This is the question that is splitting aspiring car-owners following Wednesday's news of changes to vehicle taxes and COE numbers.

A straw poll by The Straits Times indicated that buyers of high-end cars are more likely to wait for the cut in the Additional Registration Fee (ARF) in March, while those eyeing mass-market wheels are going ahead and buying.

This is because the 10-point cut in ARF translates to substantial savings on a high-end car; savings for the bread-and-butter models are not big enough to make buyers want to wait.

Businessman Kevin Kwee, 37, who is due to take delivery of a Nissan GT-R and Maserati GranTurismo soon, stands to save about $9,000 and $12,500 on them respectively with the ARF cut.

'I will wait,' he said. 'Even if COE goes up, I don't think it will go up by $9,000.'

Another buyer of the $300,000 Nissan GT-R who declined to be named said he will wait till March too.

But Mr Sulaiman Omar, 46, will not.

The sales manager, who is considering a Toyota but has not made up his mind yet, said: 'If I were to make a decision about buying a car, it would be based on necessity.

'Necessity is more important than any decrease in the ARF. I mean, if I really need the car, then the 10-per-cent decrease won't matter much to me.'

Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.