Man sheds tears hugging car he's letting go as COE comes to an end

It's no Romeo and Juliet, but this is a love story that many Singaporeans can sympathise with.

TikTok user ntshatan's husband was seen shedding tears and hugging his car, reluctant to part with it, the user shared in a video uploaded on Oct 10.

"My husband had to let go of his car today," ntshatan wrote in the video.

Throughout the video, her husband can be seen gently stroking his Honda Civic and hugging it, staring at it contemplatively.

In another instance, he rests his chin on the roof of the vehicle, patting it lovingly.

The man is visibly emotional as he inspects his vehicle for the last time, going around it as though to commit the car to his memory.

"Breaks my heart to see him cry… but that's the reality of owning a car in Singapore," ntshtan wrote, referring to the cost of having a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) for cars.

@ntshatan breaks my heart to see him cry… but that’s the reality of owning a car in Singapore. see you some time @sunshine ♬ stuff we did - LBFD

She had even bought him a farewell cake four weeks prior to this parting, according to an Instagram post by the husband.

"This is the sweetest, funniest, most thoughtful and unexpected surprise I have ever gotten and it actually made me cry," the husband, Izzraimy, wrote on the post.

"This car means so much to me," he said, adding that the car was how he had met ntshatan. 

"This very Civic has kept me safe and sound throughout the thousands of kilometres up and down the North-South highway to be with her. And through that, I found life. I found a new beginning. I found a little bit of light.

"Thank you for all the memories... I will miss you."

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/DATAt8jSCGr/[/embed]

'No way that's real'

While Singaporeans might be familiar with the necessity of parting with an older vehicle due to COE prices, many netizens outside of the country expressed confusion.

"What? You can't keep your car for as long as you want it?" A TikTok user asked incredulously.

Another questioned: "Why does he have to get rid of it in Singapore? What am I missing?"

When users familiar with how the COE works explained that it only allows an owner to possess a vehicle for 10 years, many replied with disbelief.

"No way that's real," commented a user.

Said another: "I didn't believe it either, I just looked it up… it's very real."

AsiaOne has reached out to ntshatan for comment.

Category A prices go past $100k mark

According to the first COE bidding exercise for October this year, premiums have increased across all categories.

In particular, the COE price for Category A - the most common category of cars - has reached over $100,000, ending at $103,799.

Category B, seen as the COE for premium cars in Singapore, ended at $116,002.

Jason Lim, managing director of BMW Eurokars Auto, told AsiaOne that the results for the COE bidding exercise were "as expected". 

COE prices are expected to remain at an elevated level over the next few rounds of bidding, as dealers continue to clear their sales backlog generated from the Car Expo event during the first week of October.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com