Jim Galbally

2 new jobs coming up in my place, and i'll likely get one of them.

the thing is they both come with cars it's about a 5.5k allowance (whatever that means )
so, what kinda cars can you get for that money? i'd like something quite sporty like a focus ST, modeo ST, mazda6 MPS, vectra turbo (yep i saw topgear the other week ) theyre all about the 20k ish mark.

the way i figure it most audis, beemers and mercs are about the same kinda money and people use them as company cars all the time...


also what do you recon would make a good company car? whats out there i'm missing?

i want aircon and all the toys, but also fancy something sporty.

could this be the end of the sierra?

roybacer

I think generally u pay less of a tax penalty if u have a low emmision car.

What about the sporty leon tdi jobbie ????

Jim Galbally

forgot to mention, i wont be using the car for work, i work in central london so anything i got would have to be a fun car

i dont mind paying for some of it myself it i get something nice

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

I really like the new Mondeo ST

Jim Galbally

dunno if i like FWD tho, the mazda is appealing with 4WD.

thing is the only RWD in that same price bracket's gonne be a lowspec beemer or merc, and they'll be poverty spec and shitslow. dont think anything smaller than a 325 would sit right with me...

Mr S1

iTrader: (2)

£5.5k pa ? You'll get taxed on that but lets assume they pay you gross so £5.5 divided by 12 = £458.33 pm.

See what you can afford but bear in mind out of that allowance YOU need to pay for everything - petrol, tax, ins the lot.

Adrian

Need to find out what sort of grading the company gives. IE monthly allowance.

My boss had up to £400/month and he ended up with a fully loaded Honda 2.4 Diesel for £386.

Next level was £500/month and he got a 330 BMW Touring

FST was in the bosses bracket, but the emissions were going to be a killer (this is what you would be taxed on).

Jim Galbally

any websites where you can see the sort of cars you can get for 400p/m then?

roybacer

just google for lease cars

Jim Galbally

i tried that lastnight, but couldnt find any decent websites if anyone knows of any, then i'd love a link

roybacer

http://www.nationwidevehiclecontracts.co.uk/

They seem fairly average, just to get a idea of what the money will get you

Adrian

http://online.arval.co.uk/

or

http://online.arval.co.uk/_v0/Newepcp/index.cfm


May be of use.

Iain Mac

Benefit In Kind Tax is determined by the CO2 emissions and the List Price for the car when new.

Before you start dreaming about the cars you are going to get, you need to establish the basis of your employers car policy. There may be rules against 2/3 door models, coupes/convertibles, sports models, etc. as well as limits on CO2, mpg, insurance groups, whole life costs quite apart from the financial cost.

Then you need to establish if this is a cash allowance where you have to buy and maintain the car and take the resale risk, or if it is a company car. £5500 buys very different things depending who is doing the buying or the borrowing.

And be very careful about adverts with lots of very cheap rentals - they will usually be for odd payment profiles, very low mileages and no maintenance.

And take it from someone who knows - any fleet manager worth his salt will have ways to fuck you right up if you start demanding anything outside his policy or from another supplier.

In fact, it is getting more unusual to get a choice of car first time out - normally you will be expected to take over whatever car is spare at the time. That is partly because the firm is paying for that car to sit there, but also because most firms have already had the experience of buying/leasing a new car then seeing the driver part company soon afterwards.

simonc

Jim my wife gets a £450 a month gross car allowance, when we checked on the company car website (BT) all you could get was vectra's, mondeo's,focus etc, she didn't want any of those vehicles. We decided to buy our own car & take out a loan which the £450 gross covers the payments no probs with money to spare. Ended up getting a 3yr old Volvo V70R AWD 300bhp 6 speed estate with adjustable electronic damping, awesome.

Simon.

Stavros

Out the ones you mentioned, the Mazda is the best by miles IMO.

Looked proper tail happy when driven right on TopGayer too.

2.3 16V Duratec (Ie PROPER Duratec, not a rebadged Zetec) Turbo, so just ripe for some sly mods too...

Ginge !

jim you might find it better to see if they offere a cash incentive rather than a company car as you gotta take tax into consideration adn i know my boss pays about 100 quid a month ectra for company car tax


if you get a commercial vehicle then i think tis ceaper and ford are trying to loose there thinders,,,,,, ok its cause there crap but thats cheeper car tax, but its also as far from sporty as life would allow

OldSkoolRS

Like what has already been mentioned the tax on anything with a high CO2 rating will be crippling. I've had a bit of a touch with my scheme in the way that I get taxed on a 1.6 astra but can drive anything I want off of the fleet for as long as I want (everything from golf gti's, a load of boring vectras etc up to range rover vogues).

The only downside of this is that sometimes its a pain changing vehicles to suit the needs of the business and I've lost LOADS of cds in the process!

Iain Mac

Remember that you pay tax and NI on any cash in lieu of a car scheme and you need to compare that to the BiK payable on the company car. Also factor in for maintenance, repairs and comprehensive insurance - Class One business cover may be required and that costs.

Don't forget that if you take out a loan on the strength of a car allowance that could tie you to the company way more than just handing back the keys to the company car.

And although you don't sound as if you will have many business miles you do need to be aware that the Government are currently "consulting" on opt-outs - they reckon they have lost half a million company car drivers since the rules changed and ignore business use. That could mean disincentives to encourage people away from running their own car instead of a company car.

Avoid a commercial vehicle - the BIK regime is already changing and from April you will pay tax on £3000 per year, instead of the £500 previously. That puts the amount you actually pay up towards what you would pay for a lot of cars.

Ginge !

commercial tax is going up

that will be why my boss is now getting a s max titainum then

dojj

iTrader: (3)

i don't pay any company car tax, even though i drive a van

you also need to make sure you sort your business mileage stuff out because otherwise they will fuck you rotten if you on;y do 10 mils a day and their minimum is 200

also, the maintenance agreement to cover what you are covered for and what you will have to pay for yourself if you opt out (everything)

and then you might find that there is only a specific list that you ca choose from, so you'd be fooked anyway if they only let you have a range of toyota little cars and you wanted a focus

polly_x

iTrader: (2)

If your not using it for work and are not going to clock up many miles then take the cash instead (if you can) and run.

£450 a month buys a lot car if you go for something a couple of years old. You could probably easily get a good second hand 911 (996) or M3 for £450 a month and at the end of it you actually own something. It will also be a damn sight sportier than anything on your car list.

I am assuming you dont clock up too much business mileage though.

SapphyMike

i reckon that Mazda engine could be tuned to over 300bhp nicely..

it'd go pretty well in a straight line and around corners too!

simonc

I agree with polly x , we don't use our car for work & don't do many miles either so thats why we decided to have a loan & buy exactly what we wanted.

Simon.

saff_cossie

I had the option of a car with my new job. I was offered what was called a novated lease which had plenty of calculators out there for it.

The catch though was the vehicle couldnt be older than 8 years at the end. One of the types included repairs and maintenance, even fuel which were all estimates and the other was just the vehicle.

In the end I worked it all out and got a loan as someone else did and got the Evo which ticks all the boxes for me and looks smart for the office carpark when clean too.

Iain Mac

A novation is a means of transferring the liability under a contract, but it is uncommon here for a lessor to novate from a corporate body (your employer) to an individual because of the Consumer Credit Act and the protection offered to individuals which would not form part of an original unregulated agreement.

The important point is that there is no one right solution and Jim needs to find out more about what is actually on offer before he can realistically start weighing up options.

In my own case, I can drive any car if I'm prepared to pay the contribution, but our scheme is weighted so heavily towards GM product that frankly I'd be nuts (or broke!) to drive anything else.

AndyRST

Focus RS

AndyP

You wanna talk to Bish

AndyRST

About what ?

Jim Galbally

but a focus RS is an old model. i thought most places only do brand new cars?

Tangodeltasierra3

Get an Evo for £20k.

Jim Galbally

i was just thinking to myself "how much money do scoobies and evos go for"

is the new evo <25k?

GARETH T

an evo will be HEAVY on company car tax

BillyCabrio

iTrader: (1)

Good point Mr P, Mr Bishop took the cash alternative for his company car. IIRC he decided what he wanted by the monthly amount he was allowed......

i.e. He was given a £300pm budget, so he went out and got a loan that was around the £300pm mark and bought the Focus Rs he has now.

Company pays for the car, he pays for the Ins, tax and running costs.