Company car downgrade

[DocJock]

Company cars and status? reminds me of a pissing contest I overheard on exercise in Germany in the early '80s.

Staff Officer #1 - I'm picking up my new staff car when we get back, a Granada.GL
SO #2 - Mines a Granada Ghia
SO #3 - (smug) I've got one of the new Vauxhall Carltons

Said contest ends when a voice from the other side of the mess booms - "mines a Lynx" says the Commander-in- Chief BAOR

[Oilchange]

Jasandjules said:

Are you paying the BIK tax on it?

Not that I know anything at all about company cars and tax but this appears to me to be the crux of the argument.

If you're paying for the privilege, you have a say. Otherwise I suspect it's you get what you're given.

[Dave350]

I disagree with the fact a company car is a) just a tool to do a job and b) should be lucky to have one.

If I have a particular set of skills / attributes, a car forms part of my package and should be reflective of that.

I work in finance, and would expect either a respectable company car, or £10,000 cash in lieu as part of my package and that seems to be the industry norm for a mid-management position.

I wouldn't be happy about mine being downgraded to a lower tier / standard as ultimately it's something you pay tax on and have to live with day in and day out.

[clived]

OP, is the car a benefit (i.e. included as part of your remuneration in your contract) or is it provided primarily to enable you to perform your role, and you are also allowed to use it for personal travel?

If it's the latter they can really do what they like. If it's the former, almost certainly your contract will say something like "vehicle in band whatever as defined in the company car policy". Which means they can just vary the policy (many enterprises have done this significantly over the last decade to make the policy more "green" and reduce maximum engine size - which means you're also totally at their mercy really

[theguvernor15]

I'm fortunate enough to have a company car (one that i wouldn't be able to afford if i had to buy it myself, it's nothing flash, but i love it).

I have to pay my own private fuel like most & all the taxing stuff that comes with it, however the company picks up the insurance/servicing costs & business miles, as per the norm.

If my employer decided they were going to downgrade my car, or swap it for something else, i'd just take it on the chin.

At the end of the day, if you don't like that they're changing it, suck it up and move on.

[Muzzer79]

RDMcG said:

Reminds me of the brilliant old documentary about company cars and status which is hilarious:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQsMFQZa8os

I remember that from when it first came out.

The bloke with the Maestro Diesel......poor sod

[crofty1984]

Muzzer79 said:

RDMcG said:

Reminds me of the brilliant old documentary about company cars and status which is hilarious:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQsMFQZa8os

I remember that from when it first came out.

The bloke with the Maestro Diesel......poor sod

My God. That is both hilarious and terrible. I'm a sales rep and thankfully this kind of wkery is gone.

[Poppiecock]

crofty1984 said:

My God. That is both hilarious and terrible. I'm a sales rep and thankfully this kind of wkery is gone.

Has it?

It's all about SE vs MSport and Sport vs SLine or SE vs AMG Line these days, isn't it?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Oilchange said:

Jasandjules said:

Are you paying the BIK tax on it?

Not that I know anything at all about company cars and tax but this appears to me to be the crux of the argument.

If you're paying for the privilege, you have a say. Otherwise I suspect it's you get what you're given.

I think you have a say if they give you a car with a higher BIK hit, be it a better car or a worse car, without consultation. But other than that, I don't think BIK gives you a say.

In my firm, I drive a far lower price/spec/quality car than I am entitled to, because I want to save money on BIK and I plough those savings into my pension. If they suddenly insisted I have the car I should, at £200/month more BIK, I'd be bloody livid.

[parabolica]

crofty1984 said:

Muzzer79 said:

RDMcG said:

Reminds me of the brilliant old documentary about company cars and status which is hilarious:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQsMFQZa8os

I remember that from when it first came out.

The bloke with the Maestro Diesel......poor sod

My God. That is both hilarious and terrible. I'm a sales rep and thankfully this kind of wkery is gone.

To think that most of those salesmen are probably PH members... answers a few questions actually

[SmoothCriminal]

f1nn said:

D. Get a grip...people living are in poverty and you’ve got the arse about a company car.

My god I hate people that post ste like this.

Some people In africa live in mud huts on less than a dollar a day, does that mean we should all aspire to that level.

[ruggedscotty]

SmoothCriminal said:

f1nn said:

D. Get a grip...people living are in poverty and you’ve got the arse about a company car.

My god I hate people that post ste like this.

Some people In africa live in mud huts on less than a dollar a day, does that mean we should all aspire to that level.

Mumsnet is over there me thinks.....

[Bonzo1930]

Well the new car arrived this week and after a few days it appears my worst fears are realised
It's very sluggish and low geared at 70mph it's doing nearly 4000rpm so my average fuel consumption is about 20mpg less, finally after informing the inland revenue I'm going to be paying more tax as the emissions are higher!
I know there are those out there that think it's a free car and I shouldn't complain, its not free I pay tax on it and spend quite a bit of time in my mobile office.
Had a meeting with my boss today and aired my views and fingers crossed they are going to change it..........

[phil-sti]

Wacky Racer said:

f1nn said:

D. Get a grip...people living are in poverty and you’ve got the arse about a company car.

This.

Most people have to pay for their cars.

if I have to be raped on company car tax I’d prefer to have at least some choice in it.

[Poppiecock]

phil-sti said:

Wacky Racer said:

f1nn said:

D. Get a grip...people living are in poverty and you’ve got the arse about a company car.

This.

Most people have to pay for their cars.

if I have to be raped on company car tax I’d prefer to have at least some choice in it.

People who don't have company cars don't realise just how much they cost these days - and often don't take into account that it's not a 'perk' if it's where you spend a large proportion of your working week.

[phil-sti]

Poppiecock said:

phil-sti said:

Wacky Racer said:

f1nn said:

D. Get a grip...people living are in poverty and you’ve got the arse about a company car.

This.

Most people have to pay for their cars.

if I have to be raped on company car tax I’d prefer to have at least some choice in it.

People who don't have company cars don't realise just how much they cost these days - and often don't take into account that it's not a 'perk' if it's where you spend a large proportion of your working week.

Yep mine costs me a fortune in tax compared to the car allowance, around £670 difference but I can’t really take a car allowance as I do high miles so couldn’t get a decent deal on a car that would also cover maintenance. I’ve hit my yearly mileage in 9 months so I’ll have to park the car up at some point while the company find something for me to drive or use the train but I’ll still have to pay my company car tax.

[GliderRider]

Thre was a comedy sketch with two salesmen discussing people according to the accessories their company car had; something like:

'He was electric windows at Bloggs & Co, but they've now made him sunroof'.

[Pegscratch]

Poppiecock said:

People who don't have company cars don't realise just how much they cost these days - and often don't take into account that it's not a 'perk' if it's where you spend a large proportion of your working week.

Wholeheartedly agree. Maybe these tools that think the company car is "free" would do well to pay the tax that we have to pay on them, whilst picking from a drab list of four-banger diesels looking incredulously at the plug-in hybrids the execs run declaring how little tax that costs them.

"Oh, just take the money instead then" they cry. OK, I'll take the £300 a month after tax, buy a car, maintain a car, insure a car for business use (with lots of miles on it too usually!) and have to pick from a selection of mildly less miserable cars because it has to be "less than 5 years old", "better than 35mpg", "have four doors" (even though you don't take passengers, let alone rear seat passengers) whilst being "appropriate for the company image" and "if you have any concerns please speak to your line manager" which means that that bargain 740d you picked up has to go back as it presents an image that the company charges too much.

It's a mess. I've turned down jobs over car allowance / company car schemes. If the car list is st and the constraints on the car allowance are ridiculous then they can shove their job.

[Oilchange]

Mmm. Appears to me to be execs trying to put people into cars appropriate to some pathetic company pecking order.

[xx99xx]

A mate of mine who once worked for a multinational organisation in the UK (sales), said their whole sales team threatened to resign because the company removed the BMW 3 series from the car list. They promptly reinstated it.

My thoughts at the time were.....how ridiculous.

I know they probably spent a fair amount of time in the car, but to spit dummies out because they couldn't have a BMW (but plenty of other adequate equivalents to choose from) seems a bit OTT to me.