Should I buy a car or lease it from companies like Grab Rentals or Lion City Rentals?

I feel like if you can afford the higher initial cost of buying a car and paying for the COE buying car would be more worth in the long run. However, if you are using the car for private hire, leasing might be a better option to consider as there will be customers and you might not be able to take care and maintain it as well as for private use. I saw this article talking about the advantages and disadvantages of leasing a car which might be able to help you

The vehicle is old and run down. Rented the vehicle from them. First day of rental and the front right tire of the car starts to indicate flat. I pumped air into the tire but it still shows flat. Waited for 2 hours to get the tire changed and it showed flat regardless. Went to the workshop for repair and waited for 3 hours. One week later, passenger airbag lighted up, front right light warning lighted up and the vehicle on stationary started to shake. Went to workshop again and wait about 4 hours for repair. After repair, the front window screen started to fog up even when I set the air-con vent NOT to vent to the window. I ask Grab to exchange any vehicle in better condition but got rejected. Grab rental ask me to send the vehicle to repair again. BE WARNED: You may be spending a lot of time to repair Grab's vehicle rather than making money driving passengers.

Public transport is still a better rational choice, cost wise, as compared to owning a car or leasing one. No ERP (unless you're in a taxi or private hire), no parking fees, no auto insurance, no road tax, no car loan to upkeep, no petrol costs. If you really need to drive, best to lease. Will be cheaper as compared to buying the car outright.

Pros and cons for both options, getting your own car means you'll be responsible for the maintenance costs, road tax, insurance premiums. Whereas these are covered if you were to lease a car. If you have plans to provide private hire services (Grab/Ryde/Tada/Go-jek), maybe leasing will be a better option since you'll be clocking up quite a lot of milleage resulting in faster & higher wear and tear, thus higher maintenance and servicing costs. In addition, you'll also be able to earn extra income. However, I understand that after Uber left, Grab drivers reported a dip in their earnings. Driving on the road for long hours also results in fatigue and higher chance of getting into a road accident.