Originally posted by huoye:
eh... abit of misinformation leh.
when u use the voucher to buy new car it will offset as what the voucher states no need to discount. becuz those are SEs not dealers and FYI when u trade in to these new car distributors they also find 2nd hand dealer to take in the car so no diff who u buy from.
and ur discount of a few thousands is not wrong but they go by % and not $. current market rate is about less 5% so if ur paper value is $50k u will get only $45k BUT the dealer will also give u money for ur body... the value depending on what make and model is the car. and of cuz demand and supply
To the thread starter, if u want a more direct figure give me your paper value and ur make and model i try to estimate how much u can get back. And i say first, this is based on my work experience and i am NOT a dealer.
Regarding how much they take off from your scrap value, Huoye's explanation is more accurate - they do go by percentage (5% currently) and not "typically a few thousand dollars" as I've written. I just assumed that your 6-year-old car would have still quite a high value left, which is why I wrote it that way. Sorry for the misleading statement....

Regarding taking in the car at scrap value......I wrote that its a ploy and I still feel so. Reasons are:
(1) Some car dealers (new or used) have enough profits in selling you the car....to take in your car at its paper value. If you bargain their selling price down, they will also bargain your trade-in price. Its just a matter of balancing buying/selling prices (they end up with the same profit, but the customer may be psychologically happier with one option over the other).
(2) Yes, a famous Japanese car distributor has even offered to take in my car at $2000 ABOVE its paper value. But some new terms and conditions attached - I had to take a bigger loan, I had to loan for a longer time, no discount from their selling price, no freebies, etc. Its a matter of balancing selling/buying prices. I tried bargaining their selling price, but they said "yes, I can give you a lower price, but I can't buy your car at $2000 above scrap value anymore". I'm quite sure that new cars are priced taking into account, among other things, that customers will want to trade in their present cars at their paper values.
(3) The real test to this is to just take your car to any dealer and ask him to scrap it for you, without buying any car from him. He will definitely not offer you the full scrap value. This is clear indication that he cannot take your car at the scrap value (understood lah, because he has to earn). ie. he can only take your car at its paper value if he also earns by selling you his car.
We have to remember to look at both sides....buying and selling prices. Car trading is a business and they have to make profits by balancing buying/selling prices. Experienced car dealers are so smooth at juggling these that customers often don't realise that they're back to square one.
- If their costs (your selling price to them) increases, they increase their selling price to you too.
- If their costs (your selling price to them) decreases, they can give you more discounts.
Its a psychological ploy. I could buy your car at its scrap value (eg. $10,000) and sell you mine for $20,000. But if you bargain my price to $19,000....then I'll bargain your price to $9,000. Either way, the difference is $10,000 and I make the same profit. Something like that lah....figures are just as illustration to get the point across.
To the thread starter, one more BIG thing I forgot to mention. If you scrap your father's car, you cannot immediately apply for another car under your name. He has to transfer the rebate to your name first (for S$10 or something like that). This means you have to scrap the car first, if you want to get the next car under your name. Otherwise, the other option is that your dad has to buy the car, then transfer the car to you (not adviseable, as the ownership goes up by 1).
To the thread starter again....you mentioned that you had to save to buy a car. Um....while we're talking about costs, I hope you realise that there are lots of hidden costs in owning a car.....petrol, insurance, road tax, radio tax, parking, repairs, maintenance, etc. At the very least (if you don't take loans), it will be a couple of hundred per month. If you take loans, it'll usually run into 4-figure values per month. Please consider this carefully before proceeding....
Actually hor....your father already has a car and is paying for it what. Since he doesn't want to use it, you use lah. He pays, you use, car is already there....the current situation seems like a good deal for you mah!
If don't want, and don't know what to do with the car, can let me use...
