New Job (poss) £400 A Month Car Allowence!

[essexplumber]

So I'm going to be offered a new job in January and I will be getting £400 for a vehicle (estate/truck/van) but having never had this before how should I go about the purchase?

I'll be getting a fuel card (petrol or diesel) and the monthly amount, and then I'm on my own.
So I assume my options will be,

1, Get a car on finance and set the balance aside for tyres insurance etc.

2, Get a loan to buy a car outright.

3, Lease a car that will include maintenance etc.

Which way is best?

[EDLT]

Buy the SOTW and pocket the rest.

[pwrc]

get a £400 shed, impress employers with money saved!

[essexplumber]

pwrc said:

get a £400 shed, impress employers with money saved!

I think we have to have a resonably smartish car, although my mate got a 54 plate 318i touring and they seem quite happy with it.

[Pug 1]

Careful here.The tax man is waiting. Make the wrong choice and you will end up shafted . A range of issues to consider, dominated by the CO2 emission status of the car/ van.Suggest you take advice from a friendly accountant. Beware, the tax man will have a field day if you make the wrong call.

[GlenMH]

Pug 1 said:

Careful here.The tax man is waiting. Make the wrong choice and you will end up shafted . A range of issues to consider, dominated by the CO2 emission status of the car/ van.Suggest you take advice from a friendly accountant. Beware, the tax man will have a field day if you make the wrong call.

This man speaks sense.

Also: is that 400 quid pre or post-tax/NI? If the latter, it isn't an awful lot to run a vehicle on....

[HorneyMX5]

Pug 1 said:

Careful here.The tax man is waiting. Make the wrong choice and you will end up shafted . A range of issues to consider, dominated by the CO2 emission status of the car/ van.Suggest you take advice from a friendly accountant. Beware, the tax man will have a field day if you make the wrong call.

Surely this only applies to company cars and not cars you buy yourself from a cash allowance? The tax you pay is just income and NI on the monthly amount.

Nick

[HorneyMX5]

To add, I'm in a similar boat and get my allowance from March. Have already checked the rules where I wokr (has to have 4 seats is the only stipulation) so I have sorted a 55 reg TDI passat estate off a mate for a good price and pocketing the allowance.

Nick

[GlenMH]

The fuel card has some pretty serious tax implications...

[Bitzer]

Pug 1 said:

Careful here.The tax man is waiting. Make the wrong choice and you will end up shafted . A range of issues to consider, dominated by the CO2 emission status of the car/ van.Suggest you take advice from a friendly accountant. Beware, the tax man will have a field day if you make the wrong call.

The taxman has no bearing on what car you buy with a car allowance, apart from VED annually. Can't see how an accountant is going to help unless he/she is into their cars!

Remember to take income tax etc off this amount, and there's your amount per month.

There's some great lease deals if you're into that sort of thing, or buy an annual shed for a £1k and pocket the rest for insurance, VED, MOT, service, tyres, etc.

'Free' motoring

[essexplumber]

Knew it may be too good to be true. My mate works for them and he got a loan with repayments of £200 a month and bought a £4k BMW.

I'm thinking of leasing to be fair but I will need a deposit won't I?

Insignia sports tourer or older BMW purchased with a loan?

[SystemParanoia]

buy a leaf, and enjoy free commuting for the rest of your time at your employer

[essexplumber]

SystemParanoia said:

buy a leaf, and enjoy free commuting for the rest of your time at your employer

I'd rather chew my dogs anal glands to be frank.

[ArmaghMan]

GlenMH said:

Pug 1 said:

Careful here.The tax man is waiting. Make the wrong choice and you will end up shafted . A range of issues to consider, dominated by the CO2 emission status of the car/ van.Suggest you take advice from a friendly accountant. Beware, the tax man will have a field day if you make the wrong call.

This man speaks sense.

Also: is that 400 quid pre or post-tax/NI? If the latter, it isn't an awful lot to run a vehicle on....

No. This man speaks no sense. If your employer is paying the allowance gross and the taxman is taking his cut at that stage, his interest ENDS THERE. The car is your car.There is no BIK tax (benefit in kind). You can go and buy an M5 as far as the taxman is concerned.(I know because I did) The fuel card may throw a spanner in the works but i doubt it.

[PaulG40]

Don't you normally get taxed on the money you spend on the fuel card on top of the tax you pay already included on your fuel as fuel duty? Or something like it?

[shambolic]

This sounds weird? My missus gets £600 a month car allowance and can do what she wants with it. She doesn't even use a car for work as she flies most weeks to london and Birmingham. It's just an extra on top of monthly salary.

[Vocal Minority]

I get NI and Income tax out of my allowance.

Good old PAYE allowing for such mindlessness

[falkster]

Get a PCP and look at the deals around £299 per month. Some of the lease companies will do really good deals if youre not bothered about colour. A friend of mine has a good spec A5 for £299 a month 15k per year over 3 years with no deposit.

[CDP]

Check out this thread.

[url]http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=1073953&mid=22213&nmt=Current%20Lease%20Deals[url]

[CDP]

If you're taxed on the allowance as income can you claim the mileage back against tax?