Maximum Car Loan in Singapore: Your Questions Answered
These are the questions people ask most often about maximum car loan. Each answer is short; follow the links for the full detail.
What does a maximum car loan calculation tell me?
MAS rules cap car loans at 70% of the price if OMV is S$20,000 or less, and 60% if OMV is higher, with a maximum tenure of 7 years.
What is the formula?
Max loan = price × 70% (OMV ≤ S$20,000) or 60% (OMV > S$20,000).
What do I need to enter?
Open Market Value (OMV) (S$), Purchase price (S$).
Is this financial advice?
No. It is a calculation tool. For decisions about loans or investments, compare official offer documents and consider speaking to a licensed adviser.
Can you show an example?
For example, with these inputs:
- Open Market Value (OMV) (S$): 25,000
- Purchase price (S$): 140,000
the calculator returns:
- Maximum loan: S$84,000.00
- Minimum downpayment: S$56,000.00
Any tips?
- Even small monthly contributions grow meaningfully over 20 years because of compounding.
- Keep three to six months of expenses in an easy-access account before investing aggressively.
- Car loans are capped at seven years, and interest is charged on the original amount for the whole term.
Background
Cars in Singapore carry costs found almost nowhere else, including the Certificate of Entitlement and the Additional Registration Fee. Loans are capped at 60% or 70% of the price depending on the car's Open Market Value, and the maximum tenure is seven years.
Compounding is the reason long-term saving works: returns earn further returns, so the growth curve steepens over time. The same maths works against you with debt, which is why credit card balances at around 27% a year grow quickly if only minimum payments are made.
Inflation erodes buying power, so a savings goal set in today's dollars needs to be adjusted upwards for the years it will take to reach it. Singapore's core inflation has varied widely over the past decade, so it is worth testing a range of rates.
Related calculations
- Emergency Fund Calculator: Sets a target for your rainy-day savings.
- Net Worth Calculator: Adds up what you own minus what you owe.
- Debt-to-Income Ratio Calculator: Shows what share of income goes to debt.
- Rule of 72 Calculator: Estimates how long money takes to double.
Try it yourself with the Maximum Car Loan Calculator.
Run your own numbers: Maximum Car Loan Calculator