Soldato
Likewise...more hassle I'm paying a bit to be rid of.
Car or allowance - what would you take?
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Likewise...more hassle I'm paying a bit to be rid of.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
on top of the £340 you lose through taking the company car, therefore per month you are £560 worse off through taking the company car.
If you like it, great, but don't see it as anything other than an expensive luxury because thats what it is - a very expensive luxury. If a 320d can even be called a luxury - remember the world is your oyster in terms of car choice with the allowance, you are not stuck with the bottom of the range rep-stuff.
If you like having a company car - great. Just please stop saying its only costing you £220 a month. It really, really isn't.
Soldato
[TW]Fox;22311779 said:
But you just demonstrated that I'd need that £340 per month to pay for the other car...
Leaving you still several hundred pounds a month better off..
Alternatively you could try and net the cost out to be the same and spend £200+ more every month on your own car. This would get you a 5 Series perhaps instead of a 3, or perhaps a higher spec 3 Series etc etc.
There are loads of ways of doing it.
Soldato
[TW]Fox;22311811 said:
If I want a second hand car...
Fox, that comparison is really interesting, but for us, i'm not so sure it would work so well as she'll be doing so little business mileage, probably no more than a 1000 per year business and 10,000 private.
I'd be interested to hear what you'd recommend car wise if we took the allowance. Only stipulation is that it has to be reasonably practical as it would be the only car in the household. No kids to consider at this point but who knows in the next 3 years.
The civic was bought to replace a Celica 190 as I was doing 25k a year. I now commute on the train due to an office move, giving the drop in mileage and no loner needing/wanting diesel.
I'd be interested to hear what you'd recommend car wise if we took the allowance. Only stipulation is that it has to be reasonably practical as it would be the only car in the household. No kids to consider at this point but who knows in the next 3 years.
The civic was bought to replace a Celica 190 as I was doing 25k a year. I now commute on the train due to an office move, giving the drop in mileage and no loner needing/wanting diesel.
You say that as if I've just linked you to a 3 owners from new 2005 Ford Focus.
The maths are based on a 4000 mile 61 plate 320d. A car thats newer and lower mileage than the one you are currently perfectly happy to drive around.
It makes no difference! It's the same car. The one you have now isn't yours anyway! Does it matter what the start mileage is?
To be honest if you were that bothered about it you could probably blow a pile more cash on a brand new and it would probably still end up costing less.
Soldato
Personally I like the feeling of being the only driver of the car, but the value of this is questionable and I concede that some people wouldn't care. It's personal preference.
All the above is fine, but what happens when some tool smashes your privately owned car while your out on business and the insurance company only agrees to stump up 75% (or whatever) of its value?
If it was REALLY such a great option to run a private car many more people would do it. I've known loads of people who've tried to run their own cars as business cars and almost without exception they can't make it pay.
All the above is fine, but what happens when some tool smashes your privately owned car while your out on business and the insurance company only agrees to stump up 75% (or whatever) of its value?
If it was REALLY such a great option to run a private car many more people would do it. I've known loads of people who've tried to run their own cars as business cars and almost without exception they can't make it pay.
You are entitled to market value for your car. Purchase GAP insurance for 100 quid if you want and then not only do you get market value for it you actually get back the invoice price!
People don't do it because they don't grasp the maths. It's taken us almost a page to get you to realise the cost of your company car is over 500 quid a month not less than 250 quid a month, for example.
People just dont consider the lost car allowance to be a cost of chosing a company car. It's easy to make a company car seem like a great deal when all you consider the cost of it to be is the tax bill..
Soldato
GAP insurance is £40/year if you are really worried.
I don't know a single person who runs a company car, everyone I know without exception takes the money and runs whatever suits them.
Soldato
You seem to think you've convinced me that a company car is a bad deal for me, and you haven't.
I'm still to see any compelling figures that would make me question my decision.
I'm still to see any compelling figures that would make me question my decision.
Clutching at straws there a bit - anybody with the ability to search the internet could demonstrate and negotiate fair market value from the insurance company. They need to pay you enough to acquire a similar car.
If you do quite a few miles (as i've always done when i've had a co car) and in particular if you're a lower rate tax payer it's far closer to working out financially. Personally it's a co car over allowance for me every time, but then i've always had significant yearly use and private fuel included too - Plus I would never buy a new car with my own money so it's a bit of a novelty (for a couple of months anyway).
Hopefully I've at least convinced you that your company car is costing more than twice what you thought it was though, right? You are not still pretending its only 200 quid a month?
Surely you've at least come to realise that you can't ignore the massive chunk of money you lose out on by taking a company car as part of the cost of a company car?
Even if you'd still rather shell out more money just so your car can be 'new' when you receive it.
edit - ffs
Soldato
I could include private fuel on mine, but I don't spend enough on private fuel to justify the extra £150 per month of tax.
Caporegime
He likes blowing away £500 a month or whatever it is, every month on a car that:
1 - doesn't belong to him
2 - likes the new car smell
3 - doesn't belong to him
Soldato
[TW]Fox;22311928 said:Hopefully I've at least convinced you that your company car is costing more than twice what you thought it was though, right? You are not still pretending its only 200 quid a month?
I think we'll have to just disagree on this one
The way I see it is that the real cost to me is £220 per month, and any "extra" salary I'd get from the car allowance would just get spent on buying and running the same car, whilst carrying the risk and hassle myself.
Granted, based on your figures I could probably just about get the same car (not new though) and be no worse off, but from the experiences of many people I know running private cars has jus not worked out.
I think we'll have to just disagree on this one
If you like, it's hard fact though - you cannot ignore opportunity cost, so whatever
You've turned down a £340 a month after tax pay rise AND elected to pay £200+ a month in car. If you can't understand why this is a net cost to you of more than 500 quid a month and would rather agree to disagree then I guess thats that
Soldato
[TW]Fox;22311994 said:If you like, it's hard fact though - you cannot ignore opportunity cost, so whatever
You've turned down a £340 a month after tax pay rise AND elected to pay £200+ a month in car. If you can't understand why this is a net cost to you of more than 500 quid a month and would rather agree to disagree then I guess thats that
I'll try one more time to get you to see it my way.
By your own figures, even for a second hand car (mine was brand new when I got it) that £340 / month net pay rise would all get spent on the car, therefore resulting in £0 / month actual pay rise.
There's no arguing that 220 + 340 = 560
There can also be no argument that 220 + 340 - 340 = 220.
Even granted that I'm paying £200 / month more for my (at the time) brand new car, in my mind that's good value for zero hassle and worry.
@ OP, my apologies for helping to epicly derail your thread! I hope yo've found it a stimulating discussion
I think we'll have to just disagree on this one
I dont think so, you need to admit that you fall into my initial catigory of company car drivers who do not do their sums and have not understood the situation. I see this on an almost daily basis, i have this same "argument" in real life so so many times. A fair few people i have had this conversation with have actually ditched their company cars as a result, too!
Fox has spelled it out to you very very clearly, as have others. Yet you still try to save face
Fact is that it is a loan car costing you over £500pcm. Thats a fact. If you like it then that is great especially if to you it is value for money, but that is the situation.