Car for work

[jack_86]

Hi, Fairly new onto Pistonheads I often view the forum but never made an account till now. i currently have a mk5 golf R32 and have just landed a new job with a car allowance, i will be covering between 20k-25k a year business miles. i am going to run the golf for the first 3 months while i get to understand the company and its culture. I did have my heart set on a 330d or 335d touring but seems the amount of miles i will be doing will be pushing the cost per month up.

i don't know if i should just get some rubbish car to do the miles in and let my wife run a nicer car though her taste would be questionable. do people mainly lease or just buy outright for these kind of miles?

[jack_86]

I could do but I have the R32 for 3 years now and a little board of it, and the £495 a year road tax has grown a little tiresome to. If my wife had a choice we would be looking at Q5's or GLC.

the thing is they haven't given me an exact annual mileage they seem to vary from 15k to 25k depending on who I speak to, guess I just need time in the role to figure things out for myself in terms of actual mileage.

[jack_86]

yeah I might do that, I think the only problem with Merc's especially the shapes above is that they age quite badly, I am leaning towards a 13/14 plate 320d touring with x drive. need to test drive one but still in early stages of window shopping and gathering info

[jack_86]

I need an estate really as 1) better for bikes 2) my opinion is that they look better than a saloon. I was semi tempted by a Merc CLA shooting brake but wife hates the look of it. Don't know if I could go non German so a Citroen would be a no go.

[jack_86]

When I spoke to the company they were really cool and said run what you want just have to prove you have business insurance on it and its suitable for when driving clients or other members of the company to meetings and such forth.

[jack_86]

did you notice much difference in real world mpg switching between petrol and diesel?

[jack_86]

I need to test drive, but ideally a bmw 330d x drive touring with m sport kit automatic, but also like the new shape c class, though I find the new a4 avant quite ugly.

[jack_86]

I wasn't aware of a road tax change? I find it hard to believe as my experience with any kind of of tax is usually they only go one way and this up not down.

[jack_86]

I've always had 4 wheel drive cars and just felt more planted and in a word more secure than when I've driven a rwd car especially in the wet.

[jack_86]

And also my head office is in London I live in Warwickshire so wouldn't have access to pool cars.

[jack_86]

I'm ok for a Hyundai had them on holiday rentals before and not for me. The real problem is the wife who regards estates as hearse like.

She is of the position that I get a q3/q5 or even an evoque which is a complete no go as hate cars with fake exhaust tips and fake intakes like the evoque.

On the Audi front I said I would consider only if it was the rsq3 or sq5 as standard ones seem to be pretty feminine.

[jack_86]

And i wouldn't own a jaguar, as i live in the heart of JLR country and would annoy me seeing every tom dick and harry driving around in one for free when I'm paying for one. Honestly every land rover or jaguar product on the road around here is a works car no one buys one.

[jack_86]

I don't think i am going to go down the lease route, as with dogs and bikes i don't want to be paranoid over the interior every time we put something in the boot.