Company car vs company van vs allowance?
Discussion
Evening all,
I recently changed roles at work. I'm looking for some advice to help me decide which route to take with regards to travelling for work. This is the first time ever I've been offered a company car, so I'm very new to all this. Getting advice from work is like pulling teeth, as everyone else automatically jumps to the company car option.
I have three options:
1: Have a company van (as I do now). Cost to me is zero - it's a fleet van with fuel card. Disadvantages: fully liveried, speed limited (68mph), tracked and no personal use at all.
2: Company car. Not really sure how much this will cost me. We've just signed up with Zenith for company cars leases and don't yet have any figures. From what I can gather, it's going to cost me around £3500 for a 1.6 Golf sized car. I presume at this stage that the company pays for insurance.
3: Take a car allowance, which is £3500 a year - fixed.
Business mileage is difficult to predict. 25K for the last three years but I estimate this to drop to between 15-20K with the new job (fingers crossed!)
So after thinking about this for the last few months, option 3 is becoming more appealing. I have a nice car at home, so don't really want/need a bland hatchback sitting on the drive all weekend at my cost. I would be able to make use of a van both in and out of work, so I'm thinking leasing a van would give me best of both worlds. Lack of speed limiter can be handy - for right or wrong. When the sh*t hits the fan at 2AM, I want to be doing more than 68mph. I work for a water utilities company, so urgent jobs are quite frequent.
So to my questions:
It looks like something similar to a Peugeot partner is available for £100 a month on business lease. Am I correct in saying that I would have to get a personal lease? (£160 for same van)
I also guess that I would have to insure it myself - is this expensive for a van for 20K miles? (I'm 35, clean licence, full NCD)
Is there something I'm missing which would make the van lease too expensive? (I'm in the 40% tax band, BTW)
Cheers!
I recently changed roles at work. I'm looking for some advice to help me decide which route to take with regards to travelling for work. This is the first time ever I've been offered a company car, so I'm very new to all this. Getting advice from work is like pulling teeth, as everyone else automatically jumps to the company car option.
I have three options:
1: Have a company van (as I do now). Cost to me is zero - it's a fleet van with fuel card. Disadvantages: fully liveried, speed limited (68mph), tracked and no personal use at all.
2: Company car. Not really sure how much this will cost me. We've just signed up with Zenith for company cars leases and don't yet have any figures. From what I can gather, it's going to cost me around £3500 for a 1.6 Golf sized car. I presume at this stage that the company pays for insurance.
3: Take a car allowance, which is £3500 a year - fixed.
Business mileage is difficult to predict. 25K for the last three years but I estimate this to drop to between 15-20K with the new job (fingers crossed!)
So after thinking about this for the last few months, option 3 is becoming more appealing. I have a nice car at home, so don't really want/need a bland hatchback sitting on the drive all weekend at my cost. I would be able to make use of a van both in and out of work, so I'm thinking leasing a van would give me best of both worlds. Lack of speed limiter can be handy - for right or wrong. When the sh*t hits the fan at 2AM, I want to be doing more than 68mph. I work for a water utilities company, so urgent jobs are quite frequent.
So to my questions:
It looks like something similar to a Peugeot partner is available for £100 a month on business lease. Am I correct in saying that I would have to get a personal lease? (£160 for same van)
I also guess that I would have to insure it myself - is this expensive for a van for 20K miles? (I'm 35, clean licence, full NCD)
Is there something I'm missing which would make the van lease too expensive? (I'm in the 40% tax band, BTW)
Cheers!
Thanks for the reply.
I can claim 12p per mile for 1000cc-1600, 15p for 1600-2000cc. Good MPG seems a must to break even on fuel costs.
As for the Golf costing £2k a year - this is where my knowledge fails me. I don't really know how I 'pay' for the car - I assume I would have to pay something for the lease - i.e. £100 a month? Also, I'm still not sure what benefit in kind means. Apologies - I must come across as a numpty who hasn't done any research, but I'm really not well up on these kind of things. I ask these questions at work and the answers usually confuse me more!
I would love to use my own car for the job, but 15p per mile will break the bank! (2015 Subaru STi) Plus, I need to access some pretty difficult sites which would tear up the underside. (This is deepest, darkest Wales, mind!)
As for speeding on the clock...! I hate callouts, so just want to get the job done ASAP! I want peace and quiet more than the money. It's usually a case of panic stations though, because when water doesn't come out of customers taps, all hell breaks loose!
Buying a shed has its appeal - winter tyres have proved to be very useful and I doubt I can fit them to a lease vehicle. I also wouldn't be too fussed about taking it up rough tracks. A van is very useful with its extra ground clearance and high sidewall tyres though. In theory, the new job should reduce the amount of times I have to reach the inaccessible sites. Remains to be seen though!
I can claim 12p per mile for 1000cc-1600, 15p for 1600-2000cc. Good MPG seems a must to break even on fuel costs.
As for the Golf costing £2k a year - this is where my knowledge fails me. I don't really know how I 'pay' for the car - I assume I would have to pay something for the lease - i.e. £100 a month? Also, I'm still not sure what benefit in kind means. Apologies - I must come across as a numpty who hasn't done any research, but I'm really not well up on these kind of things. I ask these questions at work and the answers usually confuse me more!
I would love to use my own car for the job, but 15p per mile will break the bank! (2015 Subaru STi) Plus, I need to access some pretty difficult sites which would tear up the underside. (This is deepest, darkest Wales, mind!)
As for speeding on the clock...! I hate callouts, so just want to get the job done ASAP! I want peace and quiet more than the money. It's usually a case of panic stations though, because when water doesn't come out of customers taps, all hell breaks loose!
Buying a shed has its appeal - winter tyres have proved to be very useful and I doubt I can fit them to a lease vehicle. I also wouldn't be too fussed about taking it up rough tracks. A van is very useful with its extra ground clearance and high sidewall tyres though. In theory, the new job should reduce the amount of times I have to reach the inaccessible sites. Remains to be seen though!
Thanks for the replies.
Would I not be able to cover almost all costs if I lease a van @ approx £160pm, insure it and claim 12ppm? The newer vans seem to achieve close to 60mpg these days. With fuel at £1.10 per liter, 15K miles will cost £1136. Claiming 12ppm will get me £1800 for the same mileage.
Would I not be able to cover almost all costs if I lease a van @ approx £160pm, insure it and claim 12ppm? The newer vans seem to achieve close to 60mpg these days. With fuel at £1.10 per liter, 15K miles will cost £1136. Claiming 12ppm will get me £1800 for the same mileage.
Trabi601 said:
I'd guess that you'll be looking at only option 1 or 2, given the circumstances.
If you're being offered a swap from a van to a car, surely the car will be at nil cost to yourself for the lease, unless you want to upgrade to a fancier model?
Would I not be paying the lease on the car as well? Or at least being taxed on the value and emissions of the car?If you're being offered a swap from a van to a car, surely the car will be at nil cost to yourself for the lease, unless you want to upgrade to a fancier model?
Trabi601 said:
Then it will depend on your tax rate - at around £70 or £140 a month for the average 1.6 diesel hatch, do you consider this to be a price worth paying? - you may say it'll sit on the drive all weekend doing nothing, but the reality is that it'll be newer and cheaper to run than your existing car and therefore end up being used for most weekend journeys, too.
On the other hand, if you are really convinced you won't use it at weekends, keep the tax free van.
Given the choice between some bland diesel that I've been driving all week and a nice powerful Jap saloon, the diesel will be on the drive all weekend!On the other hand, if you are really convinced you won't use it at weekends, keep the tax free van.
Shirt587 said:
Valid points
I'm still field based (automation & telemetry), so still kinda shop floor! The van/car certainly wouldn't have a easy life, to be honest. I'm lucky that I've only buckled a wheel and one tiny dent in 90K for almost 4 years. I didn't consider the damage, so that's another argument for the company van.Looks like I'll just have to suck up the speed limiter. It would be really handy to be able to (legally) use the van for occasional personal use.
I had to borrow my parents Golf the other week to collect a Sierra bonnet that wouldn't fit in my car!talksthetorque said:
And you can claim tax back too on that mileage rate for your own van
you are allowed 45ppm for the first 10k then 25ppm thereafter.
You can claim the tax back on the difference.
so (.45 - .12)x 10000 x40% = £1320
plus (.25-.12)x5000 x 40%=£260
so another £1580 in the kitty if you get your own van
I've wondered about this after seeing it mentioned on other threads. Absolutley no-one at work has mentioned this before. Does it only apply if you use your 'own'vehicle? Numbers like that might swing the lease van - the 'profit' from fuel rebate could be put to one side to cover any damage that may be caused.you are allowed 45ppm for the first 10k then 25ppm thereafter.
You can claim the tax back on the difference.
so (.45 - .12)x 10000 x40% = £1320
plus (.25-.12)x5000 x 40%=£260
so another £1580 in the kitty if you get your own van
I know a lot of you are saying the company van is the way to go, but how many of you have had to live with a speed limiter before? It's a pain in the backside. Don't get me wrong - I don't want to drive at 100mph everywhere. The problem is overtaking on these roads. If you can't get past a lorry, it can cost a lot of time when they slow down on hills etc.
I'm still torn between Co Van and lease van!
andy-xr said:
£3500 gross is s
tty, and will tie you in to something for at least 24 months. If work will guarantee they'll keep you for 24 months, then maybe something mid sized would work
I personally wouldnt touch a car allowance (that specified I had to get something new) again. Been burned in redundancy. I'd take a van and let the company worry about it personally. Even down to leaving it in the work car park evenings and weekends and drive my own car to the site to pick it up
Redundancy doesn't really come into it. If I keep myself useful and out of trouble, there should be no problem.tty, and will tie you in to something for at least 24 months. If work will guarantee they'll keep you for 24 months, then maybe something mid sized would work I personally wouldnt touch a car allowance (that specified I had to get something new) again. Been burned in redundancy. I'd take a van and let the company worry about it personally. Even down to leaving it in the work car park evenings and weekends and drive my own car to the site to pick it up
The car allowance policy doesn't seem to state any limit on the vehicle age or mileage (surpisingly). They only state that the allowance is low to encourage people into Co cars so that they can be safe and well maintained.
As for leaving the van at work - not having to use my car to commute has saved me about £3000 a year from my last job (38 mile round trip) so is a good saving.
Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff