My monthly phv expenses is around $400 - $500 every month. Sometimes reaching $600. Can I get a car with that including cost of car + COE ?
Yes you can. Though limited to 2nd hand cars. Eg this Porsche costs $474.00 per month:
https://www.sgcarmart.com/used_cars/info.php?ID=1051422&DL=2251
Both you and the car owners you spoke with are right and wrong at the same time.
In Singapore, it's common for average heart-landers to over-estimate the cost of car ownership.
Part of the reason is because they cannot get out of the mindset that cars are big ticket luxury items. The adage "Poverty has limited our imagination" is quite apt here.
I used to think it's a waste of money to buy a car as well.
On the other hand, it's also common for car owners to under-estimate the cost of car ownership.
The first thing they might be comparing when you told them $15 for an 8 km journey, is possibly what an 8km trip would have cost them in petrol (which is around $1-$2). They likely would not have added cost of the car, parking, ERP, repairs and maintenance etc.
Say even if my monthly phv expenses is close to $2K per month which is A LOT OF PHV ( 80 trips of $25 ! Lol) , it's also not any more expensive than owning a car right ? But don't know why the car owners gasp and feel like taking phv prices are so out of this world for them. lol.. I just find it amusing.
$2,000 is definitely more expensive than owning a car. That's $24k a year, can afford much more than simple bread and butter cars.
As you have calculated, their cars cost more than your daily 2 PHV trips. Meaning the cost is something they can afford. To them, they used that money to buy their own car, and you are paying that same money to other people to buy their own car. You only can use it 2 times a day because it's a shared service that is used by the "public", including passengers sweating from the hot sun, old folks with stained pants from loose bowels, vomiting drunks, coughing folks who contracted Covid/Monkey Pox etc. While car owners can use it anytime they want. More than 2 trips a day. Plus, it's reserved for them at their beck and call. And unless used as PHV, unlikely to be contaminated by "public".
Think of going Geylang to use public toilets compared to having your own personal toilet.
Different people prefer (or are limited to) different options.
Other things to consider that cannot be quantified using math:
1) If you have ever needed to wait/pray for a PHV, especially after a midnight movie/supper/drink/somewhere a bit ulu/urgent matters, you are at the mercy of the availability of PHVs.
2) If you have ever experienced surge prices and had to switch between 4 different ride hailing apps to try getting the lowest surge, you are at the mercy of the ride hailing company for extorting the increased price.
3) When you board the PHV, your life is now at the mercy of the driver's driving skills and possible lack of rest from long hours of driving. Exception if you can't drive or are a bad driver.
4) Heard of people having the driver cancel the booking? Heard of people being abused (verbally or more worse) by the driver? Experienced drivers complaining why short distance also take PHV and waste their time? While the vast majority of PHV drivers are very professional, whether it'll turn out to be a bad day can be at the mercy of someone you cannot get away from for the entire trip.
