What is Retirement ?

[zhangwuji]

"This prompted a Committee of Inquiry member to ask if Mr Loke knew of instances where claws have dislodged even with the cable ties in place."
"Mr Loke answered: "I believe there were.""

I am not trying to defend SMRT(I think they sucked in terms of maintenance) but the above question is phrased in such a way that no practicing and honest engineer was able to reply no.

It is just like asking the software engineer is there any bug in the software or any instance that the software hangs
Or asking the production engineer is there any instance of failed products despite passing the QC.
Or asking the electronics engineer is there any parts in the electronics that has failed before.

It is hard to say no since there are 30,000 claws in NSEWL but a single claw failure within a certain length will not cause 3rd rail to sag.

The right way is to ask for the estimated no. of claw failures per x km per year.

Sorry, I beg to differ. I find that the question asked was rather specific.

Software bug and electronic fault is seen visually. Repetitive tests need to be done to locate the fault. However mechanical fault can easily be seen. That's mirrors are mount onto the service vehicle to inspect the fault visually in this case. BTW, the inquiry mentioned that the mirror was cracked. How they managed to detect the fault. They had faulty tool to fix a fault. Incompetent was bad enough, they even had attitude issue.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/s...55/1/.html

Trying to fool the public was what made my blood boiled. Tried and tested? Our reputation as having world class work force went down the drain.

We have side track this thread way off. I am not going to comment on SMRT anymore. I respect your right to have your own view, but I stand by mine.

[yeokiwi]

"This prompted a Committee of Inquiry member to ask if Mr Loke knew of instances where claws have dislodged even with the cable ties in place."
"Mr Loke answered: "I believe there were.""

I am not trying to defend SMRT(I think they sucked in terms of maintenance) but the above question is phrased in such a way that no practicing and honest engineer was able to reply no.

It is just like asking the software engineer is there any bug in the software or any instance that the software hangs
Or asking the production engineer is there any instance of failed products despite passing the QC.
Or asking the electronics engineer is there any parts in the electronics that has failed before.

It is hard to say no since there are 30,000 claws in NSEWL but a single claw failure within a certain length will not cause 3rd rail to sag.

The right way is to ask for the estimated no. of claw failures per x km per year.

Sorry, I beg to differ. I find that the question asked was rather specific.

Software bug and electronic fault is seen visually. Repetitive tests need to be done to locate the fault. However mechanical fault can easily be seen. That's mirrors are mount onto the service vehicle to inspect the fault visually in this case. BTW, the inquiry mentioned that the mirror was cracked. How they managed to detect the fault. They had faulty tool to fix a fault. Incompetent was bad enough, they even had attitude issue.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/s...55/1/.html

Trying to fool the public was what made my blood boiled. Tried and tested? Our reputation as having world class work force went down the drain.

We have side track this thread way off. I am not going to comment on SMRT anymore. I respect your right to have your own view, but I stand by mine.

Last comment. What is the probability that there is no instance of claw dropping off?
Assuming that the reliability is 99.9% for each claw, the probability that no instance of any failure in 30000 claws is 0.999x0.999x0.999....... or 0.999^30000

The calculator will give a value of 9.21x 10^-14 of 0.00000000......921

Even a 99.99% reliable claw will still give a probability of 0.05 of no failure in 30000 claws.

[Temperament]

Hi there,

i know of a friend who got a pay rise recently. immediately he went to trade his altis to a new e200 taking a loan. i din tell this to him:
with this pay rise, he's just paid the garmen 95k for the coe and C&C 150k and the bank for the interest charges. and he's using tomorrow's money to do that.
-the garmen will get their 95k straight away
-the C&C get their 150k straight away.
-the bank will slowly suck money from him.

this is just one example. there are many others who start to earn a bit more, only to blow money away as easily as the wind.

[/quote]

“今 天 有 酒，今 天 醉”

I have a relative who drove three "BMWs" , one after another all on installments. Of course COE is not like today. Now just a Honda 2000 cc. He said he regretted blowing his money this way but at that time he was happy doing (read show-off) it. Unfortunately, he doesn't know how to invest if not he won't mismanage his money, this way.

But i think he will have the last laugh if "Tomorrow Never Comes".
Another words, we have to live for the "Present" also. Not for nothing, the word "Present" has another meaning. God has just given you a "Present". Your friend has just given you a birthday present. Will His Grace gives you a " Bright Future"? Who knows?
Shalom.

[Musicwhiz]

Interesting that this thread talks quite a bit about cars.

I guess part of the reason for owning one is to "show off" - just to let everyone know that you can afford one, and it may be a BMW or Peugeot or VW so that people can go "wah".

For myself, I've never felt the need to impress people, so that may explain why I never desire for nice cars, or even a car in the first place.

But it's interesting how people start spending more immediately after getting a pay rise. I did get a pay rise last year but took a lot of pains to ensure I did not start spending more, and also made sure I maintained the same level of lifestyle as before.

[paullow]

Interesting that this thread talks quite a bit about cars.

I guess part of the reason for owning one is to "show off" - just to let everyone know that you can afford one, and it may be a BMW or Peugeot or VW so that people can go "wah".

For myself, I've never felt the need to impress people, so that may explain why I never desire for nice cars, or even a car in the first place.

But it's interesting how people start spending more immediately after getting a pay rise. I did get a pay rise last year but took a lot of pains to ensure I did not start spending more, and also made sure I maintained the same level of lifestyle as before.

truly, even buying an entry level car at todays coe levels blows off more money than one can imagine when he first signs on the dotted line. its not just the monthly
installments, there are car depreciation costs, tax, insurance, erp,parking, repairs n high petrol prices..etc...
i think a lot of pple still go after this C. but really, this C will burn out one's cash faster than he would imagine..

frankly, how many people spent less than 10% of their annual income on their transport expenditure owning a car if u add all the above costs?

i think this is an important aspect to consider alongside investing.

cos what's the point if one is racking one's brains to earn money on one hand and on the other hand something else is fast sucking away his money. and we are not even talking about luxury cars, even an entry level family car would have quite an impact on someone earning 10kpm

[Temperament]

[quote='Musicwhiz' pid='43212' dateline='1361323589']
Interesting that this thread talks quite a bit about cars.

I guess part of the reason for owning one is to "show off" - just to let everyone know that you can afford one, and it may be a BMW or Peugeot or VW so that people can go "wah".

For myself, I've never felt the need to impress people, so that may explain why I never desire for nice cars, or even a car in the first place.

I agree with you to a certain extend. By visible assets alone, you can see most of my relatives are definitely richer than me. Some of them really are. Some of them think they are. All of them think we are (the poorest).

NB:-
It's (showing-off) the same "disease" as keeping up with your next door neighbours. Bless us all if we manage to escape this "disease" as much as we can.
Ha! Ha!
Shalom.

[zhangwuji]

Interesting that this thread talks quite a bit about cars.

I guess part of the reason for owning one is to "show off" - just to let everyone know that you can afford one, and it may be a BMW or Peugeot or VW so that people can go "wah".

For myself, I've never felt the need to impress people, so that may explain why I never desire for nice cars, or even a car in the first place.

But it's interesting how people start spending more immediately after getting a pay rise. I did get a pay rise last year but took a lot of pains to ensure I did not start spending more, and also made sure I maintained the same level of lifestyle as before.

truly, even buying an entry level car at todays coe levels blows off more money than one can imagine when he first signs on the dotted line. its not just the monthly
installments, there are car depreciation costs, tax, insurance, erp,parking, repairs n high petrol prices..etc...
i think a lot of pple still go after this C. but really, this C will burn out one's cash faster than he would imagine..

frankly, how many people spent less than 10% of their annual income on their transport expenditure owning a car if u add all the above costs?

i think this is an important aspect to consider alongside investing.

cos what's the point if one is racking one's brains to earn money on one hand and on the other hand something else is fast sucking away his money. and we are not even talking about luxury cars, even an entry level family car would have quite an impact on someone earning 10kpm

Bankers and credit Co love these people. I wonder how many people really take note of how car loan interest is worked out. Its not the same the way as property loan does. For example( I don't know the market rate now) if a car loan is at 2% rate, we effectively pay 20% of the loan amount as interest alone. If we change car prematurely (which most ppl do), we will be slap with a heavy penalty. For every 5 car owned on loan we can get another for free. Most ppl don't see the money because they are all embedded in the monthly installment. Majority of the population actually work for the bank unknowingly.

I had a nephew who changed to a new car on the 5th year of his 7th year installment. The old installment was $800. The new 10 year installment payment is $700 plus $20K cash he had to fork out. But he told me the new car is cheaper!
I think this is a typical youngster view their expenditure.

[Musicwhiz]

Bankers and credit Co love these people. I wonder how many people really take note of how car loan interest is worked out. Its not the same the way as property loan does. For example( I don't know the market rate now) if a car loan is at 2% rate, we effectively pay 20% of the loan amount as interest alone. If we change car prematurely (which most ppl do), we will be slap with a heavy penalty. For every 5 car owned on loan we can get another for free. Most ppl don't see the money because they are all embedded in the monthly installment. Majority of the population actually work for the bank unknowingly.

I had a nephew who changed to a new car on the 5th year of his 7th year installment. The old installment was $800. The new 10 year installment payment is $700 plus $20K cash he had to fork out. But he told me the new car is cheaper!
I think this is a typical youngster view their expenditure.

Yes I agree bankers love such people. Car loan interest works on a flat rate basis and not on an amortized basis, which is why the EIR is much higher than that stated in the loan contract.

Perhaps only those who are spendthrifts view is this way (of any age group), not fair to make a sweeping statement on youngsters in general and their spending habits.

[CityFarmer]

Bankers and credit Co love these people. I wonder how many people really take note of how car loan interest is worked out. Its not the same the way as property loan does. For example( I don't know the market rate now) if a car loan is at 2% rate, we effectively pay 20% of the loan amount as interest alone. If we change car prematurely (which most ppl do), we will be slap with a heavy penalty. For every 5 car owned on loan we can get another for free. Most ppl don't see the money because they are all embedded in the monthly installment. Majority of the population actually work for the bank unknowingly.

I had a nephew who changed to a new car on the 5th year of his 7th year installment. The old installment was $800. The new 10 year installment payment is $700 plus $20K cash he had to fork out. But he told me the new car is cheaper!
I think this is a typical youngster view their expenditure.

Yes I agree bankers love such people. Car loan interest works on a flat rate basis and not on an amortized basis, which is why the EIR is much higher than that stated in the loan contract.

Perhaps only those who are spendthrifts view is this way (of any age group), not fair to make a sweeping statement on youngsters in general and their spending habits.

To add-on for those interested. Early repayment might entitle you to a rebate on the remaining interest to be charged. This interest rebate is calculated using the "Rule of 78" formula.

Therefore, the loan redemption amount is:

Initial loan amount - installments already paid + total interest - interest rebate (rule of 78) + penalty if any (a percentage of the interest rebate).

[zaxfam]

Hi
Anybody can help, I have a 7yrs laon at 2.8% EIR is about 4.5% and mr car is now about 5yrs and the balance loan is about 20k. Will I save some money if I make a full payment now. Thanks for any help.