Renting a car by the month in Singapore: how it works

Most people who rent for months rather than days are in one of a few situations. A work posting with a known end date. A family that has grown and needs a bigger car before it is ready to buy one. Or someone waiting out COE prices.

What they have in common is a horizon measured in months, not the ten years a Certificate of Entitlement runs for. Owning a car in Singapore is a decade long commitment by design. Renting by the month is the way to have a car without making it.

Daily and weekly hire is priced for short trips and gets expensive quickly if you keep the car. Long term leases, often called personal contract hire, usually run for years and can be hard to leave early. Monthly rental is the middle: terms in months, one flat rate, and the ability to hand the car back when the term ends.

SYRF terms run from three months to two years. Longer terms usually carry a lower monthly rate, which is worth asking any provider about if you know roughly how long you need the car.

The point of one monthly figure is that the running costs of ownership are inside it. Providers differ on exactly what that means, so check the list rather than assume. With SYRF the monthly rate includes third party insurance, road tax, scheduled servicing and roadside assistance, with no mileage cap.

As a guide to the figure itself, SYRF's usual rates run $1,500 to $2,200 a month for Japanese and Korean cars and $1,900 to $3,000 for continental ones, depending on engine size. The price guide below sets out the four bands.

Whatever the provider, expect fuel or charging, ERP, parking and traffic fines to stay with you. Ask specifically about servicing: whether it is included, who books it, and what happens to you while the car is in.

• Is insurance third party or comprehensive, and what does that mean for you after an accident?
• Is there a mileage cap, and what does a kilometre over it cost?
• Is road tax included for the whole term?
• Who arranges servicing, and is there a car for you while yours is in?
• What is the deposit, and when does it come back?
• Can you end early, and what does it cost?

Third party insurance covers injury to other people and damage to their property. It does not cover the rental car itself. If the cover in your rate is third party, repairs to the car after an accident are charged to you, so ask exactly how that is handled before you sign, not after.

SYRF cover is third party. That is stated plainly on the fleet and car pages, because it is the single largest financial surprise available to a renter who does not ask.

Comprehensive cover, where offered, costs more and usually carries an excess per claim. Neither is wrong. What matters is knowing which one you have.

Most providers ask for identification, a driving licence they can accept for driving in Singapore, and proof of where you live. If you are on a work pass, expect to be asked how long it has left to run. Having photographs of these ready will usually get you from enquiry to keys inside a week.

Match the car to the life, not the other way round. A hatchback or small sedan for a daily commute and HDB carpark lots. A seven seater with sliding doors if the school run includes grandparents.