Welcome to the world of Saab ! Register
Results 1 to 7 of 7
  1. #1
    Dave T.
    Super Moderator Dave T's Avatar
    Join Date
    03 Aug 2010
    Location
    near Seattle, Washington
    Posts
    1,513
    Saab(s)
    1999 9-3SE (2013-2015), 2005 9-3 (2005-2013), 1990 900 (1990-2003)

    Car buying in your country

    Would someone like to describe car buying, either a Saab or any car, in your country? Every country is different. What you may think as routine could be very different and interesting to those in other countries. Possibilities include negotiating, if there are many dealers or just one, your experience or others' experiences, bureaucratic requirements (licensing or other things), etc.

    So far, there have been posts from those in Australia and Singapore. Start there? Any lurkers from New Zealand? Or military servicemen/women in Korea? There are other Saab markets but I've seen no one on the SAABWorld maps from Japan or Thailand, two Saab markets, possibly because of the language barrier.

    For the Singaporeans, may I suggest mentioning COE and OMV? I could start but it would be like the blind leading the blind as I have no experience buying a car in Australia or Singapore.
    Last edited by Dave T; 22 August 2010 at 03:39.

  2. #2
    clive moore
    Saab Fan Aeroo's Avatar
    Join Date
    06 Aug 2010
    Location
    at my computer in Melbourne
    Posts
    14
    Saab(s)
    was a 9.5 aero now a Saab Turbo X
    Australia has a population of 23 million a recent article in one of the Auto papers provided this quote "there are nearly 300 vehicle types on sale in Australia -closer to 1200 if you include all the variations in engines and body styles" we have the big 3 manufacturers and their captive dealers GM , Ford and Toyota then you get BMW , Mercedes and Audi single marque specialists, then the many 100's of multi brand dealers . Each state has its own registration laws , stamp duties and the big kicker is the federal tax on cars over the $70,000 price tag. What does all this mean, well we pay a premium for imports with duties and state taxes , we look at the USA prices and would like to have those prices available here....

  3. #3
    Saab Fan
    Join Date
    14 Aug 2010
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    6
    Saab(s)
    9-3 SS, 9-3 SC
    Singapore has just crossed the population of 5 million. There are more than 500k cars on the roads. There are more taxes and levies for cars as there are digits on my paycheck. Lots of car brands here as well ranging from China car brands all the way to Russian car brands can be bought here. Singapore is also probably the most expensive place on earth to own a car. A BMW 5 series for example may cost the importer only S$37K to bring into the country but ends up selling for $220K+ to the end user (that includes all taxes and such). This is the extreme because the BMW dealer takes much more margin than BMW themselves. A typical Japanese car like a Toyota Corolla costs about $80K new.

  4. #4
    Mike
    Moderator Shazam's Avatar
    Join Date
    30 Jul 2010
    Location
    Rochester, New York, USA
    Posts
    1,985
    Saab(s)
    Saab-less
    My dad told me that when he was little, he always went with his dad when he bought new cars. He said he remembers that in very late 1969, he father went to the dealership to order a 1970 Buick Estate Wagon. The salesman (a family friend) merely went in the back, got a big piece of the triple carbon paper that had every single option you could want, and handed it to him. My grandfather then just went down and marked everything he wanted (what color exterior, what engine choice, what color interior, what suspension, what radio, what wheels...) and there wasn't "Packages" that meant if you wanted this, you had to get that. And in about 8 weeks time, his car was sitting on the lot with .2 miles on it. Apparently every new car he bought (got one about every 3 or 4 years) went like that. I'd like it that way when I buy a new car.

  5. #5
    Dave T.
    Super Moderator Dave T's Avatar
    Join Date
    03 Aug 2010
    Location
    near Seattle, Washington
    Posts
    1,513
    Saab(s)
    1999 9-3SE (2013-2015), 2005 9-3 (2005-2013), 1990 900 (1990-2003)
    What Shazam says is entirely accurate. In the US, before options were sold separately, if ordered. Now they are often bundled in packages. I presume it is because you will buy the whole package if you only want some of the items. It also reduces the number of permutations possible. For example, the Acura TSX, sold as the Honda Accord in many countries and the Honda Accord Euro in Australia, has only one package. One picks the color and transmission and if one wants the technology package, which is essentially GPS navigation. If manual transmission is selected, only a few shades of gray and white are available, no red, blue, or green.

  6. #6
    Dave T.
    Super Moderator Dave T's Avatar
    Join Date
    03 Aug 2010
    Location
    near Seattle, Washington
    Posts
    1,513
    Saab(s)
    1999 9-3SE (2013-2015), 2005 9-3 (2005-2013), 1990 900 (1990-2003)
    Step 2A: I think, like in most countries, there is some bargaining about the new price of the car and the trade in. I am not sure if people frequently order cars or buy from the dealer inventory.

    Step 3 of my post from early September: I presume you have to pay a road tax (which I guess to be over S$1000 per year, possibly closer to US$1000), get/bid for a license plate. There are CEPAS cards, which is used for parking and ERP (which is toll on the streets in the center of the city). The process seems mind boggling lah. It might be easier to understand if one bought a new car before. But then there is some rebate of PARF and COE if you de-register a car.

    Again, this is all guessing. Corrections, please.

  7. #7
    Frank
    Administrator nordwulf's Avatar
    Join Date
    30 Jul 2010
    Location
    USA - Netherlands
    Posts
    7,901
    Saab(s)
    previous: 2006 9-3, 2001-06 9-5, 2011 9-4X
    Quote Originally Posted by epsilon93 View Post
    This is the extreme because the BMW dealer takes much more margin than BMW themselves. A typical Japanese car like a Toyota Corolla costs about $80K new.
    SGD 80K is USD 60K. In the US you'll pay about 15K so that's 4 times as much. Do people make a lot more there as well? I don't know what the median or average income in the US is but say it's low at $30K. That buys 2 Corola's for one year's salary. I doubt the average person in Singapore makes SGD 160K a year.

 

 

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 1
    Last Post: 08 October 2010, 16:53

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
All times are GMT. The time now is 04:36.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5
Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.