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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/car-dealers-in-ubi-motor-belt-seek-extension-to-expiring-leases Leases for several car showrooms in the Kampong Ubi "motor belt" will be expiring from next year, and companies are scrambling for extensions. Among the half a dozen or so soon-to-expire leases is one held by Automobile Megamart, which operates an eight-storey complex housing more than 100 new car companies, used car dealerships and parallel importers. Its 30-year lease runs out in 2026, and stakeholders have set in motion an appeal for an extension. Another affected property is the Opel showroom held by the Alpine group. Like all others interviewed, Alpine Group managing director Albert Pang said he intends to apply for an extension. "After Leng Kee, this is Singapore's motor belt," Mr Pang said, referring to the Leng Kee-Alexandra Road car showroom district. "Of course we want to stay if we can." Directly opposite his showroom is Sime Darby's Performance Premium Selection used car complex, which recently had its lease extended till 2040.

In the face of rising COE premiums and shifting perceptions of car ownership, we take a look at BMW Flow to understand the allure of leasing. Spurred both by a hunger for more flexibility, and the rise of on-demand mobility options, the idea of locking oneself down over a decade with a single car is likely to make one think twice nowadays. In Singapore specifically, an added dimension of complexity comes into play due to the taxes. This is especially pronounced now that the COE quota is at a low point. Nonetheless, the desire - or even need - to have private access to a set of wheels doesn't just disappear as a result. Enter: Car leasing, an alternative option which is now increasingly alluring and accessible. The leasing process actually doesn't deviate too much from the normal car buying process. You're still presented with a wide range of models to choose from - even brand-new ones! - but only need to put down a far smaller sum of money at the outset. We take a look at BMW Flow to understand the five reasons why leasing may be the more appealing route for some of us today! 1) Low upfront and ongoing costs With the BMW Flow leasing program, a $15,000 down payment is all that is required at the start. It's a far more palatable sum to swallow compared to what is normally required (30 per cent down payment) to get behind the wheels of our dream cars. Thereafter, customers get to enjoy far shorter lock-in periods as well while paying a (dependably) fixed amount for the lease every month. With COE premiums in Category B and E recently crossing the $100,000 line, this alternative is all the more attractive for those looking for larger, or just slightly more powerful, cars. The option of leasing provides more fluidity to the way you plan your finances, since leasing payments are made on a monthly basis. As they say, cash is king. Breaking down the expense of driving into smaller payments does have invaluable upshots, as opposed to frontloading with a mega-sum. Yet another headache-inducing part of car ownership is the ever-lingering concern about what else happens (or might happen) to your wallet once you've coughed up the money required for the down payment. For one, there are the additional considerations of road tax and insurance. And what about potential repairs - as well as servicing fees? Over time, these smaller (not small, we note) expenses can slowly add up to quite a sizeable sum. Thankfully, these are worries that the leasing route can help to quash. 2) Peace of mind With regular maintenance taken care of by the dealer, a driver can rest easy in the knowledge that the amount paid for the lease in the first month will remain the same as what he or she pays six months later, for instance. Apart from managing the health of your car, the fees you're presented with up front through BMW Flow also include road tax and car insurance, saving you from having to fret over these extra costs on your own. Of course, petrol is always going to be ours to bear, but hey - the elimination of those other financial bits does put one's mind more at rest, doesn't it? Customers who sign up for a new lease under BMW Flow now can even look forward to complimentary fuel vouchers! Sweet. 3) Short-term commitment with more flexibility What happens when you just want to drive for two to three years? Or perhaps even less than that - for just a year-and-a-half at most? Approaching this from a car-buying mindset could be frustrating, especially for anyone looking to drive something that's spanking new. The down payment is one part of the equation; having to service a loan over an extended period stretching across not just months, but potentially years, is the other. Exploring the option of leasing, however, may very well land you with a commitment period that specifically suits your needs. If two years is all the time that you foresee yourself needing a car for at the current moment (maybe to ride the wave of the COE cycle out too?), that's most certainly a duration that you can opt for when leasing a vehicle. In the case of BMW Flow, periods of 18, 24 or 36 months can be opted for by customers. That brings us on to another part of the car ownership journey that you won't have to grapple with as well... 4) No resale worries It probably isn't an exaggeration to claim that Singapore's car market has been hotter than its weather in recent months. Even second-hand cars haven't been left unscathed, depreciation-wise. As such, potential car buyers today have been caught in a bind of sorts - what if one still wants a means of private transport, yet winces at the thought of having to sell their car at a steeper than necessary loss a few years down the road? There's also the inconvenience of running around and haggling for the best price to think about. None of this has to weigh on your mind when you lease a car. With BMW Flow, you can simply hand the car back to your agent once the period you've selected ends. On the other hand, however, there are other options available to you as well if plans change along the way... 5) More choices, on multiple levels Above all, the appeal of leasing lies in giving the individual freedom of choice - and on multiple levels too. It's absolutely valid to not want to drive the same car over an extended period. This could be driven either by curiosity to experience life behind the wheel of different models, or by necessity too, when moving through the phases of life thrusts different lifestyle requirements upon us. For instance, you could be perfectly content with a compact four-door coupe at one point in your early 30s. A couple of years later, however, you've gotten married and had kids, and thus require a bigger car to haul everyone (and everything) around. Switching things up every now and then requires far less effort when you lease a car. The freedom to choose what you want to do next also applies in other aspects. Maybe you've decided that you simply don't need a car anymore. Or maybe, after two years with a car, you've grown fond of it instead of feeling like you need something new. BMW Flow's triple Lease Completion Options grant you such power to decide. When your leasing period comes to an end, 'Restart' allows you to hop to another vehicle, while 'Renew' allows you to enter a new leasing period with the same car. On the other hand, 'Retain' allows you to buy over whatever you're driving at any point during the lease term if you've fallen in love with the car - and at a predetermined value too. Worry-free, widened accessibility to the cars we love Against the costs that one typically has to incur to drive a premium model, the benefits offered by leasing programs like BMW Flow now promise us far easier access. Specifically, cars that customers can look forward to driving under the program include: The BMW 1 Series The BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé The BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer The BMW 3 Series The BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé The BMW X3 If the option of leasing a set of wheels has never once floated across your mind, the confluence of push factors now is good reason to start seriously considering it. BMW Flow, in particular, opens you up to Bavaria's world of dynamic and premium machines, bringing you closer to your dream car while promising fresh flexibility and the freedom of choice.

Today's ST shows an article on latest leasing program from Prime. Typical structure is only pay 10% dp, and pay an amount monthly, which includes Insurance, road tax. U drive for 5 years, if u don't like the car, can return to Prime and lease another new car. If u like the car, then can buy it. ST shared this customer leasing the new Honda Vezel. She paid 10% dp of its price, and monthly payment of $1688, includes insurance and road tax, for 5 years. And I think Prime also covers the regular maintenance. Is this worth? I compared this Honda vezel leasing with buying the same car. Monthly payment of Honda vezel after 50% dp is about $1100+, excluding insurance and road tax. Looks like this leasing Program is workable.

Our Full Service Lease Takes Care of Your Fleet Regular replacements of tyres and batteries Full vehicle maintenance and mechanical repair Replacement vehicle Comprehensive vehicle insurance Complementary personal accident insurance 24/7 Customer Care Drive to Malaysia whenever you feel like it GET A QUOTE! Send us your enquiries and we are glad to assist you.

Hi there, Has anybody tried the latest Kia Flexi Lease which offers 0 downpayment and 0 deposit? From what I know is done through Daimler Fleet Management. Anybody succeeded in leasing a car from this program? Kindly share. I was given a budget of $2k per month to lease a car as my job requires me the occasional travel to Malaysia sites. (Lease on my own and company will reimburse me). I asked for Kia K3 1.6 SX direct from C&C but monthly payment is $2,045. My salary is only $4.1k. What's the chances of me succeeding in my application? I feel that I stand 10% chance only. Thanks!

No 70-year lease for new HDB flats Tuesday, Nov 04, 2014 Rachel Au-Yong My Paper The Housing Board is not going to introduce the option of a shorter lease of 70 years for first-time buyers. First-timers who want such flats can turn to the resale market, where they are still eligible for housing grants, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in Parliament yesterday. He did not believe that demand for such flats would be strong. Mr Khaw was replying to Marine Parade GRC MP Seah Kian Peng, who had asked the ministry to consider offering new flats with a 70-year lease alongside new ones with the current 99-year lease. 5 things to know about HDB's Lease Buyback scheme Mr Seah argued that home prices would be more affordable with shorter leases. Disagreeing, Mr Khaw gave two reasons why demand would be weak. First, the upfront cost HDB would incur for a 70-year lease would be the same as that for a 99-year lease. Second, owing to the time value of money and the fact that flats with shorter leases tend to depreciate faster, the reduced price of a flat would not be directly proportional to the shortened lease. "In fact, it is significantly higher," Mr Khaw said. "The fact is that we price new flats on a 99-year lease to be highly affordable for first-time buyers." HDB enhances upgrading programmes With significant housing grants, first-timers with a monthly household income of $1,000 can afford a new two-room flat in a non-mature estate, while those who earn $4,000 a month should be able to afford a four-room home. "They can do so with little or no out-of-pocket cash," he said. HDB buys land from the Singapore Land Authority on a 105-year lease, enabling the Board to build and sell new flats with a 99-year lease. However, it offers flats with shorter leases to serve the needs of specific buyers, Mr Khaw said, citing studio apartments, which are sold on a 30-year lease to senior citizens as their retirement homes. He also assured Mr Seah that he would "keep (his) options open", by perhaps offering an entire block of flats with a 70-year lease should the need arise. "But at the moment, I doubt it," he said. HDB renovation: The Dos and Don’ts

The sharp reduction in COE (certificate of entitlement) supply relative to current demand has led to sky-high premiums and equally astronomical car prices. A Toyota Vios, for instance, now costs $119k – twice as much as it did five years ago. As if that wasn’t enough, the introduction of a tiered ARF (Additional Registration Fee) scheme plus the stricter financing rules implemented earlier this year have truly left aspiring car owners in a quandary, for they’ve created a significantly higher barrier to car ownership for the average buyer. The previous lending regulations, which allowed banks to extend “full” loans with a repayment period of 10 years, have been abolished. Under the new rules, buyers who intend to purchase a car (including used ones) with an OMV less than or equal to $20k can only borrow 60 per cent of the vehicle’s price (COE included), and must repay the loan in five years. If the car’s OMV is above $20k, a buyer can only borrow 50 per cent of the car’s price and must settle the loan within five years. Specifically, it’s the hefty down payment that is a big hurdle to many people. Buying a Toyota Vios, for example, requires one to fork out a $47.6k down payment. Acquiring a Camry 2.0 – which is listed at $167k at press time – would mean handing over $83.5k should you decide to purchase one. If you can’t afford to buy a car, we’ll demonstrate how you can still “own” one. Even if you could purchase a car outright, we’ll show you how leasing could potentially save you a good amount of cash. THE ADVANTAGES Apart from not having to hand over a big chunk of your savings as a down payment, most leasing contracts also stipulate that the leasing company will be responsible for expenses such as road tax, insurance and vehicle maintenance (see sidebar overleaf for potential “savings”). Some dealers even offer the use of a courtesy car while the leased vehicle is being serviced. Of course, the lessee remains responsible for ERP charges, parking fees and any fines incurred for the duration of the lease. The greatest advantage leasing holds is that since you don’t own the car, you don’t have to contend with depreciation and resale issues when changing vehicles. This is significant as, generally speaking, a new car loses 15 per cent of its value within the first year alone. If you’re planning to lease a new car, it is possible to choose specifics such as colour and standard equipment. But if you’re leasing a used vehicle, you’ll be limited to whatever the dealer in question currently has in stock. A new car is, of course, more expensive to lease than an older one. Most firms will also allow you to use your own registration number on the car you intend to lease (as long as you pay the necessary LTA transfer fee, of course). In contrast to owning a car, leasing also gives you the opportunity to change vehicles sooner, without having to worry about settling the outstanding loan for the car in question. According to Steven Ng, marketing manager at Motorway Group, a customer can negotiate to have an “upgrade clause” included in his contract. “But we will only allow a client to change cars within a reasonable amount of time. A customer cannot expect to be able to change cars every two months. But if it’s a four year contract and the client wants to upgrade after two years, we can negotiate and put that into the agreement.” THE CATCH However, when monthly payments on a car lease are compared to monthly payments on a hire-purchase loan, the former’s advantage doesn’t seem especially great. Local Suzuki agent Champion Motors, for example, is offering the Swift 1.4 GLX hatchback (manual gearbox) from $998 a month – subject to a minimum lease period of 36 months. But if you were to purchase said Swift model, the monthly repayment on a five year loan (at 2.6 per cent annual interest) would be $1,231. This is assuming a 40 per cent down payment against the car’s selling price of $108.9k at press time. When it comes to luxury models, however, leasing is a much more expensive option. Under Mercedes-Benz’s Star Lease programme, for example, the A200 Style hatchback costs $2,460 a month for a 60-month term. But if you were to purchase the vehicle, listed at $159,888 at press time, your monthly repayment would amount to $1,506 (assuming a 50 per cent down payment and a five-year loan). That’s $954 more to lease the same car per month, or an extra outlay of $57k after five years. And once the hire-purchase loan is fully paid, the car is “free” to be driven for the rest of its COE lifespan. Besides, if you’re planning to buy a new vehicle, you’ll have your Preferred Additional Registration Fee (PARF) rebate and the remaining COE paper value – provided the owner scraps the car before its tenth year – to put towards the next car. The PARF rebate is 50 per cent of the Additional Registration Fee (ARF) in the car’s tenth year. In contrast, when the leasing period is over, you’re left with nothing. As several industry veterans have pointed out, this is the other reason why many remain cool to the idea of leasing. PRE-OWNED LEASING If leasing a brand-new car is too expensive, you could consider leasing a used vehicle. Performance Premium Selection Limited (PPSL), a dealership that specialises in pre-owned BMWs. If you want more variety in terms of the makes and models available, you can check out multi-brand distributor Wearnes Automotive’s leasing programme, which offers all the models – both new and used units – from the seven marques (Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Infiniti, Renault, McLaren and Bentley) under the Wearnes umbrella. Apart from these brands, the company also claims to be able to meet a customer’s request for any make/model that isn’t part of its portfolio. Unique to Wearnes, however, are the added services not offered by most firms. For instance, Wearnes’ “Full Service” leasing programme includes vehicle pickup/delivery for maintenance, personal accident insurance in addition to the comprehensive insurance coverage, and 24-hour roadside assistance that covers driving in Malaysia, too. The quality of the used vehicles available for lease varies by dealer. Motorway, for example, tries to ensure that its cars have good service histories no matter their age, but if your budget is lower, you’re more likely to end up with a high-mileage vehicle. Wearnes, on the other hand, tries to offer cars not more than five years old. Be aware, too, that some dealers place mileage caps on their cars. Wearnes, for instance, has an annual cap of 20,000km on its vehicles (whether new or used) and charges 50 cents per additional kilometre covered at the end of the lease, although a spokesperson did mention that clients can negotiate to have this clause waived. AN EMERGING TREND Although leasing isn’t popular among local motorists yet, more car dealers have joined the leasing game anyway. Porsche, MINI, Kia and Volkswagen are just a few of the authorised agents that have recently introduced leasing schemes. This is great news for drivers, as more options equal better chances of finding the programme that best suits their needs This article was written by Jeremy Chua, writer for Torque

porsche anyone? guarantee buyback ... depreciation is even much lower than buy (aka hire purchase) but you must have $235K to park there first and collect it back 3 years later .... LOL

Read on ad yesterday. RX lease from 1888 per month. Works out to be 226560 over 10 years. Any one has details? Couldn't call in time...

Came across the website and happen to see that they are leasing all the Hyundai current model for 1 to 3 years. Anyone out there got a quote from them before? http://www.hyundaimotors.com.sg/

As opposed to "buying" it? 80% of the cars are four years or newer. Since most people don't intend to keep their car for long, does it make more sense to lease it? Hence my question. Is there car leasing in Singapore? Don't seem to hear of it.

What does Tan Meng Wah for the Straits Time means? In any case, I dont see the usual disclaimer from ST saying: these are strictly the author's view. we have no part in this crap apart from printing this piece of shiit

just bought a condo around that area. as tenant walk to work in the CBD area . have a vacant parking lot within the condo and want to lease it out. anyone keen? PM me

In the world of news and media, getting information out quickly is sometimes important. However, getting information right is vital as well. That said, sometimes media outlets get deceived from official sources as well. So what are we to do? Correct the wrong, of course. Here's a recent example. On Wednesday, news emerged that Toyota is planning to offer its RAV4 Electric Vehicle in the US on a lease basis only. Nothing wrong with that. Happens all the time in the States, especially for experimental projects such as these. However, on Thursday, Toyota released an official statement retracting the news, and declared that the RAV4 EV will be sold outright to buyers. So right now, we don't actually know whether the RAV4 will be for lease or for sale. We presume that the latest statement is correct, unless Toyota claims otherwise again. When news flip-flops around like these, it gives us media folks a bit of a headache. Because it comes across as a bit untrustworthy. At least we never resorted to phone-hacking though...

Appreciate some kind soul here could advice me regarding renewing the lease? My current tenant's lease due soon and they intent to renew the lease, but they do not want to involve any agent, the problem is I checked back the clause and it stated that any renew of lease will have to pay another commission to the same agent again. what should I do now? Thanks

Hi bros/sis, Was thinking of shifting to a place within a km of a Pri Sch but all around are condos/bungalows and only a few HDB blocks. Spotted some 99-yr lease condo estates of less than 20 yrs but not sure whether they are still worth investing in. Hope to receive advice on when is a 99-yr lease condo considered 'too old' to invest in. Thanks in advance.

Pearl White Suzuki Swift Sport Mega option Manual Registered in June 2007 Why you should takeover my car? 1) You do not want to drive the same car for more than 2 years. 2) You do not want to worry about getting rid of the car after 2 years. 3) You do not want to worry about high insurance renewals. 4) You do not want to worry about breaking even. Price of 2007 registered Swift Sport (mega option) approx $47K Interest 2.28% - 7 Years Loan starting Jun 10 Installment = $649/month Insurance for most owners around age 28 - 33 are $2.5K - $3K/year esp 1st time owner Insurance monthly = $200 - $250 Road Tax = $61.3/mth Total cost per month to upkeep = $910 - $960/mth Takeover terms & conditions: $850/month to cover installment cost, insurance cost, road tax. To put a deposit of $2k A written agreement will be drafted out with witness from both parties Minimum tenure = 2 year Ownership of car will still be mine, insurance under mine and you'll be named driver. Fines/summons, servicing, repairs, etc not included in the package. Car runs stock now @ consistent 15km/L Reason for this: Overseas work commitment Contact me via 92323606 to discuss. Tks

I am curious why DBSS flat is 103 years lease whereas EC is only 99 years? HDB releases Upper Serangoon DBSS site for sale By Mok Fei Fei | Posted: 11 October 2010 1534 hrs SINGAPORE: A Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) site at Upper Serangoon Road has been released for sale by public tender by the Housing & Development Board (HDB). HDB said the site has an area of 20,000 square metres and a maximum allowable gross floor area of 70,000 square metres. It is expected to yield about 630 units and has a lease term of 103 years, including a 48-month construction period. Located just across Punggol Park, the site is near amenities like Hougang Mall and Kang Kar Mall, as well as schools like Xinmin Primary. HDB said another DBSS site at Yuan Ching Road and Corporation Drive will be launched for tender next month. That site is expected to yield 580 units. HDB said more sites for DBSS development will be made available if there is sustained demand.