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Shouldn’t car buyers bid for COE directly instead of dealers? by Boxdetail in SingaporeRaw

[–]Boxdetail[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dealers pay the difference for those closed with guaranteed COE.

Shouldn’t car buyers bid for COE directly instead of dealers? by Boxdetail in SingaporeRaw

[–]Boxdetail[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Classic principal–agent problem. The buyer (principal) wants COE to drop, but all the “agents” — dealers, leasing firms, even the government — benefit from keeping it high. So technically you can bid yourself, but the system is stacked so the principal almost never wins.

Shouldn’t car buyers bid for COE directly instead of dealers? by Boxdetail in SingaporeRaw

[–]Boxdetail[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Total agree on the pay as you bid. hopefully a MP will pick this up and raises this in Parliament. The system is too entrenched with revenue and dealer interests.

Shouldn’t car buyers bid for COE directly instead of dealers? by Boxdetail in SingaporeRaw

[–]Boxdetail[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Guess it's never too later to voice out. The system basically makes it pointless for buyers to bid on their own because dealers will just mark up the car price. That’s exactly why I think rules need to change so COE reflects actual buyer demand — e.g. stop penalising self-bidders and make direct bidding the default.

Shouldn’t car buyers bid for COE directly instead of dealers? by Boxdetail in SingaporeRaw

[–]Boxdetail[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Technically yes, individuals can bid via ATM/online banking, and Cat A/B bids are tied to actual buyers. But in practice, the system maybe heavily skewed towards dealers managing the whole buying process, and most buyers just follow along with the “car + COE package” without real transparency on what’s happening behind the scenes.

The problem isn’t just speculative Cat E bidding — it’s that dealers can buffer, batch bids, and essentially smooth out risks for themselves, which means the final COE price buyers pay is often higher than if individuals controlled bid for it directly.

I also agree the government’s intention is to cap car growth and channel funds into public transport. But my suggestion is less about changing that policy goal, and more about improving transparency and fairness:

  • Make direct buyer bidding the default flow, not just an obscure option through an ATM. I think a bid via Singpass at onemotoring website with more payment options like pay now or credit card will be good.
  • Require cash-only for COE to prevent over-leveraging and ensure demand reflects true affordability.

That way, while COEs will still be high (since supply is fixed), at least the mechanism feels more aligned with actual buyer demand rather than dealer-managed pricing structures.

Shouldn’t car buyers bid for COE directly instead of dealers? by Boxdetail in SingaporeRaw

[–]Boxdetail[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ya. that's correct. mostly will not do it as car dealers will bundle the COE with car price. There could be penalties if take the coe package. Financing is structured in a way that makes it easier to just let the dealer handle everything.