wife does up to 4 trips in a day, doing kid's ferrying duties and drives to work. Not to mention kid's weekend ECAs and outings. Very normal usage of car 😉

[Mkl22]

1 hour ago, Rskc said:

Agree. Just like you said it is possible, I am not saying I am representative. To say that all cars must be at least 150k km is a bit of a sweeping statement. 😊 Just to state that none of my cars hit more than that. I have only 1 car. And my wife does up to 4 trips in a day, doing kid's ferrying duties and drives to work. Not to mention kid's weekend ECAs and outings. Very normal usage of car 😉

 On sgcarmart you do see many 2-5 owner cars with the default “only 100k+ km” at 10years. 😂

Edited January 30, 2021 by Mkl22