Cheap car rental Singapore: Chinese New Year (CNY) price comparison 2020

As well-connected as Singapore's public transport system is, there are probably times when you realise that nothing beats the convenience of having a car.

Sure you can rely on ride-hailing services or taxis.

But try getting one when it's raining, or during the holiday season.

Especially during Chinese New Year, when you have to shuttle your parents, your kids (maybe even a screaming baby), as well as a cousin or two to 12 different relatives' houses scattered all over Singapore.

And you realise that you can't fit everyone into one Grab car.

The easiest solution to all of this?

Cheap car rental.

Whether you're planning a road trip to Johor Bahru, or just want an efficient and cost-effective way to transport your family or a group of friends around for the holidays.

Here's a complete guide to cheap car rental options and everything else you need to know.

TL;DR: WHICH CHEAP CAR RENTAL IS BEST FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR?

If you're going to be using the car for a longer period which includes the Chinese New Year festive period.

Then I'd go with the cheapest option you can find from a car rental company.

Based on the rates I managed to find and assuming you're planning to use the rental car for at least five days (inclusive of the 2020 CNY weekend).

The cheapest rental sedan car should cost you about $788.

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But if you just want to use it for the first day of Chinese New Year - when the bulk of visiting happens - you're probably better off with a car-sharing service.

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For that, you'll want to avoid services which charge signup or membership fees to keep your cost low.

Assuming you need a whole day (24 hours) to do your visiting, because you have five million relatives.

The cheapest rental sedan car would be from Club Car ($98) or Tribecar ($96.30).

Note: prices quoted are estimates and will vary after including other additional fees and GST.

WHAT IS THE BEST RENTAL CAR COMPANY IN SINGAPORE?

Given our kiasu nature, it's only natural that we want to get our cars from the best car rental company possible.

Why?

Because this means that you're assured of:

• The best possible price (read: cheapest)
• The quality of service
• The quality of the cars available for rent (read: won't breakdown after driving it out of the lot)
• No hidden or sneaky fees

I can't say which is best because I haven't tried them all.

But what I do know is for car rental there are two options: car rental companies (international & local) and car-sharing rental companies.

INTERNATIONAL CAR RENTAL COMPANIES

If you've ever gone a self-driven tour in Australia, Europe, or the USA, then you'd be familiar with brand names like:

• AVIS
• Hertz
• Sixt

These reputable names mean that you can be assured that their service and the cars they provide are of a certain quality.

But they are probably the most expensive option available too.

However, if you've used their services before, you'll know exactly what to expect.

LOCAL CAR RENTAL COMPANIES

The prices at Singapore car rental companies are usually cheaper than the international brand names.

And they probably have the widest selection of cars available, combined.

There are way too many local car rental companies to list, but some of the bigger ones include:

• Asia Express
• EAZI Car Leasing & Marketing
• Lion City Rentals
• My Car Rental

CAR SHARING RENTAL COMPANIES

Good for short term rentals by the hour and you can easily book one through a mobile app.

Local options include:

• BlueSG
• Carclub
• Tribecar
• Smove
• WhizzCar

SO HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO HIRE A CAR IN SINGAPORE?

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The short answer?

It depends.

Let's have a look at the car rental companies - both international and local - first.

And because you're renting a car during this Chinese New Year period, here's a look at how much the CNY package will cost you:

1. CHEAP SEDAN CAR RENTAL CNY PACKAGES.

Best for families who want to travel in comfort:

2. CHEAP HATCHBACK CAR RENTAL CNY PACKAGES.

Best for couples and small families.

3. CHEAP MPV CAR RENTAL CNY PACKAGES.

Best for ferrying five to seven people (or more, depending on the model of the vehicle) in comfort:

4. CHEAP SUV CAR RENTAL CNY PACKAGES

Best for large families.

WHY ARE CAR RENTAL COMPANY PACKAGES USUALLY FIVE TO SEVEN DAYS LONG? ARE THERE ANY 1-DAY RENTAL OPTIONS?

I know what you're thinking, "Why can't I rent a car for one day or less than three days?"

Well, you can probably do so on a regular day.

But you'd still have to sign some kind of package that requires you to rent the vehicle for much longer than just a few hours.

Also, since you're renting your car during a holiday period like Chinese New Year.

You'll notice that the majority of car rental companies offer minimally a 5-day or 7-day package.

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And this is because they all have different dates which they'll be away for the Chinese New Year period.

This means that if Company A's Chinese New Year vacation period is from 24 to 29 January, you cannot opt to pick-up your rental car on 25 January, or return your car before 29 January (for obvious reasons).

For 2020, these are the dates to keep in mind:

• 24 January 2020 (Friday): Chinese New Year Eve
• 25 January 2020 (Saturday): Chinese New Year
• 26 January 2020 (Sunday): Chinese New Year (2nd Day)

Unfortunately, this also means that these rental companies will also levy a Chinese New Year surcharge.

So if your car rental period falls within the rental company's CNY surcharge period, you can expect to pay a little bit more than usual (think: Grab surge prices when demand is high).

CAN I DRIVE A RENTAL CAR TO MALAYSIA?

If you're planning to rent a car to drive to Malaysia to visit relatives and friends, you might want to check as not all rental companies allow you to take their cars up north.

Some rental companies will impose a surcharge depending on which part of Malaysia you intend to travel to.

So always remember to check with your rental company before driving out of the country.

Now, let's look at car-sharing companies.

HOURLY RATE CAR SHARING RENTAL SERVICE: BLUESG VS CAR CLUB VS SMOVE VS TRIBECAR VS WHIZZCAR

If you intend to rent a car for a short period of time, then maybe car sharing is a better alternative to traditional car rental companies.

Instead of being tied down by a week or month-long contract, car-sharing allows you to rent a car for shorter, more flexible periods.

Here are your options:

1. BLUESG CAR RENTAL PRICE

Concerned about reducing carbon emissions but still want to get around with ease?

Then you might want to give BlueSG - Singapore's first electric car-sharing service - a try.

HOW DOES BLUESG WORK?

• Pick-up: 300 self-service locations (1,000 cars in the fleet)
• Return: to any location
• Allowed to drive to Malaysia: No
• Minimum rental period: 15 minutes

2. CAR CLUB RENTAL PRICE

With Car Club you get access to a fleet of vehicles that is only for private rental use.

Here are the different vehicle groups, which you can choose from:

HOW DOES CAR CLUB WORK?

• Pick-up: 120+ self-service locations (260+ cars in the fleet)
• Return: back to same pick-up location
• Allowed to drive to Malaysia: Most cars allowed
• Minimum rental period: 1 hour

CAR CLUB STANDARD PLAN

CAR CLUB VALUE PLAN

CAR CLUB LADY'S PLAN

3. SMOVE RENTAL PRICE 

With Smove, you just have to apply for a membership online or via the mobile app.

Link your EZ-Link card to your account (to unlock the car).

Select and reserve a car online.

Collect, drive, and return your car at your convenience.

Here are the different vehicle groups, which you can choose from:

HOW DOES SMOVE WORK?

• Pick-up: 80+ locations to pick up/drop off cars (450 cars in the fleet)
• Return: to any location
• Allowed to drive to Malaysia: No
• Minimum rental period: 1 hour (minimum $50 rental fee)

Note: Your actual booking price will depend on the mileage driven, add-ons, and public holiday surcharges.

4. TRIBECAR RENTAL PRICE

The best thing about Tribecar is that there is no yearly membership or signup fee!

Car rental starts at $2.14 - during super off-peak hours - and you just pay for what you use.

HOW DOES TRIBECAR WORK?

• Pick-up: 300+ locations to pick up/drop off cars (380+ cars in the fleet)
• Return: back to same pick-up location
• Allowed to drive to Malaysia: Most cars allowed
• Minimum rental period: 1 hour

5. WHIZZCAR CAR RENTAL PRICE

If you sign up as an Individual member, there's a one-time registration fee of $107 (ouch) and a minimum 12-month commitment which comes with a monthly membership fee of $10.70 (double ouch).

If you're just a casual car rental who just wants to try out WhizzCar, you'll still have to cough up the one-time registration fee of $107 but it doesn't come with any commitment.

As I'm focusing on hourly rates with little to no commitment, I'll just look at the Whizz-Ezzy rates.

HOW DOES WHIZZCAR WORK?

• Pick-up: 50+ locations to pick up/drop off cars (158 cars in the fleet)
• Return: back to same pick-up location
• Allowed to drive to Malaysia: Most cars allowed
• Minimum rental period: 1 hour