These are the special circumstances that may make a person decides to buy a car:
1. Withdrawing
CPF at 55. For some people, withdrawing their
CPF at 55 represents both an opportunity and possibly the last chance for them (and family) to have a taste of car ownership. These people may not necessarily buy a new car but a 2nd hand one. After working donkey years, people will justify to themselves that it is time to indulge a little. And they should as you only live once!
2. Extending their retirement age. A colleague of mine (aged 57) who previously swore that his 10 yr old car would be his last has recently upgraded to the new Sylphy. He has obviously extended his retirement age.
3. Couples having children. I remembered when we were first married, my wife and I were ok with taking public transport. But when our first child came along, having a car suddenly becomes a necessity, because of the bundle of baby stuff to lug along everywhere we go. When more children came along, the car size grew. Now we have an MPV.
4. Even for singles, when they start to earn and save more, the thought of living the good life will creep in. And for these people the car they chose is to reflect their personality and not so much for utility. It is not uncommon for these people to go for conti cars especially cabriolets.
5. Power couples who simply have too much money. When both are earning good salaries and are busy people, having their own cars is a given. And we are not even talking about cheap Jap or Korean cars. We are talking 2 BMs, or 1 BM & 1 Jaguar, 2 Mercs etc....
6. Car "collectors". Here I am not referring to the serious antique car collector. I am talking about the crazy rich people who simply must have more cars than people in their household. I have moved house a few times, and each time I always have neighbours who have more cars than the number of family members. These families will have 1 car for daily use, 1 car for weekend, 1 car for night out, 1 car for long drive to M'
sia.
7. The cannot-lose-face people. These are people who cannot lose out to their neighbours/peers. When they see their neighbour buy a car, they also must have one.
8. The cannot-use-my-car-lot entitlement mentality people. In my previous condo, I have a neighbour who was just not happy that the condo fees are the same for owners with and without car. So he went out and bought an old car just to take up 1 car park lot even though he hardly drives.
So, it is not true that people who had not own cars before would not be swayed to own car. What is true however, is that it is difficult for people who own cars to give up their cars. I have tried it for a while and I am back to driving.