Spec me a company car!

[thecremeegg]

So I've been given the go-ahead to get a company car, I just have to sort it all myself.
Budget is £40k and I do about 12,000 business miles a year. I'm a tall guy so need something that will be comfortable, however my other car is a Z4 so I like my cars to have an element of fun.

Now MPG isn't a massive concern as the company says they'll cover it regardless, however neither do I want to be filling up all the time.
At the moment I'm looking at an A6 or a 5 series, both of which are lovely cars, though I do worry they're a bit big as I do go into London a fair bit.

The only real caveat is that the tax needs to be about £250 or under a month (not higher rate taxpayer but get commission).

Any left field ideas or thoughts on the 5/A4?

TL/DR - Comfortable, not too dull company car needed for a tall person!

Thanks!

[Jamescrs]

I'd say go with a BMW 5 series, A6 or E class Merc basically for the comfort aspects, assuming your keeping your Z4 as well?

In relation to driving in London I don't see any of the above cars being an issue size wise, people are driving far bigger and more expensive cars around London without any issues.

[A900ss]

You may not be a higher rate tax payer at present but an A6/5 series will likely drop the income threshold you can earn before paying higher rate tax by £10k...

[oop north]

A900ss said:

You may not be a higher rate tax payer at present but an A6/5 series will likely drop the income threshold you can earn before paying higher rate tax by £10k...

And check out the hideous tax you will have to pay on private fuel if they are providing that. Probably cheaper for you to pay for all private fuel yourself

[ninjag]

Yep, the benefit in kind value is added to your total annual income with regard to your tax rate for BIK.

Better to try and get an equivalent car allowance and not worry so much about list price or emissions, or if you have to stick with the company car route then PHEV or EV is the best route to take to get a premium and decent performing vehicle.

Edited by ninjag on Sunday 16th December 22:27

[thecremeegg]

oop north said:

And check out the hideous tax you will have to pay on private fuel if they are providing that. Probably cheaper for you to pay for all private fuel yourself

I'll be paying 12p a mile for personal miles so that isn't an issue.

I did consider a car allowance, however the issue I have is that any nice car with 20000 miles is £££ and if I leave the company I don't fancy paying the rest of the lease!

I'm aware of the cost implications of the CC, hence the want to stay around £250 a month at the moment.

[ZX10R NIN]

To make the BIK work you need a Hybrid

530e M Performance

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[tickedon]

thecremeegg said:

I'll be paying 12p a mile for personal miles so that isn't an issue.

I did consider a car allowance, however the issue I have is that any nice car with 20000 miles is £££ and if I leave the company I don't fancy paying the rest of the lease!

I'm aware of the cost implications of the CC, hence the want to stay around £250 a month at the moment.

What the car costs your employer and the tax implications for you are not the same things. Company cars have a ‘benefit in kind’ calculated, based on co2, fuel type & list price.

It is really really difficult to make a CC stack up vs a car allowance these days. If you are worried about a lease, look at a nearly new car (6-12 months old) on PCP. You’ll have missed most of the depreciation and on PCP be able to sell it if circumstances change. Rates via dealers will be expensive, but some banks (el.g. Lloyd’s, Halifax) will offer a PCP on used cars at 4.9%.

[stumpage]

Jamescrs said:

I'd say go with a BMW 5 series, A6 or E class Merc basically for the comfort aspects, assuming your keeping your Z4 as well?

Don't dismiss the XF. I tried all of the above before settling on the Jag, try one it may surpise you.

To add if you are very tall the VW Arteon has loads of internal space.

Edited by stumpage on Monday 17th December 10:11

[ninjag]

And the rates keep increasing, so whilst you may be ok this year, one of the subsequent years could bump you into the higher rate etc. Take the 330d, when I did my calculations the P11D value was going to be £13k for the 19/20 tax year, but the list price has gone up so the P11D value would now be £15.5k (if I were to start a new lease) and it can potentially increase each year depending on the car and the BIK rate. Add that onto your overall earnings and if it's breaches the 40% threshold then there's a shed load more BIK tax to pay.

The total cost to me and company for the 330d over three years was £38k and then I had to hand the car back. £27k of that went to the Government for doing sod all with our roads. If I went with a 300e PHEV the total cost would be £23k with only £10k going to HMRC. That's some difference.

This is a good site for getting an idea of current and future costs: https://comcar.co.uk/companycar/tax/select/

and HMRC's own tool is handy as well: http://cccfcalculator.hmrc.gov.uk/CCF0.aspx

[CJ1]

Another vote for the new 5 Series. Really nice cars, recently drove a 530d M Sport. Very comfortable (even on the 20 inch wheels) and smooth engine, gets to 60mph very swiftly!