Free Car - Please Check my Man-maths
Free Car - Please Check my Man-maths
Author
Discussion

Ossiantoad

Original Poster:

265 posts

159 months

Friday 22nd July 2022
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I'm looking at getting a Caterham and my budget is £zero.

I'm in the fortunate position of owning a company that has some cash in reserve for future tax bills and expenditure. The reality is that is will sit there for months if not years to come, earning no interest and being swiftly eroded by the rust of inflation.

Now it strikes me that I could lend that money to myself and buy something childish and impractical, a Caterham for example. I'd have to pay it back within a year for tax reasons but in the meantime.....

£20,000 worth of Caterham will cost £21,000 in a years' time because of inflation and obviously they don't depreciate, it's basically an automotive hedge against inflation, much more sensible than holding too much cash wouldn't you say?

I'm thinking that, not only would it be rude not to, it's almost Corbyn-esque level fiscal irresponsibility to do anything else.

Tell me I'm wrong (please don't).

A500leroy

8,274 posts

146 months

Friday 22nd July 2022
quotequote all
Risky.

With the impending doom of winter coming and 3-4k energy bills that 20k car could soon become a 18k just to offload it and get some money in.

Id be cautious and wait till winter.

Austin_Metro

1,457 posts

76 months

Friday 22nd July 2022
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You’re right entirely.

You’ll also be contributing to the economy with insurance and servicing. Rishi (if he gets in) will thank you.

You will also be a lot happier. You will free up your counselling space, your local NHS trust will thank you.

People will smile at your wonderful car as you pass.

Win win. Do it.

Austin_Metro

1,457 posts

76 months

Friday 22nd July 2022
quotequote all
A500leroy said:
Risky.

With the impending doom of winter coming and 3-4k energy bills that 20k car could soon become a 18k just to offload it and get some money in.

Id be cautious and wait till winter.
More risk of being bitten by a dog if you’re a postie.

He wants encouragement Leroy!!

A500leroy

8,274 posts

146 months

Friday 22nd July 2022
quotequote all
Austin_Metro said:
A500leroy said:
Risky.

With the impending doom of winter coming and 3-4k energy bills that 20k car could soon become a 18k just to offload it and get some money in.

Id be cautious and wait till winter.
More risk of being bitten by a dog if you’re a postie.

He wants encouragement Leroy!!
Id hate to see his company go down the pan though if something went wrong and the money had been sunk into a folly that was now worth less than when it was brought andno one wanted to buy it because they want to hold cash in reserve.

His choice if he wants to play with his /familys security though.

hairy v

1,404 posts

172 months

Friday 22nd July 2022
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Do it! Do it!

Never waste an opportunity!

Jamescrs

6,279 posts

93 months

Friday 22nd July 2022
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A bit of a gamble that the car will go up in value given the economic climate but do it anyway, even if it drops it won't be significant.

J1990

847 posts

81 months

Friday 22nd July 2022
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If you needed the money in 18months time and could only sell it for £16k, would you be able to find the other £4k? If the answer is a comfortable yes then I'd go for it! Life's too short and all that... If it would be a struggle then I'd probably take the more disciplined approach and avoid the loan.

It's worth considering that borrowing more than £10k will automatically trigger the requirement for it to be taxed as a Benefit In Kind, if I'm not mistaken you'll also incur 13.8% National Insurance charge against the full amount IF you haven't fully repaid it within 9months of the end of your business's financial year. You also can't simply pay the loan off and take another back out the next day, there's a one month cooling off period to avoid this type of tax avoidance.

In short, if you're able to afford the potential drop in value then I'd talk with your accountant to confirm the exact details.

keo

2,929 posts

198 months

Friday 22nd July 2022
quotequote all
A500leroy said:
Risky.

With the impending doom of winter coming and 3-4k energy bills that 20k car could soon become a 18k just to offload it and get some money in.

Id be cautious and wait till winter.
Life is to short. Get the Caterham! Even if you lose a few grand it has to be worth it for the experience!

covmutley

3,347 posts

218 months

Friday 22nd July 2022
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Even if your wrong, you're not going to be that wrong, are you.


Mikebentley

8,551 posts

168 months

Friday 22nd July 2022
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Do it, do it. Can it not be put down as a company pool car?

Ossiantoad

Original Poster:

265 posts

159 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
quotequote all
The way I see it, the biggest costs in car ownership are depreciation, interest costs, opportunity cost of the cash, insurance and maintenance.

With a twenty year old Caterham in the scenario I've outlined, you you are minimising pretty much all of these. It will be the cheapest car I ever buy as I'll never have something that sits in garage and trebles in value.

I'm gonna do it!

Now I just have to tell Mrs OT.

Ossiantoad

Original Poster:

265 posts

159 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
quotequote all
Mikebentley said:
Do it, do it. Can it not be put down as a company pool car?
Tell me more, what's one of them?

J1990

847 posts

81 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
quotequote all
Ossiantoad said:
The way I see it, the biggest costs in car ownership are depreciation, interest costs, opportunity cost of the cash, insurance and maintenance.

With a twenty year old Caterham in the scenario I've outlined, you you are minimising pretty much all of these. It will be the cheapest car I ever buy as I'll never have something that sits in garage and trebles in value.

I'm gonna do it!

Now I just have to tell Mrs OT.
Awesome, looking forward to some photos once you’ve found the right vehicle.
Strongly recommend talking with your accountant first, again if the timing isn’t right your business will have to pay almost £3K just in NI contributions for the directors loan and that’s before considering the BIK.

Mikebentley

8,551 posts

168 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
quotequote all
Ossiantoad said:
Mikebentley said:
Do it, do it. Can it not be put down as a company pool car?
Tell me more, what's one of them?
It’s been a while since I worked in a business with more than just me. When I worked in a bank we had a couple of cars which belonged to the business and when someone needed one for work away from the office they just signed it out. There was no BIK as they didn’t have any personal use of it. Couldn’t you sign it out to you for client visits….wink wink.

Aventador 700

2,903 posts

49 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
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Don’t listen to LeroyLoser advice, get it done and have some fun smile

A500leroy

8,274 posts

146 months

Sunday 24th July 2022
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Aventador 700 said:
Don’t listen to LeroyLoser advice, get it done and have some fun smile
Lets hope his company dont suddenly need the money tied up in the car and the car market collapses.
I thought being in buisness meant you were cautious with capital and invested it in the company not a folly.

Still theres always jobs at Aldi it the company goes bump.

Largechris

2,019 posts

119 months

Sunday 24th July 2022
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Buy it in December, sell it three months later in March and then you won’t even have put any miles on it and kept its value, win win,

Aventador 700

2,903 posts

49 months

Sunday 24th July 2022
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A500leroy said:
Aventador 700 said:
Don’t listen to LeroyLoser advice, get it done and have some fun smile
Lets hope his company dont suddenly need the money tied up in the car and the car market collapses.
I thought being in buisness meant you were cautious with capital and invested it in the company not a folly.

Still theres always jobs at Aldi it the company goes bump.
A decent life is built mainly on hope, if you dont have ‘hope’ then people tend to live life in the way you suggest smile over cautious and no life imo, over cautious comes from a lack of confidence ime.

Edited by Aventador 700 on Sunday 24th July 09:23

georgeyboy12345

4,568 posts

63 months

Sunday 24th July 2022
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Be honest with yourself, are you really buying it as an investment or because you want it?

It won’t really make that good an investment as it’ll cost you in tax and insurance, probably a bit of maintenance too. There’s also no guarantee of it increasing in value.