Recently had a promotion at work whihc brings the benefit of a company car. They give us an allowance to select a car from a 'catalogue' and
you can add extra money in if you want something nicer. The car will be for 4 years when you get to pick another.
So any advise from the masses?
Looking for something mid size exec.
At the moment I've been looking At A3/A4, 3 Series BMW, Maybe C class Mercedes
I was in the same position as you, able to choose from Audi, BMW or Mercedes. I went for the 2014 C class C220, and I am really happy with the
outcome. I got more 'as standard' with the C class than I could have had with Audi or BMW, and the new diesel is really good on emissions
(which keeps BIK down).
I did put in extra for an automatic estate, I'm paying an extra £25 a month for those.
seems the more premium manufacturers (BM, Audi, Merc etc) do offer some good deals, certainly larger value discounts than the fleet manufacturers
(ford, Vauxhall, VW, Skoda). an example was rrp £35k and paid 27ish for it. Only issue is you are taxed on the P11D price, not the price paid, so
potentially you could get two cars that you battle the dealer down to say £27k, but one will have a P11D £2k higher so youd pay more in tax for that
one.
swings and the roundabouts ;-)
Is the money for extra you mention basically a lump sum added to salary to pay towards the up keep of your own car?
If so take this. Unless you do lots of miles, as the company car tax load is worse than income tax you pay on the bonus, so unless you do the miles to
gain it back in what having your own car costs in extra finance/maintenance you have to allow for on your own car.
If it is like above, thats just like my old place, which let you can choose your own car, as long as its less than 5 years old, but this meant you
could cop and change as often as you like and have the freedom of any car on the market.
I always try and keep my company car tax bill as far down as it will go while still getting a nice car out of it.
The mercedes engine seems to do best at that (or the "ultra" series audis if you dont mind audis)
I figure it is just transport and the stuff you come on to this forum to discuss is what keeps you sane / interested / alive.
I got a top spec mondeo with everything in it but running a 1.6 diesel so that co2 emissions were low and list price was sub 30k. Still tows / drives
/ breaks speed limit.
It costs me about £150 a month in tax and I dont reckon i could run a car of my own for that all-in. Some people get a really good allowance instead
but if you dont then you need to keep an eye on co2 and list price.
By comparison I have a colleague with a hi-spec 520d and it costs him twice what mine does which is a whole pile of cash.
Next year's car is one of these PHEV outlanders as emissions and price means a bill of £65 per month.
Skoda Octavia VRs Estate. Awesome motors. My company has two as 'pool cars'. Uber reliable, comfortable, fully loaded and not too pretentious to park outside a clients building.
quote:
Originally posted by ianm67
Skoda Octavia VRs Estate. Awesome motors. My company has two as 'pool cars'. Uber reliable, comfortable, fully loaded and not too pretentious to park outside a clients building.
quote:
Originally posted by loggyboy
quote:
Originally posted by ianm67
Skoda Octavia VRs Estate. Awesome motors. My company has two as 'pool cars'. Uber reliable, comfortable, fully loaded and not too pretentious to park outside a clients building.
Look like a Taxi....
...or an unmarked rozzer.
quote:
Originally posted by simonrh
It costs me about £150 a month in tax and I dont reckon i could run a car of my own for that all-in. Some people get a really good allowance instead but if you dont then you need to keep an eye on co2 and list price.
By comparison I have a colleague with a hi-spec 520d and it costs him twice what mine does which is a whole pile of cash.
I have a modeo tit X 2L D and it costs a lot but far less than if i brought it.
There is an online P11D calculator that helps you work out the cost. I think a company car always works out cheaper than you buying and funding the
equivalent so i just went for what i would normally spend on a car anyway.
Dint do it and enquire about a cash for car allowance.......
Dint do it and enquire about a cash for car allowance.......
Volvo V60 D4 is a good un. 181bhp and very low emissions. 99 CO2, 14% BIK, 0-60 6.9! The Business Ed is cheap too.
I'm just about to return my 320d for a 520d - hard to go wrong with either car and both have co2 of 109, which is where the tax comes in. In fact, the 520 works out cheaper for me than if I went for a 320 estate (need the boot space!) and you can't fit a tow bar to a 3 series efficient dynamics model unless it's an auto.
Our scheme at work is through Lex autolease so you can either have a cash allowance or the car, but the car allowance is about 35% more than the cash.
Everything is included in that price except fuel (I,e, tax, insurance, servicing, tyres etc).
A 320d Efficient dynamics would work out at about £195 a month including contribution + tax
An A3 S-line 2.0TDI would be about £175 a month
A C-class C220 Bluetec Saloon would be about £225 a month
For those with a 3 series, have you gone for the M-sport suspension - reviews seem to recommend it, but not sure if that is just a car journalist
thing!
I do between 50 - 60,000 miles a year and have done for the last 25 years as a national sales manager.
The first thing i would consider is how many miles are you going to do and how much time are you going to spend in it.
I have listened to the BS about it costs this and that on tax, i dont care what people say you cannot put a brand new car on the drive, fully insured,
taxed, serviced, tyres etc etc for what it will cost you in tax and the big plus is if you turn the key one day and it goes pop you tell them to take
it away fix it and give you a courtesy car whilst you wait.
When you do as many miles as me you are well qualified to say what is a good car and what isn't, i have had most of them over the years.
If you want some honest advice let me know your criteria and i will point you in the right direction
All the best
Ps Don't believe all that Whatcar i have used it for a week and its a great car crap......
im in a similar position - my A4 Avant is up in Feb.
Its been an excellent car and i'd reccomend it for comfort reliability and space, but its a bit vanilla really.
I'm either changing to a A6 avant or 520d Touring depending on the deal. I'd love to buy british but the Jag XF is on the way out with its
replacement not ready yet.
What about an XE? supposed to be excellent.
quote:
Dint do it and enquire about a cash for car allowance.......
quote:
Originally posted by sonic
I do between 50 - 60,000 miles a year and have done for the last 25 years as a national sales manager.
The first thing i would consider is how many miles are you going to do and how much time are you going to spend in it.
I have listened to the BS about it costs this and that on tax, i dont care what people say you cannot put a brand new car on the drive, fully insured, taxed, serviced, tyres etc etc for what it will cost you in tax and the big plus is if you turn the key one day and it goes pop you tell them to take it away fix it and give you a courtesy car whilst you wait.
When you do as many miles as me you are well qualified to say what is a good car and what isn't, i have had most of them over the years.
If you want some honest advice let me know your criteria and i will point you in the right direction
All the best
Ps Don't believe all that Whatcar i have used it for a week and its a great car crap......
quote:
Originally posted by davidimurray
Our scheme at work is through Lex autolease so you can either have a cash allowance or the car, but the car allowance is about 35% more than the cash. Everything is included in that price except fuel (I,e, tax, insurance, servicing, tyres etc).
A 320d Efficient dynamics would work out at about £195 a month including contribution + tax
An A3 S-line 2.0TDI would be about £175 a month
A C-class C220 Bluetec Saloon would be about £225 a month
For those with a 3 series, have you gone for the M-sport suspension - reviews seem to recommend it, but not sure if that is just a car journalist thing!
I am in a very similar position to you. In my case I will be selling my 535D Tourer and getting a company car. I was looking at the usual suspects
(A4, 3 series, C-class) but I don't like the tax at around £200 per month without fuel for an average spec model (320d etc).
They then added a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV to our list. It is a plug in hybrid, and due to the emissions, it is £62 pcm without fuel, or £90 pcm
fully fuelled. It is a good size car, with a good spec as standard. Yes the plastics are pretty awful, and I doubt it will set my world in fire, and
it doesn't go like my BMW, but the costs make a very compelling case. I am demoing one next month! My inner pikey is very pleased!
i have got a BMWs 320d msport estate with msport suspension. its pretty stiff but not uncomfortable by any measure, (positively firm is how i would
describe it) the steering is lovely, its pin point accurate to the point were you feel like the car is an extension of your body. i would say it
probably the best handling estate you can buy and if needed it will shift if you give it a bit of pedal. on average it does 55mpg which is all
motorway, dont know about mpg town as i don't do much town driving.
i have driven audi slines, mercs, jags, lexus and they all feel like spongey potatoes compared to the bmw. if you can get an extended test drive and
then drive the others it wont be a difficult decision. £200 a month +personal mileage fuel for a brand new fully maintained, insured luxury car is a
bloody bargain!
my car fully loaded with nearly every option was 37 grand retail new. after 4 years its worth about 14grand on a good day. thats 23grand loss. thats
5750 a year which is £479 a month and then you still have to pay for maintenance insurance and fuel!
if you don't want a luxury car then take the cash and run a shed.
quote:
Originally posted by StevieB
I'm just about to return my 320d for a 520d - hard to go wrong with either car and both have co2 of 109, which is where the tax comes in. In fact, the 520 works out cheaper for me than if I went for a 320 estate (need the boot space!) and you can't fit a tow bar to a 3 series efficient dynamics model unless it's an auto.
quote:
Originally posted by nick205
I'd agree with that, it's the cheapest and least hassle way to drive a brand new decent spec car.
If you do the miles it makes even more sense.
It's also very liberating in the sense that you don't really care about the car.
I had company cars for a few years when driving anywhere from 30-50k/yr. when that reduced back to 15k I took the allowance, bought a 2nd hand car and use the allowance for other things.
quote:
Originally posted by stevebubs
quote:
Originally posted by nick205
I'd agree with that, it's the cheapest and least hassle way to drive a brand new decent spec car.
If you do the miles it makes even more sense.
It's also very liberating in the sense that you don't really care about the car.
I had company cars for a few years when driving anywhere from 30-50k/yr. when that reduced back to 15k I took the allowance, bought a 2nd hand car and use the allowance for other things.
Ditto!
I have a Toyota Hilux Invincible as my company 'car'.
Its Like driving a nice family car/suv but its classed as a commercial vehicle so you only get BIK taxed on ~£3000 of its value rather than 35% of it
which would be over £10k on a similar priced car. Think it only costs me £90 in tax a month and has the added bonus of being able to cart engines
around in it if I need to. 
Cheers
Stot
[Edited on 11/12/14 by Stot]
[Edited on 11/12/14 by Stot]
Also bear in mind that if you do take the allowance, you 'should' have business insurance, which in my case rapidly offset any profit I was going to make!!
Company car tax is shooting up over the next 4 years so what ever car you choose, aim for the lowest BIK %.
I've just had a Lexus is300h.....2.5ltr petrol hybrid......12% BIK and 50mpg all day long
However in 2015, the same Lexus will be 14% BIK....then 16% in 2016, 18% in 2017 and 20% in 2019.......so start as low as you can now because
it's shooting up fast and you'll be paying more money each month for a car that doesn't belong to you.
A car at 24% BIK now will end up at 32% by 2019
quote:
Originally posted by richardm6994
Company car tax is shooting up over the next 4 years so what ever car you choose, aim for the lowest BIK %.
I've just had a Lexus is300h.....2.5ltr petrol hybrid......12% BIK and 50mpg all day long
However in 2015, the same Lexus will be 14% BIK....then 16% in 2016, 18% in 2017 and 20% in 2019.......so start as low as you can now because it's shooting up fast and you'll be paying more money each month for a car that doesn't belong to you.
A car at 24% BIK now will end up at 32% by 2019
The government are finally realising how much they're loosing from their eco car incentives.
Expect cheap road tax for lowE cars to follow suit over next 5 years.
[Edited on 11-12-14 by loggyboy]
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
Also bear in mind that if you do take the allowance, you 'should' have business insurance, which in my case rapidly offset any profit I was going to make!!
If I had the choice my heart would go for a BMW 3 series without doubt.
However my head says, get some cash back and get a cheaper car. It's what I ended up doing in fact. So I ran a volvo v40 d2, it had all the toys
I wanted and they paid me to take the downgrade, in fact it perfect matched the tax cost of the car, so I was effectively running a brand new serviced
and insured care for free.
I would predict though, that the rules around company cars will change radically over the next 3 years, with diesel being seen as the enemy and taxed
accordingly...something to consider.
Thanks everyone - some interesting thoughts there.
While the car is a 'company car', it isn't actually for business purposes - it's a perk of the job so will be our main family car
and for my commute to work so will only do about 20K miles a year
My current car is a 54 plate 1.4 MG ZR with 120k on the clock so anything will be an improvement. If I look at the cost of having the company car
compared to depreciation on something new then it's a no brainer.
All the insurance, tax etc is all covered in the contract hire so no need to worry about that.
Whatever car I go for it's 4 years before I can change so trying to find the right balance!
At the moment the 320D efficient dynamics is looking the favourite.
quote:
Originally posted by davidimurray
Thanks everyone - some interesting thoughts there.
While the car is a 'company car', it isn't actually for business purposes - it's a perk of the job so will be our main family car and for my commute to work so will only do about 20K miles a year
My mate works for a company with age limits on your own car to have the allowance and he said a few people have been stung as it was only five years meaning you had to buy new or buy a car about 3 years old for cash for it to be doable.