I bought a pre-owned IKEA Bekant table top for S$15. Great deal, right? Except it’s 160 x 80 cm, and there was no way I was carrying that thing on the MRT. So I did what any reasonable person would do and rented a car. The ride of choice: a GetGo Honda Shuttle Hybrid, SL plate and all. Final bill? More than three times what I paid for the table. Damn!
This is a quick GetGo review of that one trip. The car, the boot, the drive, and whether I’d book the same model again.
The Cost: S$15 Table, S$54.83 Car
I had the car for five hours on a Thursday, from 12pm to 5pm, at S$6 an hour. That was an initial four-hour booking plus a one-hour extension, and the S$54.83 total covers both. Here’s how it broke down:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Booking (4 hrs x S$6, after 12% weekday promo and S$8 referral credit, plus CDW and platform fee) | S$15.52 |
| Extension (1 hr x S$6, after 12% promo, plus CDW) | S$5.58 |
| Mileage (73 km x S$0.44, plus CDW) | S$33.73 |
| Total paid (incl. GST) | S$54.83 |
The time charge was cheap. About S$21 for five hours is genuinely good value. The mileage is where it got me. At S$0.44/km, my 73 km came to S$32.12 before CDW, which is more than all five hours of time charges combined. And that’s with S$11.60 in discounts already applied, S$8 of which was referral credit from readers who signed up with my code. If you’re new to GetGo, using referral code WNWUNLJX gets you S$8 off your first drive too.
So on paper, this S$15 table cost me closer to S$70. I spent more on moving it than on buying it.
In fairness, I probably overbooked for what should have been a really quick job. Those five hours and 73 km weren’t just about the table. I also picked up my brother, had lunch with him, talked business, then sent him home, and he doesn’t live anywhere near me. So this wasn’t strictly a rent-to-deliver trip. A straight there-and-back for the table would have cost a lot less, in both hours and mileage.
Still, will I be able to get anything decent at this price point? Let’s see.
First Impressions: Dirty, Inside and Out
The car was dirty. Outside and inside. In my (admittedly limited) experience, this isn’t unusual for GetGo’s older fleet. You’re not getting a freshly detailed car at this price, and I didn’t expect one.
The dashboard was just as dusty, and the radio is a basic aftermarket Pioneer unit. No touchscreen here.
There were also a number of dents on the rear, which I dutifully reported in the app before driving off. If you’re new to car sharing, please do this. Take photos of everything. You do not want to be the person paying for someone else’s dent.