If you're thinking of buying a car but your combined family income is below $7,650, think again.
According to a local website salary.sg run by a finance manager, $7,650 is the minimum income needed to afford a car.
Most families are not able to afford cars because the cost of car ownership does not only include the price but also the miscellaneous fees such as road taxes, car insurance and servicing, said the website.
A small saloon will cost around $50,000. The more aspirational may go for a family MPV, which can go up to $80,000 or more.
According to the Singapore Department of Statistics, 38 per cent of the households here own a car. The top 38 per cent highest-earning households also make more than $7,650 a month.
Salary.sg said that the 38 per cent of the households which own a car may not be the same 38 per cent that form the highest-earning households in Singapore.
But it went on to explain that this group of highest-earning households are most capable of owning a car and therefore, it stands to reason that $7,650 is a reasonable guideline for car ownership.
Mr Wu, the person behind the site, told Chinese daily Shin Min that a family should retain 50 per cent of their income as miscellaneous expenses, education fees etc.
The other 30 per cent would be taken up by a housing loan.
Then, car expenses should not total to more than 20 per cent, he said.
BAR TOO HIGH?
But is the bar of $7,650 too high?
The director of a parallel importer company apparently thinks so.
He told Shin Min that $7,650 should be the minimum combined income to buy a Continental car like Mercedes-Benz or BMW.
But with regards to cheaper cars, monthly expenses should not total more than $1,000.
"If the person has a minimum income of $2,000, he can consider buying a car," said the director.
And if the cheaper alternative is still too expensive, then the person should consider a second-hand car, added the director.
http://www.asiaone.com/Motoring/Owners/Buying+Guide/Story/A1Story20091214-185860.html
