At first I was thinking, alamak this "how much are you earning per annum" thread is becoming a car COE forum, but then I think this is more interesting because people can see if their prediction of COE prices will come true or not. It is definitely better than not knowing if any of the postings on income, net worth is true or not.

About whether people will buy car or not, whether they will change car or not, I can only infer from my conversations with my colleagues and circle of friends.

Among my friends, all in their late 40s to mid 50s, all currently own cars. Three of them have 2 cars each. Their wives drive. Those whose cars are nearing 10yrs old, are looking around to replace them. Even those with 2 cars in the family are intent on having 2 cars and not settling for 1 when the COE expire. For me, I have 2 cars, of which one car is less than a year old, bought to replace an earlier car where the COE had expired.

Among my colleagues, newly married ones are looking to book their first family car. They said they will go and visit the car show this weekend to sniff out bargains. Those colleagues whose cars are over 8 and 9 years old are also keeping tabs on car prices. Some are getting anxious.

My conclusion of these 2 groups of people is that there is a net increase in demand for cars. Current car owners want to replace their cars, with newly married people wanting to own their first car.

But let's see how the COE price will trend over the next few months, as the bigger population at large may see more people giving up car ownership than those wanting to buy.

I hope it is the former, because our roads are really congested.