How to compare an EV price

A new-car price with COE, a price excluding COE and a used cash price are not substitutes. Record the exact label printed by the seller. If the wording is loose, ask for a written breakdown of what is included before you compare it with another car.

For used cars, put COE expiry, financing condition, price, any stated deregistration estimate and mandatory fees on the same worksheet. That exposes the differences an instalment figure tends to hide.

Keep one row per car and one source link per claim. The sheet should survive a change of salesperson or a week between test drives. If a number cannot be sourced, mark it as an assumption rather than turning it into a fact.

The useful output is not a single magic number. It is a short list of things you need the seller to prove before money changes hands. A clear "I do not know yet" is safer than a precise-looking guess.

Keep the six lines on one worksheet, one source link per claim: price basis and quote date; COE expiry and renewal history; road-tax basis including the motor power rating where available; the charging plan and the rate you expect to pay; battery warranty and the date of any health report; and the deregistration figure split into its stated components. If a line cannot be sourced, mark it as an assumption, because a precise-looking guess is still a guess.

The basis is the first check. With COE, without COE, and used cash prices answer different questions. Two sellers quoting the same model can be describing different transactions, and the label on the invoice is what you compare.

The output to aim for is short: the list of things the seller must prove before money changes hands. A clear statement that a number is not yet known is safer than a confident figure without a date.