MK7 Bluemotion golf or Civic 1.6i DTEC??

[treack]

Evening all!

I'm starting a new job and am into the realms of company cars for the first time! Financially it seems to make a lot of sense to me to buy a cat (I'm leaving that typo, I'm sure we all know what I really meant!! . After tax I'll get £378 / month and 25p flat rate for my miles, of which they project 20-25k per year, although I think it may be slightly lower. Apparently I also get tax relief of £660 per year on the first 10,000 miles. In short, by taking the allowance and mileage and not paying BIK I reckon there's potentially a 21k difference over 5years @ 20,000 miles per annum. (total costs approx 41k, total income from car allowance and mileage 47.5k, + not paying 1.5k/year in BIK (7.5k), + £660 per year refief on the first 10k (3.3k) plus 3-4k value of car at the end

The long and short is that I'm agonising over whether to go for the 2014 Honda Civic 1.6i DTEC or the the MK7 golf Bluemotion. Cash is important to me curently and I expect costs to be marginally higher for the golf in both fuel and repairs.

Am i missing a trick here? What should I be looking at? will the mpg be worse in the golf as the forums elsewhere suggest?? Are they more expensive to run on parts, who gives better service in peoples opinions?

Any pointers, anyone? I'm starting to go mad!!

Thanks,

Kenny

[Snollygoster]

Fuel will be the key in regards to what works out cheaper with that mileage.

Both cars are low on BIK so won't cost a fortune. I personally would just take a company car as no worry of anything. Otherwise you will have to find a car, service, maintenance, tyres, insurance @ 20-25k miles per year on your £378. But then you also get the 25p which needs to be taken into account. I can't comment on that too much as I've just always had a private fuel card so never done the maths so not sure about the 10k tax free allowance you've mentioned.

In regards to the cars themselves. Depends on spec. Is it a VW BlueMotion Technology engine, or an actual blue motion trim line. The latter isn't the best spec. If it's a 1.6 BMT SE/Match/GT that's not too bad.

Honda spec is good, and nice to drive. Feels very light despite the diesel engine.

My experience of MPG was about 53 on a VW 1.6 BMT, Honda got about 58 for my driving style.

[Matt UK]

At those miles go and sit in them both.

Then put 'comfort' ahead of 'MPG' on your spreadsheet.

It really is pointless to sweat the pennies into decimals and then find out your get a numb left butt cheek and right ankle ache within 30mins of every day...

[va1o]

Matt UK said:

At those miles go and sit in them both.

Then put 'comfort' ahead of 'MPG' on your spreadsheet.

It really is pointless to sweat the pennies into decimals and then find out your get a numb left butt cheek and right ankle ache within 30mins of every day...

Agree with this. The difference in MPG between them will be minimal anyway. Buy whichever is most comfortable, in my experience usually the Golf.

Also the BMT Match might be worth going for if you can as it comes with the clever adaptive cruise control system, ideal for UK motorways!

[treack]

va1o said:

Agree with this. The difference in MPG between them will be minimal anyway. Buy whichever is most comfortable, in my experience usually the Golf.

Also the BMT Match might be worth going for if you can as it comes with the clever adaptive cruise control system, ideal for UK motorways!

Thanks you! @ Matt, I need to drive the VW, but have had two previous golfs - so unless they've changed drastically, I'm confident it'll be comfy. The honda felt ok, but being used to the golf - it was 'different' But I think with time I'll get to love the lightweight feel. I also think the adaptive cruise control is available on the honda.

I guess already the key is to do a decent trip in both as there'll be little to split them in envisaged reliability and costs?

[treack]

Snollygoster said:

Fuel will be the key in regards to what works out cheaper with that mileage.

Both cars are low on BIK so won't cost a fortune. I personally would just take a company car as no worry of anything. Otherwise you will have to find a car, service, maintenance, tyres, insurance @ 20-25k miles per year on your £378. But then you also get the 25p which needs to be taken into account. I can't comment on that too much as I've just always had a private fuel card so never done the maths so not sure about the 10k tax free allowance you've mentioned.

In regards to the cars themselves. Depends on spec. Is it a VW BlueMotion Technology engine, or an actual blue motion trim line. The latter isn't the best spec. If it's a 1.6 BMT SE/Match/GT that's not too bad.

Honda spec is good, and nice to drive. Feels very light despite the diesel engine.

My experience of MPG was about 53 on a VW 1.6 BMT, Honda got about 58 for my driving style.

Thanks I did consider taking the company car, but the differences in money seem to be to big to ignore for me! That's why I'm worried I'm missing a trick?! Interesting on your MPG experience as well, kind of what I've been hearing...

[Pesty]

What is the policy regarding cars you buy personally with allowance?

We opt out and can buy what we want.

So to save even more money ( by less initial outlay and depreciation) could you say buy a 2010 focus or Astra .

Just a thought. Depreciation is the killer here.

I do 25 k a year but get 45p for the first 10 miles. The fuel allowance covers all costs just and get 28 mpg.

But if you blow 15- 20 k on a new car you will be out if picket big time for example. Buy a 2010-1012 if you can and run it for as lng as you can.

Edited by Pesty on Tuesday 21st October 21:58

[treack]

Pesty said:

What is the policy regarding cars you buy personally with allowance?

We opt out and can buy what we want.

So to save even more money ( by less initial outlay and depreciation) could you say buy a 2010 focus or Astra .

Just a thought. Depreciation is the killer here.

I do 25 k a year but get 45p for the first 10 miles. The fuel allowance covers all costs just and get 28 mpg.

But if you blow 15- 20 k on a new car you will be out if picket big time for example. Buy a 2010-1012 if you can and run it for as lng as you can.

Edited by Pesty on Tuesday 21st October 21:58

I've tried to do the maths on that as well - not more than 7 years old or 90,000 miles (at the start of the year). looking at older cars though its the thought of buying one thats got problems without me knowing. That option was my first thought in all honesty, but with so many possibilities I kind of stopped looking at that route!. I appreciate that the depreciation makes a big difference, and that actually I could save a few grand by buying used that would probably easily offest the lower MPG and tax ETC. That's worth a look at again i guess.... Anyone else have thoughts on that route?

[Pesty]

.Just a thought. Remember it's a work car, a tool if you will. I suppose it depends if you want it to be decent as well.

All I'm suggesting is you don't want to be costing you money on a car that gets abused for work.

Plenty of 1-2 year old cars or even ex demo for under 10k run them for 5 years.

Or something like this put a private plate on it and tell them it's got 10k on it

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

[Otispunkmeyer]

I'd go for the civic. The 1.6 is supposedly great and I just think it's a bit more individual than the golf, if such a thing is possible for a family hatch. Boat loads of golfs about, not so many new civics. Having said that I bet the golf has a) the better interior, b) the lowest NVH and c) the best ride quality (by a country mile).

[JackReacher]

Have a look at the new Leon, it's excellent and you'll get a one year old car with the 1.6tdi engine for about 12k, although worth paying a bit more to get one with tech pack.

[treack]

JackReacher said:

Have a look at the new Leon, it's excellent and you'll get a one year old car with the 1.6tdi engine for about 12k, although worth paying a bit more to get one with tech pack.

This has given me a new quandry now!!! Reading about the Leon, it seems to worth serious consideration - have they really got VWesque reliability though and it's just the badge that save you the money??

[JackReacher]

treack said:

JackReacher said:

Have a look at the new Leon, it's excellent and you'll get a one year old car with the 1.6tdi engine for about 12k, although worth paying a bit more to get one with tech pack.

This has given me a new quandry now!!! Reading about the Leon, it seems to worth serious consideration - have they really got VWesque reliability though and it's just the badge that save you the money??

All the VAG cars are similar in terms of reliability as they share most of the mechanical parts, whether they are reliable or not is a different subject, but on the whole they are, although I would expect the civic to be better in that respect.

I've ordered a new Leon as I was very impressed with it on several test drives and they get very good write ups in the press. The interior is not quite up there with a golf but it's still good and you pay less and get plenty more kit.

[jamiebae]

I ran a 2.2 diesel Civic for 14k miles in 5 months a couple of years back, it was one of the first of the new models, but obviously with the older engine.

I really liked it, it was comfortable, refined and did 53mpg in spite of my less than careful driving style - by way of comparison I got 51mpg from a Focus 1.6 TDCi which should have been more economical than the Honda, and 48mpg from a BMW X1 18d 2WD doing the same kind of driving.

The boot is huge, and the rear seats are really clever with the way they tip and fold so it's a more practical proposition than the VW. The Golf has a better image and looks smarter, but for spending a lot of time in the driver's seat I think I'd have the Civic.