My Car Consultant Depre Calculator

When you buy a car in Singapore, you are not buying a permanent asset. You are buying:

• A car, and
• The right to use it for a limited period of time (COE)

Once that time runs out, the value of the car largely disappears. This is why depreciation matters more than purchase price.

Depreciation is best understood in Singapore as “the cost of owning and using a car per year”.

• New cars come with a 10-year COE
• The COE countdown starts immediately upon registration
• When COE expires, the car must be scrapped or renewed

When COE expires, owners can renew it:

10-year COE renewal

• Car can be used for another 10 years
• No PARF rebate
• Car cannot be renewed again after this period

5-year COE renewal

• Lower upfront cost
• No PARF rebate
• Car must be scrapped at the end of 5 years

COE-renewed cars:

• Have shorter usable lifespans
• Depend heavily on remaining COE
• Usually depreciate faster per year

OMV is the value of the car before taxes and COE. It includes:

• Cost of the vehicle
• Shipping
• Insurance
• Import-related charges

OMV is critical because it determines how much ARF and PARF the car is entitled to.

Higher OMV generally means:

• Higher taxes
• Higher potential PARF rebate
• More recoverable value

ARF is a tax paid when a car is first registered.

ARF is calculated based on OMV, using tiers:

• First tier: lower percentage
• Higher tiers: progressively higher percentages

ARF matters because:

• PARF is calculated as a percentage of ARF
• Higher ARF = higher PARF = lower depreciation

PARF is a rebate you may receive if you deregister your car before its COE expires.

Key points:

• PARF value decreases as the car ages
• PARF becomes $0 after 10 years
• PARF is derived from OMV and ARF

Think of PARF as the value you can still get back if you exit early. Cars with remaining PARF value generally depreciate slower.

PARF cars:

• Typically under 10 years old
• Still have recoverable PARF value
• Fixed COE expiry
• More predictable depreciation

Non-PARF / COE-renewed cars:

• No PARF rebate
• Value depends almost entirely on remaining COE
• Often higher annual depreciation

After removing COE value and remaining PARF value, what remains is the car’s body value, essentially the value of the physical car itself.

Body value is influenced by:

• Brand and model (popular or premium brands retain value better)
• Mileage (higher mileage increases wear and tear)
• Condition (well-maintained cars with regular servicing hold value)
• Accident history (major damage reduces value)
• Modifications (heavily modified cars appeal to fewer buyers)

In short, the better the car is physically and mechanically, the slower its depreciation.

The number of previous owners influences resale demand. Generally, the higher the number of owners, the lower the confidence and perceived value.

Even if condition is similar, cars with more owners often:

• Sell for less
• Have a higher annual depreciation value

Car depreciation in Singapore is influenced by several interconnected factors:

• COE duration (how many years of road usage are left)
• OMV and PARF
• Potential rebates you can recover
• Body value, condition, mileage, and history
• Number of owners

All these elements determine how much value your car loses each year, not just its purchase price. Two cars with the same price today can cost very different amounts per year, depending on these factors.

By understanding these factors, you can:

• Compare cars fairly, regardless of age or price
• Avoid overpaying for a car with low remaining COE or PARF
• Make smarter long-term ownership decisions

Now that you understand what affects depreciation, you can use our calculator above to make better choices.