Company car mileage limit - can hardly do any personal miles

[bennett346]

I have a company car which is a lease car with a 20k per annum limit. I previously had a car they owned so there was no mileage limit. With the distance I drive to the office every day 15 miles each way from home and with a two or three days every week involving over 100 mile round trips to building sites this is getting eaten up and I'm already 1000 miles over after just year one of the lease. I expected to be able to use the car for personal trips since I pay the tax for it and like to take my mountain bike to places a few hours away once or twice a month but the limit has left me with no mileage to do for personal use.

I have mentioned to them a few times that the mileage is going to go over but didn't get much of a response from them.

My question is should I be bothered by it going over as I'm not personally accountable for the excess charge and when I took this job had a car with no restriction which suited me. I want to be able to drive wherever I want and whenever as I like to travel and visit places often but I don't want to have to buy my own car just for that given part of the appeal of the job was having a car!

Does any of this sound reasonable or just entitled?

[TooMany2cvs]

Sounds perfectly reasonable to just use it. Their problem if they've put it on a low mileage lease, especially if there's no contractual claim-back for the excess mileage.

Put it in writing to HR, though, then you've got something to fall back on later.

[SkodaIan]

You're getting taxed for the privilege of the company providing you a car, probably something like £150 per month assuming it's a fairly average repmobile and fuel isn't included for personal miles.
Unless the company is so small, or in such a ropey financial situation that your excess mileage charges will make it go bankrupt or not be able to afford to pay you, I'd not worry about it. If they only intended you to use it for business use, they should have given you a van.

[Teebs]

The mileage allowance PA is usually just an average of all fleet users. Within our business, some go over the miles, some go under and it all evens out.

I did 32k this year on a 20k PA contract. Not my issue, I pay enough tax for the privilege.

Edited by Teebs on Sunday 31st December 18:25

[bennett346]

Thanks everyone.

[angels95]

bennett346 said:

I have mentioned to them a few times that the mileage is going to go over but didn't get much of a response from them.

So long as you've got that in writing, they can't kick off later on if you can prove they didn't respond in the first place.

[edc]

If the company really wants to they can adjust the rate and mileage with the lease company, none of which should have any impact on you.

[Sy1441]

Teebs said:

The mileage allowance PA is usually just an average of all fleet users. Within our business, some go over the miles, some go under and it all evens out.

I did 32k this year on a 20k PA contract. Not my issue, I pay enough tax for the privilege.

Edited by Teebs on Sunday 31st December 18:25

Same, I handed back my last car with 130k on it, it was on a 20k PA lease.

[Antony Moxey]

A small point: your 15 mile trip to the office each day, that’s personal miles too rather than work miles isn’t it? Regardless, unless you’re specifically told how many private you’re allowed to do then just drive it and let the company pick up the tab, it’s their own fault for not getting realistic lease deals for their employees.

[llewop]

Sy1441 said:

Same, I handed back my last car with 130k on it, it was on a 20k PA lease.

Similar: handed back at 104k, 20k PA lease, but in the small print I vaguely recall something about 100k being a second 'limit'. They ended up swapping it early as it was over 100k. As others have said; any excess mileage penalty is for the company, not you - unless they impose a limit in your Ts&Cs, in which case I'd have thought you'd have an option to decline the car and take an allowance instead.

[Flooble]

Sy1441 said:

Same, I handed back my last car with 130k on it, it was on a 20k PA lease.

Ah but how many years was the lease for

[Sy1441]

Flooble said:

Ah but how many years was the lease for

4 year, I did enquire with our fleet manger and he said just like the above it’s a pooled mileage.

When my new car was delivered the guy collecting mine seemed less than interested in the mileage or condition as he said he was dropping it off straight at the car auction.

[Flooble]

Sy1441 said:

4 year, I did enquire with our fleet manger and he said just like the above it’s a pooled mileage.

When my new car was delivered the guy collecting mine seemed less than interested in the mileage or condition as he said he was dropping it off straight at the car auction.

Glad to hear they didn't make you keep the car for seven years!

[stumpage]

It can also work out cheaper over the term of the lease for the car to go back with a payment for a few excess miles rather than pay for a lease and it go back with a load of unused miles.

As others have said the lease is the companies problem, you've made them away nothing more you can do.

[Teebs]

stumpage said:

It can also work out cheaper over the term of the lease for the car to go back with a payment for a few excess miles rather than pay for a lease and it go back with a load of unused miles.

As others have said the lease is the companies problem, you've made them away nothing more you can do.

Exactly. Our company reduced our terms from 3.5 years and 95k to 3 years and 60k. Must be a fair bit cheaper to lease.

[surveyor]

My first company car had a form to fill in for mileage. I assumed this was annual mileage, so put in 30k

The head of office caught me a couple of days later and said he though 30k was a bit low for a 4 year lease, so had changed it to 40k - turned out to be total mileage.

When I left a couple of years later the car had done 65k, with another 2 years to go... I'd have loved to have seen the excess mileage invoice.

[Muzzer79]

Company’s problem

Tell them you’ll bust the mileage and it’s up to them to sort it

Most places, as stated, have pooled mileage