In this guide · 8 sections
Short answer
List every car with its price, COE expiry, registration date, mileage and owners, and make the headline price include every mandatory charge. A price that needs in-house financing must say so beside the number. Collect finance leads without NRIC numbers.
What a car dealer website needs to do
Most buyers find a car on a listing portal first, then check the dealer's own site before they call. Your site has to confirm the car is real and still available, show that the dealer is established, and make it easy to book a viewing or ask about financing.
| Page | What it must show | Why buyers check it |
|---|---|---|
| Stock list | Photo, model, price, registration year, COE left, mileage | Fast comparison across dealers |
| Car detail page | Full spec, owners, OMV, ARF, road tax, inspection notes | Deciding whether to view |
| Finance page | How loans work, MAS limits, a simple calculator | Working out the down payment |
| Trade-in / sell your car | Short form and what happens next | Many buyers have a car to sell |
| About and contact | Showroom address, hours, warranty and after-sales terms | Trust before a large payment |
Build the stock list so one person can update it in a few minutes. A dealer site with sold cars still listed costs more trust than it earns.
Price display rules for car listings
The CCS Guidelines on Price Transparency explain how the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore reads the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTA) on prices. They apply to all suppliers, online and offline. For a car listing, three points matter most.
- No drip pricing. Unavoidable fees such as admin, transfer or processing charges should be in the headline price. If a charge cannot be worked out in advance, its existence must be shown clearly next to the price.
- GST-inclusive prices. GST-registered businesses must display GST-inclusive prices, at least as prominently as any GST-exclusive figure, per the same guidelines.
- Conditions next to the price. Qualifiers such as "from" or "as low as", and any condition attached to a price, must be stated clearly and prominently with it. A price that only applies if the buyer takes a loan through you is a conditional price and should say so beside the number, not in the small print.
Our guide to the enhanced e-commerce guidelines covers the wider online selling rules if you also take deposits online.
Lemon law: what to say on the site
The lemon law is part of the CPFTA and covers second-hand vehicles. Per gov.sg's explainer, if a defect appears within 6 months of purchase it is presumed to have existed at the time of sale, unless the seller proves otherwise. The buyer can first ask for repair or replacement, then a price reduction or refund if that fails.
When the law was introduced, Parliament was told that "satisfactory quality" for a used car takes its age and price into account, so a 10-year-old car is not expected to perform like a new one. Goods bought on hire purchase are covered too.
- Publish your warranty and after-sales terms as a page, and link it from every listing.
- Do not write "sold as is, no returns" in a way that suggests buyers give up their lemon law rights. Statutory rights apply alongside your own warranty.
- Keep the inspection report you show online. If a dispute comes, it records the car's condition at sale.
This is general information, not legal advice. Check your sales agreement and warranty wording with a lawyer.
Finance enquiry forms and MAS loan limits
A finance calculator is one of the most used tools on a dealer site, and it should not promise more than a buyer can borrow. The MAS motor vehicle loan rules set the limits.
| Car's OMV | Maximum loan | Maximum tenure |
|---|---|---|
| S$20,000 or less | 70% of purchase price | 7 years |
| More than S$20,000 | 60% of purchase price | 7 years |
Build the calculator with these caps fixed in code and an adjusted-OMV step for used cars, and label results as estimates subject to the lender's approval. Show the interest rate type you use. A flat rate and an effective rate give very different pictures, and the calculator should not suggest a lower cost than the loan will have.
Lead capture without collecting NRIC numbers
PDPC's advisory guidelines on NRIC numbers say organisations should generally not collect NRIC numbers unless required by law or needed to verify identity to a high degree of accuracy. A website enquiry does not meet that bar. The bank or finance company collects what it needs when the buyer applies.
Ask only what the first call needs
Name, mobile number, the car or budget, trade-in yes or no, and preferred contact time. Leave out NRIC, salary and address.
Add consent lines
One checkbox to be contacted about this enquiry, a separate unticked one for marketing by phone, SMS or WhatsApp.
Send leads to one place
Route form entries to a shared sheet or CRM and the sales WhatsApp, not personal inboxes. Our guide to automating enquiry follow-up shows the pattern.
Reply within minutes
An automatic acknowledgement with the salesperson's name and next step stops the buyer moving on to the next dealer.
Delete stale leads
Set a retention period, such as 12 months, and remove leads that went nowhere.
Stock feeds, photos and page speed
Most dealers keep stock in a listing portal, a dealer management system or a spreadsheet. Decide which one is the master record, then have the website pull from it. Ask your portal or software vendor whether it offers an export or feed; if not, a spreadsheet the website reads is a reliable fallback.
Car pages are photo-heavy, which makes them slow on mobile data. Compress photos, load gallery images only when needed, and keep the price and key facts above the first photo. Our guide to Core Web Vitals fixes explains what to measure.
Mark cars as sold rather than deleting them straight away, and remove them after a week. Buyers who saw the listing elsewhere then get a clear answer instead of a missing page.
Do it yourself or get help?
A dealer with a few cars can run a simple site builder with a stock list and a contact form. Once stock passes 20 to 30 cars, or you want a finance calculator and automatic lead routing, a custom-built site saves hours each week.
Before your dealer site goes live
If you want it built for you, our Website Pro package (S$2,990) covers a stock-driven site with listing and detail templates. Workflow Automation (S$390 per workflow) routes finance and trade-in leads to your CRM and WhatsApp.
Frequently asked questions
CCS guidelines on price transparency say unavoidable or mandatory charges should be included in the headline price. If a charge cannot be calculated in advance, its existence must be disclosed clearly next to the price. GST-registered dealers must show GST-inclusive prices. Optional extras can be listed separately.
Only if the condition is shown clearly and prominently alongside the price. CCS guidance says qualifiers and terms attached to a price must not be hidden. A buyer who sees one price and is told at the showroom it only applies with a loan through you may have been misled under the CPFTA.
Yes. The lemon law in the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act covers second-hand goods and vehicles. A defect found within 6 months of delivery is presumed to have existed at sale unless the dealer proves otherwise. Satisfactory quality takes the car's age and price into account.
No. PDPC guidance says organisations should generally not collect NRIC numbers unless required by law or needed to verify identity to a high degree of accuracy. A website enquiry does not need it. Collect name, phone and the car of interest, and let the lender collect identity documents during the application.
Under MAS rules, up to 70% of the purchase price if the car's OMV is S$20,000 or less, and up to 60% if it is higher, with a maximum tenure of 7 years. Used cars use an adjusted OMV based on age, and the purchase price includes taxes and the COE.