Deregister Your Vehicle: Which is the best route to take?

When your car’s Certificate of Entitlement (COE) expires, there are only two ways you can proceed. You can either renew your COE or deregister your vehicle. Many Singaporean drivers tend to renew their COEs when premium prices are low. But if your car is in a terrible condition, the smarter route to take is to deregister your vehicle.

When you deregister your vehicle, you can either scrap your car or export it. You can also store your deregistered vehicle at an LTA Appointed Export Processing Zone before exporting it out of the country. Essentially, these are the only things you can do after your COE expires.

All these options have their pros and cons. Whatever route you choose to take, it will depend on the situation and circumstances that you’re in. So forming an argument on which is the better option is almost impossible.

Usually, drivers will choose the option with the higher monetary returns (obviously). But of course, this means that there will be more work for you to do.

Even when choosing to deregister your vehicle, there are a lot of considerations you must make.

The first one will be… how? How are you going to proceed with the deregistration process? Engage a dealer or do it yourself?

1. Deregister your car yourself

If you choose to deregister your car yourself, you’ll likely get the highest returns. But unlike engaging a dealer, deregistering your vehicle on your own is a lot more troublesome.

Doing it on your own means you are responsible for settling all the paperwork and finding the right route after your vehicle has been deregistered. So, whether you choose to export or scrap your vehicle, you’ll have to find a suitable scrapyard or a trustworthy exporter.

Finding a scrapyard is pretty easy. Just choose one of LTA’s appointed scrapyards and you’re good to go! For a detailed guide on how to scrap your car in Singapore, read this article.

However, finding an exporter can be troublesome. Just like buying or selling a car, you must head down to the different exporters and find the best price for your car. Once you’ve found a suitable exporter, you’ll have to submit all the necessary disposal documents on the One.motoring website.

You have to do all these, on top of the normal deregistration paperwork. So that’s quite a lot of things for you to handle. Plus, you must make sure that you start your search for an exporter early. Otherwise, it’s gonna be an extremely stressful and busy period!

But not to worry, there are tons of guides online to help you out!

Whether you choose to export or scrap your car, the best advice anyone can give is to start early. The absolute latest month you should start the process is 1 month before your COE is due to expire. If you decide on an exporter or scrapyard too late, you’ll need to fork out more cash for a tow truck to move your car because you won’t be able to drive it anymore.

Additionally, starting the deregistration process too late will run the risk of incurring a late renewal fee if LTA doesn’t receive the documents, payment etc. on time.

2. Through a dealer

If handling the entire process on your own is too much for you, you can always engage the services of a dealer. But first, make sure you find a reputable dealer that you trust! You can check out CaseTrust-SVTA accredited dealers or simply engage a dealer you or someone you know has engaged before.

It’s best to avoid any unwanted problems along the way. Why? It’s pretty common to hear stories of people getting scammed by a few black sheeps in the industry, so you must be vigilant and do your due diligence.

Once you find the right dealer to help you with the deregistration process, export or scrapping, it’s all going to be a breeze. The dealers will help you out with everything and make the process a lot easier compared to doing it on your own.

The Best Route?

Most people would engage the traditional motor dealer to help out with their vehicle’s deregistration. However, there are other companies that offer excellent services to help you when you deregister your car.

One route you can take is with Carro Express! Whether you’re looking to scrap your car or export it, Carro can help. The entire process is quick and hassle-free, making the entire deregistration experience seamless. Plus, you can get everything settled for you in just 1 day! Get an obligation-free quote from us here.

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