First published: 15 January 2021 @ 4:12 pm
The cost of renting a car in Malaysia is mainly dependent on the age and model of the vehicle. As a rough estimate, you can expect to pay around RM100-300/day to rent a small sedan like a Toyota Corolla or Mitsubishi Lancer, while larger vehicles like SUVs and MPVs will cost more.
In addition, there are some taxes that apply when you are renting a car in Malaysia – they’re about 4% of the rental price per day, which adds up quickly depending on how long you’re renting it for.
The cost of buying a car varies according to the condition and age of the vehicle you buy. A small used sedan in decent condition costs around RM50K-RM200K depending on which part of Malaysia you live in, while newer cars (2 years old) can go for more than double that amount.
There are also taxes due upon purchase (as high as 10%), and you must register your car for at least 3 months in order to get insurance. If your car is 10 years old or older, then it may be cheaper to buy one rather than renting a car in Malaysia – however, this depends on where you live!
What insurance do I need?
If you’re planning on driving in Malaysia, then you must have third-party liability insurance. This covers any damage or injuries caused by your vehicle in an accident, and it costs about RM50/year for a small sedan (under 10 years old).
Note that this is the minimum amount of coverage required by law – if you want to get higher coverage, then you can contact your insurer and find out how much it would cost.
As with Singapore, we recommend getting additional coverage to cover any damage or injuries caused by your car. In Malaysia, we call this comprehensive insurance (or “all risk”) and sell it separately from 3rd party liability insurance.
You can also get personal accident insurance as part of a package deal with the other two types of coverage. It covers medical expenses in case someone inside your car gets injuries or dies due to a road accident.
For example, if someone was sitting in the back seat of your car during accident, then their personal accident policy would cover their medical bill to the maximum amount possible. Since there are no taxes on comprehensive and personal accident policies, these are definitely worth getting!
Insurance Minimum Coverage Amount Third Party Liability RM50 (Compulsory) Excess/Deductible RM10 Comprehensive RM200 (Optional) Personal Accident S$30K (Optional)
Are there other ways to save on car insurance?
In addition to the insurance options above, there are some other ways you can save money on car insurance. For example, if you have a less than 10 years old car, you should consider asking for extended coverage from your insurer.
For older cars, it might make sense to just get 3rd party liability and personal accident coverage only – the deductible for third-party liability is RM10 for all cars regardless of age.
Additionally, if you have multiple drivers in your household who drive frequently, then it’s worth checking out multi-car policies since they tend to be cheaper per person per year (as opposed to buying multiple policies).
However, keep in mind that multi-car policies will apply across all vehicles owned by each driver. For example, if two people from the same household are driving their own cars while sharing the same policy, then you can consider it as one vehicle per household rather than two individual ones.
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On top of this, make sure that both drivers have licenses to drive before signing up for a multi-car policy. Otherwise, they won’t receive coverage from the insurance!
Finally, you can also save money on car insurance by having a driver with a clean driving record – this may reduce your driver’s premium. Of course, it’s important to note that having a clean driving record doesn’t mean you can drive recklessly!
Keep in mind that while the penalties for drink driving are much more severe than in Singapore, insurance companies still factor in your number of traffic violations when calculating their premiums.