How to own a new Merc C class?

[Sp4wn]

  On 3/31/2015 at 5:48 AM, efssc said:

 

hahaha, thank you very the much leh, never read finish also agree, super support! thanks thanks!

 

very logical post. i sarpork.

[RadX]

  On 3/31/2015 at 6:00 AM, Sp4wn said:

 

very logical post. i sarpork.

 

 

eh taugey can give exec summary

[Little_prince]

  On 3/30/2015 at 2:37 PM, Submarine82 said:

I just want to know how much I should earn at age of 33?

How much I should earn to own a new Merc?

I must do business in order to own a new Merc?

 

I had completed my Master degree.

general rule of thumb i use is that price of car should not exceed annual income/ household income.

 

should be quite safe.

 

at 4k a mth ( assuming 13mth+ bonus should be ard 60k annual), you probably should probably target those 2nd hand car in the 60k range. new merc is very difficult.

[Sp4wn]

  On 3/31/2015 at 6:01 AM, RadX said:

 

 

eh taugey can give exec summary

 

earn more, can buy.

if not, save for children education more sakti. (yield also better in long run, unless your kid is named amos yee)

  On 3/31/2015 at 6:01 AM, RadX said:

 

 

eh taugey can give exec summary

 

you dont make fun hor. next time laksa not shiok if dont have taugey. u knoe or not :P

[RadX]

  On 3/31/2015 at 6:03 AM, Sp4wn said:

 

earn more, can buy.

if not, save for children education more sakti. (yield also better in long run, unless your kid is named amos yee)

 

 

orrgh...then if famous amos, the state feed n house him ah....okok...thankchew

[Little_prince]

  On 3/31/2015 at 5:00 AM, teycz said:

Hi bros,

 

Let us not talk about if he should be earning more or whatsoever. Let's discuss about how much needed to own let say the lowest end of C class C180

 

C180 Avantgarde cost about 190k:

Down payment: 95k (offset some from selling Getz)

Monthly installment (say 1.88%): 1732/month

Car Park (assume only park at MSCP HDB): 90/month

Petrol (assume travel on average 50km/day and FC at 15km/l): 100litre of petrol x $2 (Ron95) x 0.8 (discount) = 160/month

Maintenance (not sure about Mercedes but for Japanese car): 2000/12 = 167/month

ERP + Other Parking: 100/month

Road Tax: 740/12 = 62/month

Insurance (NCD 50%): 1200/12 = 100/month

Misc: 100/month

 

Grand Total: 2511/month

 

It will cost about 2500/month to maintain this car based on the assumption above. (excludes other possible damages: paint protection, other car accessories, summons?, etc)

 

Do your sum bro, and make sure don't be a slave of the car.

Similarly, if you buy a Jap car, do your maths see if you can afford them.

You may want to consider 2nd hand car as well till you can afford a better car in the future.

My 2 cents worth.

 

 

 

TBH. 4k per mth, don't think can even think about new jap car.

 

even B&B like honda jazz/vios etc also abt 100k.

[Galantspeedz]

heng when I buy car... I don't ask in mcf for financial advice... if not, I die liao... also cannot afford to own a car..... lol

[Sp4wn]

  On 3/31/2015 at 6:04 AM, RadX said:

 

 

orrgh...then if famous amos, the state feed n house him ah....okok...thankchew

 

i think my tax dollars will go to good use if amos go behind bars. just sayin'

  On 3/31/2015 at 6:05 AM, Galantspeedz said:

heng when I buy car... I don't ask in mcf for financial advice... if not, I die liao... also cannot afford to own a car..... lol

 

buying car is a very personal thing. discussing your finances in public when the answer is also very obvious ... i dont even know what to say ... sorry to say and jokes aside, he needs to learn the term 'priorities'.

[Quantum]

  On 3/30/2015 at 1:56 PM, Submarine82 said:

Hi All,

 

I am driving Hyundai Getz now. Its COE is due in one year time.

I am 33 years old and earning $4k per month.

 

I am car enthusiast and I wish to own a new Merc C class in the near future.

 

Do you think it is possible to own a new Merc C class at my current salary level?

If not, what should I do?

 

Any kind soul please advice me...

 

can lah, depands on your status,

if you are single, not family burden, and stay with your parents (no house loan),

monthly 4k should be sufficient to pay installment, and still have extra for petrol, parking, maintenance etc,

the problem is you have to be able afford downpayment about 90k (C180), assume you have work 8 years, saving plus parents support, should not be problem,

alternatively WV Passat, Audi A4 should be more affordable for your case instead of Merc C,

[nigel8210]

maybe TS can consider CLA instead of C

personally I went from Madza 3 (2nd hand) to New Altis to New Camry to New C

took me 15years to realise this dream

I would say, one step at a time, be prudent

car is a car, in spore, its almost always depreciating

property of your own more important, at least in the long run

[Quantum]

  On 3/30/2015 at 2:33 PM, Submarine82 said:

 

i only receive $150 annual increment per year. Consider quite high increment in my company liao.

Those lazy staff get $0 increment.

I already let out 1 room.

what discipline are you? working for so lousy company, can consider change job liao,

[Chivanloh]

Probably you can explore the option of leasing or getting a pre-owned car (say less than 2 yrs?)

[Jman888]

so far i only see @chowyunfatt post most useful

 

http://www.mycarforum.com/topic/2698361-how-to-own-a-new-merc-c-class/?p=5450639

 

TS can rent a C Class for one month and eat loti for the whole month.

[Jellandross]

  On 3/30/2015 at 1:56 PM, Submarine82 said:

Hi All,

 

I am driving Hyundai Getz now. Its COE is due in one year time.

I am 33 years old and earning $4k per month.

 

I am car enthusiast and I wish to own a new Merc C class in the near future.

 

Do you think it is possible to own a new Merc C class at my current salary level?

If not, what should I do?

 

Any kind soul please advice me...

 

 

when i was earning $4K per month, i bought a 11-yr-old COE car @ $40K. that was during the post-Y2K era. and i sold it after one year coz it just didn't make financial sense at that salary level. even though my salary has multiplied by a few times by now, i still don't feel that i can afford a merc.

 

just to give you a different perspective. my american colleague's annual package is around $300K++. he said singaporeans are insane by throwing their money into cars that we don't even own for more than 10 years. he is driving a 7-yr-old honda jazz.

 

  On 3/31/2015 at 6:01 AM, Little_prince said:

general rule of thumb i use is that price of car should not exceed annual income/ household income.

 

interesting... now that i look back, the price range of my previous cars are all around my annual income or less. i wonder if there's a scientific rationale to this guideline.

Edited March 31, 2015 by Jellandross

[Quantum]

  On 3/31/2015 at 3:28 AM, Karu said:

 

Depends on what master deg u have....

 

Many fresh MEng or MSc earn around that amt.

 

Some employers think master is a liability

my company standard is 4k for 5 years experience bachelor degree holder,

[Quantum]

  On 3/30/2015 at 1:56 PM, Submarine82 said:

Hi All,

 

I am driving Hyundai Getz now. Its COE is due in one year time.

I am 33 years old and earning $4k per month.

 

I am car enthusiast and I wish to own a new Merc C class in the near future.

 

Do you think it is possible to own a new Merc C class at my current salary level?

If not, what should I do?

 

Any kind soul please advice me...

 

don't understand why you like new C?

honestly speaking, in this class and price range, many options are better then New C,

especially new C ugly touch screen, performance wise, luxury wise, price wise, value of money wise, Passat, A4, Mondeo, CLA, S60 all are better than C and price lower

[Hiphiphoray]

33 year old should be thinking tonite what time wake up feed baby......lol.

 

That was what i was doing during that age.

 

Actually quite fun lar.....feed liao then blured blured the baby.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Vid]

  On 3/31/2015 at 4:58 AM, efssc said:

 

Let me try.

 

First question; anything is possible, but I think it will be a very bad decision to go ahead with a new C Class at your current income level, one that will haunt you for years.

 

With that out of the way, let's tackle the hard part.

 

I read through your posts and gathered the following info;

 

1) You earn $4k monthly, increment around 4% ($150) with no mention of supplement wages, I will assume you only have the basic 13th month.

 

2) You're 33 and mentioned you're already letting out 1 room, but at 33 you cannot buy HDB as a single so I assume you have a family. No mention of wife's or any other salary so I'll base on only your income.

 

The thing is not how much you need to earn, but rather, how much you can save?

 

Finances

I assume your $4k salary is before CPF, so after CPF that leaves you $3.2k to bring home. If you have a young family you probably need to spend at least $2k ~ $2.5k if you live frugally, that leaves you $700~$1200 of savings per month. I take average $1k per month, multiply by 12 months + you save 50% of your 13th month = 12 x $1k + 0.5 x $3.2k = $13.6k a year, I will round that down to $13.5k.

 

Time Frame

Your Getz has one more year to go, after which you plan to extend your COE by 5 years (since you already have this plan I assume the 5-year COE cost has been catered for), that gives you 6 years.

 

Cost of Car

A quick ref on SgCarmart shows the lowest cost C-Class, a parallel imported C180 1.8 Sport Coupe costs about $170k. But car prices fluctuates, so in 6 years assuming 3% inflation that translates into about $205k (and this is pretty optimistic, reality can be so much harsher), that in turn translates into a downpayment of $103k and a monthly installment of around $2k (5 year loan @ 2.5% interest)

 

Scenario 1 - Pure Savings

As mentioned earlier you have 6 years. If I take $13.5k / year x 6 years with a compound 4% increment per year, your total savings at the end of year 6 = around $89.5k, not quite enough for the $103k downpayment.

 

Scenario 2 - Investing

Building on Scenario 1, assuming you invest your yearly savings for an annual return of 4% (invest at the end of every year) instead of simply letting it sit in a bank, your total investment value at the end of year 6 increases to around $98.5k, slightly better but still a little short of the $103k.

 

Projected Salary and Expenses

Also by the 6th year, your project salary (at 4% annual increment) will be at slightly below $5.1k, or $4k take home, while your expenses (at 3% inflation) will increase to around $2.4k ~ $3k, leaving you with not enough to service that $2k monthly installment, and we have not even factor in the addition costs of running a C-Class vs a Getz.

 

Working Backwards

Monthly installment = $2k, + another $1.2k for running costs (again, optimistic), + $3k for your family expenses, that brings your total project expenses in 6 years to $6.2k, lets round it up to $6.5k for a little buffer, that means your gross pay needs to be around $7.7k~$8k (new CPF cap at $6k, or $1.2k contribution).

 

You'll need a job that pays you $6k NOW with a 5% annual increment in order for you to achieve $8k in 6 years.

 

Also a $6k job will allow you to save $2k a month (frugal living), bringing your potential savings in 6 years to $179k or your potential investment returns to $194k, more than enough for that downpayment and then some (something for kid's college funds maybe?).

 

But having said all these, even if it can be done, please don't do it, coz you'll be sacrificing a lot in life just for a car (especially the part where you will be spending more on your car than you will on your family, that's just so sad ).

 

This has become a super-long post, hence I will end it here, anyway this is just a very rough estimate / projection, pop questions if you like to discuss further.

 

Praise you for taking the time and effort to type out something so long for TS