If you are forced to choose a repmobile, which one?

[CatJ]

Our company has a fleet of Insignias and it would be fair to say that an awful lot of them seem to go in for warranty work.

I believe there was a thread elsewhere on PH last week which referred to the quality of them not being what it should be.

[Vladimir]

Much as I tried to like Vauxhalls, our experiences with the dealer when ours (1.9CDTi 150 Astra) went wrong put me off them for life.

They aren't bad cars (well some models) but like Renault, such appalling customer service means I will never consider one again.

[tr7v8]

I had the misfortune to be driven from the airport to a hotel just before Xmas in in the back seat of an Insignia. What a bloody awful place to be. I'm just on 5Ft 9" & the roofline was so low it was like looking out through a tank turret. Quite a nice place to be in terms of interior though. Also the missus has a Poxhall Ashtray as a co. car & the dealers are truly dire in North Kent.
The Honda isn't as reliable as a lot of people suppose, there have been significant issues with the Accord diesels especially flywheel & clutch problems.
I'd go for a Mondeo, I sit in a lot as cabs all over Europe & they always seem a nice to be & take the miles well.

[marcosgt]

Mondeo always gets good reviews (as does the Mazda 6, based on it).

I've always liked the look of the Insignia, but not enough to sway me to the Vauxhall marque again.

I'd take the Mazda - If nothing else it doesn't shout repmobile quite as much as a new Ford

M

[GreatGranny]

My choice would be Avensis the Passat.

Mate has just got an Avensis estate as a company car and its a very nice car. Strong engine, well specced and just feels very solid. Also being the cheapest on tax is a big advantage.

[Podie]

thinfourth2 said:

Avenius as it just won't go wrong, ever

The missus and I both had one briefly. Both went wrong.

[JonnyFive]

Plus, Avensis means Taxi driver..

[RizzoTheRat]

As someone mentioned earlier check your company mileage rates for engine sizes. HMRC rates (ie the maximum before you get taxed on it, and the figures quite a few companies use) for diesels are 12p below 1600cc, 15p to 2 litre, and 18p for over 2 litre.

[Deva Link]

Podie said:

thinfourth2 said:

Avenius as it just won't go wrong, ever

The missus and I both had one briefly. Both went wrong.

..and it might crash at high speed.

They have a reputation for being poor on fuel.

[DrMoriarty]

Mazda or Honda. best looking,driving,less likely to be sat next to one at the lights.

[D1bram]

FreeLitres said:

As mentioned, check out the tax implications - low CO2 is king.

Miondeo zetec 140 diesel [Tax@20% = £829]
Accord 2.2d es [Tax@20% = £945]
Mazda 6 163d ts [Tax@20% = £859]
Avensis 2.0d tr [Tax@20% = £558]
Insigna 2.0d 160 Sri [Tax@20% = £926]

Alternatively
Passat SE 2.0 TDi (140PS) [Tax@20% = £577]
Passat S 1.6 TDi (105PS) [Tax@20% = £521] (If you are not bothered about the toys)

So, the Accord will cost you almost twice as much in tax as a 2.0 Passat. Is it twice the car?

ETA: All data taken from the comcar website as mentioned above http://www.comcar.co.uk/newcar/companycar/taxcalc/...

Plus just for fun:
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG 6.2 SLS 571hp DCT Roadster [Tax@20% = £12,309]

Edited by FreeLitres on Wednesday 8th February 21:56

Good effort, I couldn't be bothered with more than a link to the site lol.

Couple of things to add though...

If you are on 40% tax those numbers pretty much double!

In the new tax year the lowest tax bracket threshold will reduce from 120g/km to 99g/km and then to 95g/km the following year, so each of those cars associated tax bills WILL increase significantly from April.

If you receive free fuel you will pay additional tax on that too.

Just to show how horrendous it can be, I'm (just) in the 40% bracket and get free fuel.... on my current billy basic VW Tiguan the liability for tax is around £350/month. This is on top of losing out on a car allowance of £5k (worth £200/month).

Fortunately I took the Tiguan until the end of the lease as a favour and my boss is sorting out an uplift for the duration so I don't feel the full impact of the tax bill.

My next car in November is looking likely to be a Qashqai 1.6dCI Tekna, similar size to the Tiguan but with all the bells and whistles. Tax on that (after the April tax changes) will be around £240/month.

I cannot emphasise enough how much you need to look into this aspect when it comes to company cars.

Now I know we're all petrol heads on here so to put it into perspective the difference between the Tiguan and a Qashqai will pay for the fuel, tax and insurance for my CBR600RR.

[Podie]

Deva Link said:

Podie said:

thinfourth2 said:

Avenius as it just won't go wrong, ever

The missus and I both had one briefly. Both went wrong.

..and it might crash at high speed.

They have a reputation for being poor on fuel.

Mine had ECU failure (3 times), hers had anexploding brake caliper.

Was the Mk1 Avensis - but never again.

[thinfourth2]

Podie said:

Deva Link said:

Podie said:

thinfourth2 said:

Avenius as it just won't go wrong, ever

The missus and I both had one briefly. Both went wrong.

..and it might crash at high speed.

They have a reputation for being poor on fuel.

Mine had ECU failure (3 times), hers had anexploding brake caliper.

Was the Mk1 Avensis - but never again.

Okay they aren't reliable i thought they were bomb proof like toyotas of old

But i still say whatever you get get one in a horrible colour so you can find it in car parks

A yellow one would be good

[Podie]

thinfourth2 said:

Podie said:

Deva Link said:

Podie said:

thinfourth2 said:

Avenius as it just won't go wrong, ever

The missus and I both had one briefly. Both went wrong.

..and it might crash at high speed.

They have a reputation for being poor on fuel.

Mine had ECU failure (3 times), hers had anexploding brake caliper.

Was the Mk1 Avensis - but never again.

Okay they aren't reliable i thought they were bomb proof like toyotas of old

But i still say whatever you get get one in a horrible colour so you can find it in car parks

A yellow one would be good

Like any car - some are reliable, some aren't.

[Chris Stott]

I've been running a Mondeo (2.2TDci) for the past 3.5 years and 150k miles.

It's been an excellent car for flogging up and down the motorway... quick,comfortable and pretty decent to drive for a car of its type.

One of my account managers has a Mazda 6, and that's also been a great car.

Personally, I prefer the styling of the 6, but the Mondeo has a load more space if that's important to you.

[XDA]

ArmaghMan said:

XDA said:

Dave Hedgehog said:

id look for a new job or take cash if they offered it

Really? I never understand people that say this?

I shall try to explain.

I have a choice of £5.5K extra as a car allowance and 25p a mile, or a company car something like those on the list and 16p a mile.
I run an M5. If you dont understand i suspect you want www.dieselcarsareforyou and not pistonheads!!!

I do understand. I have a company car myself.....

Not sure if you've understood my original point. My point being why do some people dismiss poverty spec/boring/eco diesel cars as a company car whenever this topic pops up? (which it does frequently.)

For those of us who actually do 30k-50k miles a year, these vehicles are more than up to the job.

Of course, this is PH so anything diesel is evil.

[Deva Link]

ArmaghMan said:

I have a choice of £5.5K extra as a car allowance and 25p a mile,...
I run an M5. ...

You must be throwing a few £K/yr of your own money at it. Which kinda defeats the main benefit of having a company car.

[FreeLitres]

D1bram said:

My next car in November is looking likely to be a Qashqai 1.6dCI Tekna, similar size to the Tiguan but with all the bells and whistles. Tax on that (after the April tax changes) will be around £240/month.

D1bram - please can you explain this figure to me?

For the 2.0 Passat will cost about £50 per month in tax?

[D1bram]

the £50 per month for the passat is for a 20% tax payer without fuel benefit, it is also prior to April this year.

I got my figure by going on the tax calculater part of comcar, selecting the vehicle, adding fuel and entering my salary.

[Deva Link]

D1bram said:

I got my figure by going on the tax calculater part of comcar, selecting the vehicle, adding fuel and entering my salary.

The private fuel is probably a good £100/mth of that figure, and of course all the tax figures are double if you're paying 40% rather than 20% tax.

So the Qashqai, without private fuel, to a 20% tax payer, would be something like £75/mth.