Thursday, November 20, 2008

Category A COE Drops To Just $2!


COEs for Category A have fallen to a historical low of just $2!

Some showroom visitors were unaware that the $2 COEs were only meant for buyers involved in the previous bidding. Those who bought cars over the weekend would likely have missed out on the $2 COEs and would have to make fresh bids, which some predict would see COEs for cars below 1,600cc bounce back to $8,000 to $10,000 levels.

The last 2 times a freak COE like this happened was way back in 1997 and 2001. 1st was the $50 COE for cars with SCR plate in December 1997. And 2nd was the $101 COE for cars with SDK plate in 2001. Just when we thought freak COEs like these are not possible anymore after the bidding process had been changed from a closed one to an open one, a $2 COE pops up. It goes to show how drastically demand has fallen.

A lot of people are hesitant about commiting to a new car purchase because they are doubtful of being able to repay the monthly instalments.

With the credit crunch affecting consumers worldwide, the last thing that anyone wants is to be saddled deep with car loan debts and be unable to pay them off especially if he gets retrenched at work.

Even after the car has been re-possessed, the car buyer would still have to pay off the outstanding car loan. It’s an extremely crappy situation that no one in his right mind would want to get caught in. This is also the reason why lately, car salesmen had a very hard time persuading customers at the showroom to sign on the dotted line.

If I have the money now, I would probably buy a Honda Fit with the $2 COE. It accelerates reasonably fast and is super fuel-efficient.

9 Comments:

Blogger dilutedmagnetics said...

Yah... H is also thinking of changing his car after hearing this news. His accord is 5 years old already. But we're not sure what to get. He's been shopping around for ages, but now he's more motivated because the COE is so low.

Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 11:44:00 AM GMT+8  
Blogger Mockingbird said...

To LIS: Eh. I'm afraid if he cashes in on the $2 COE, he would have to settle for a car below 1,600cc. Whatever happened to his Lexus IS250? :p

Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 12:13:00 PM GMT+8  
Blogger Mockingbird said...

The new 2.4L Accord sounds like a great car too. It comes with USB port for you to connect your iPod or other USB devices :)

Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 12:14:00 PM GMT+8  
Blogger dilutedmagnetics said...

That's with my MIL now and he's driving the old accord instead. The plan for now, is to get a 1600cc car to replace the accord so that my MIL will have a newer and (hopefully) more reliable car to drive. We'll see how things go lor. Maybe next month the COE will go up? Who knows? Actually, I'm also trying to psycho him into getting a nearly new car instead - that should be even cheaper and the prices are more consistent. Too many decisions...

I also think that the new model accord is very nice. But for myself, not for my MIL. LOL!!!

Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 10:06:00 PM GMT+8  
Blogger Mockingbird said...

To LIS: It's within everyone's expectation to see Category A COE having a major rebound after the freak $2 one. So Cat A COE prices confirm will go up one lah.

Your hubby very nice to his mother hoh? Let her drive the Lexus. And he drives the Accord himself instead. One thing's for sure, the new Accord is more reliable and fuel-efficient than the Suzuki Grand Vitara :)

Friday, November 21, 2008 at 10:16:00 AM GMT+8  
Blogger dilutedmagnetics said...

LOL! After I type this, I'm going car shopping with H. Anyway, I complain so much about Suzuki cars that he should know better to get a suzuki for his mom.

Friday, November 21, 2008 at 10:46:00 AM GMT+8  
Blogger Mockingbird said...

To LIS: Looks like you'll never ever buy a Suzuki again heh? :p It's a given that you'll always be better off with either a Honda or Toyota than anything else :)

Monday, November 24, 2008 at 9:25:00 AM GMT+8  
Blogger seefei said...

buy one year old used car better. you get higher coe value but at today low-COE price. my 2 cents.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 5:06:00 PM GMT+8  
Blogger Mockingbird said...

To Seefei: If you're buying car now, would you have bought a 1-year old Toyota Corolla Axio instead of a brand new one? :)

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 4:53:00 PM GMT+8  

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