Company cars...

[SteveS Cup]

Hi all,

A quick question.

From a companies point of view what is the cost to get an employee a car?

I pay an awful lot on insurance and a company car makes sense for me as I'm doing a fair amount of business miles.

So as a company, if an employee would accept a slightly lower basic but with a car included what would be the disadvantage to the employer?

Thanks all.

[SteveS Cup]

Deva Link said:

Well, the company still has to insure the car, it's not like insurance is free for them.

One of the biggest disadvantages to employers is being left with cars sitting there & costing money when employees leave.

True... I have no idea how "company car insurance" works though.

I had thought that. Could they not use it to tie an employee in to not leaving them though???

[SteveS Cup]

VeeFour said:

Most companies recycle them, though. Especially when times are tough.

My current car is the only new one I've had - I always end up with something allocated out of the returns pool.

Small company though, no existing company cars, no one else probably wants one.

[SteveS Cup]

Rich K said:

there is also the Employee car ownership scheme (ECOP)
not exactly sure how it works but instead of a compamy car
the employee leases the car and the payments are covered by the employer
this also makes the employee exempt from company car taxation.

I'm sure someone will be along soon to explain it better
and also the pitfalls (there must be some)

Interesting, I'll do some research!

[SteveS Cup]

So is there any feasible option for a small company with a new employee?

[SteveS Cup]

Deva Link said:

I can't for the life of me imagine they'd be keen to start having company cars - it's a can of worms from an employer "duty of care" aspect, and there's no economy of scale that would make it worthwhile for the company.

Many companies are keen to get people out of company cars and give them an allowance instead.

As well as the cost of buying and running the car (incuding its insurance) the company also has to apy national insurance contributions based on the list price of the car when new, and the employee (ie you) has to pay income tax based on a combination of the new list price and its emissions rating. So it's no good thinking you can get the company to buy you an old barge - it'll cost both the employer and you a fortune in NI & tax.

Online calculators put the cost to me in tax and ni as 50% of what my insurance costs me per year, so that's without tax, maintenance etc.

Hey ho, we'll see what happens.

Thank you.

[SteveS Cup]

Deva Link said:

For many people, especially those on 20% tax, it's an absolute no brainer. I forget the exact details, but one of the online banks based around here had a deal with Renault and every call-centre employee who had been there over a year got a Clio. Everything was paid, all they had to do was put fuel in it, and the income tax cost to the employees was £25/mth.

That is what I'm worried about as with commission I enter 40% tax... but it still works out better off due to my age and cost of insurance.

Does anyone know whether the company can just lease any car? Are there certain regulations ie co2?