Company car dilema, what to get?
Discussion
I'm in a position where I can change my company car, my budget is around 30k.
For those who don't know I have to pay income tax on the "benefit in kind" that the car is classed as, which is graded by the co2g/km figure that is quoted for any particular car.
I have no restriction as to what car I buy, I'm not worried about fuel consumption, insurance or value for money. The only thing I have to worry about is how much it will cost me in income tax each week! Top of my list would be a secondhand M3 but that would cost me £200 p/w
My current shortlist contains..
A new RS Focus, which will cost me £130 p/w
A new Subaru WRX STI 4 door, £135 p/w
A secondhand Golf R with DSG, £120 p/w
I don't know how well this reads as I'm a bit dyslexic!
For those who don't know I have to pay income tax on the "benefit in kind" that the car is classed as, which is graded by the co2g/km figure that is quoted for any particular car.
I have no restriction as to what car I buy, I'm not worried about fuel consumption, insurance or value for money. The only thing I have to worry about is how much it will cost me in income tax each week! Top of my list would be a secondhand M3 but that would cost me £200 p/w
My current shortlist contains..
A new RS Focus, which will cost me £130 p/w
A new Subaru WRX STI 4 door, £135 p/w
A secondhand Golf R with DSG, £120 p/w
I don't know how well this reads as I'm a bit dyslexic!
Don't forget that even if you're buying used or nearly-new, you'll be paying CCT on the LIST price of the car..
You've got three options as I see it..
1) Buy a car that ticks all the boxes as a petrolhead and hang the cost
2) Buy a car that is ultra-economical for business purposes and plough the savings made into your own 'fun' car
3) Buy a car that delivers the best of both worlds, such as an Alpina D3..? (Not sure if these can be had for £30k though)
You've got three options as I see it..
1) Buy a car that ticks all the boxes as a petrolhead and hang the cost
2) Buy a car that is ultra-economical for business purposes and plough the savings made into your own 'fun' car
3) Buy a car that delivers the best of both worlds, such as an Alpina D3..? (Not sure if these can be had for £30k though)
What is the max pw tax your willing to accept.
What miles do you do? As in business miles so you may not be paid a high enough ppm for business miles as your car uses which isn't great.
Is performance the key priority for you?
If so and you want a low tax bill your going to have to opt for a low cc turbo charged engine over say a 6ltr so possibly a 2ltr turbo should be good. But really your looking at max 265bhp.
What's max age of car as in on the date you get rid of it so you wouldn't be able to say buy a 5 year old to rub for three years if policy is max 5 years old
What miles do you do? As in business miles so you may not be paid a high enough ppm for business miles as your car uses which isn't great.
Is performance the key priority for you?
If so and you want a low tax bill your going to have to opt for a low cc turbo charged engine over say a 6ltr so possibly a 2ltr turbo should be good. But really your looking at max 265bhp.
What's max age of car as in on the date you get rid of it so you wouldn't be able to say buy a 5 year old to rub for three years if policy is max 5 years old
-Pete- said:
I know it's probably not what you want, but what would the per week cost be for a BMW 320d or Audi A3 diesel?
I'm inclined to agree with this. Look at the BMW 320d ED. Not the quickest thing in the world but 163bhp is enough to make good progress and its RWD. The figures stack up amazingly well, it has the lowest CO2 of any car in its class and 13% BIK IIRC. For one with nav and leather your looking at £30k list and £25k via a broker such as Broadspeed.I could get a secondhand D3 bi-turbo, but by the time you have added the extras it will cost me circa £130 anyway. I am a pistonhead so a 320d etc just don't appeal to me.
I don't do any business miles at all.
I think the maximum I would pay would be £150 p/w, which is what an RS3 would cost me, but I would need to wait until next year to raise my budget.
And there is something else that I haven't mentioned, should I keep my current car, a Subaru Legacy GT Spec-B estate. 280bhp, fantastic to drive, looks great, and only costs me £85 p/w as it is a grey import and under 2 litre!
I don't do any business miles at all.
I think the maximum I would pay would be £150 p/w, which is what an RS3 would cost me, but I would need to wait until next year to raise my budget.
And there is something else that I haven't mentioned, should I keep my current car, a Subaru Legacy GT Spec-B estate. 280bhp, fantastic to drive, looks great, and only costs me £85 p/w as it is a grey import and under 2 litre!
Just to let you know where I am..
Drove the RS Focus last weekend and it drove quite well. Not as hardcore as I had feared, great seats, good spec.
Drove the Golf R DSG last night, nice drive, nice place to be, maybe a little to grown up.. or is that what I need? Local dealer has an unregistered 5 door in white with black leather for 34k.
Drove my second WRX STI today, it looks fantastic in metalic white, great Recaros. It does have quite a hard ride but it's solid and doesn't shudder at all. The sound system though is probably the worst currently fitted to ANY vehicle on sale today. This car is with a dealer and has only coverd 450 miles and they have it for the knock down price of 28.5k which would leave me a bit of money for an install!?
I can tell you.. it is giving me a headache! lol
Drove the RS Focus last weekend and it drove quite well. Not as hardcore as I had feared, great seats, good spec.
Drove the Golf R DSG last night, nice drive, nice place to be, maybe a little to grown up.. or is that what I need? Local dealer has an unregistered 5 door in white with black leather for 34k.
Drove my second WRX STI today, it looks fantastic in metalic white, great Recaros. It does have quite a hard ride but it's solid and doesn't shudder at all. The sound system though is probably the worst currently fitted to ANY vehicle on sale today. This car is with a dealer and has only coverd 450 miles and they have it for the knock down price of 28.5k which would leave me a bit of money for an install!?
I can tell you.. it is giving me a headache! lol
Legacywr said:
I'm in a position where I can change my company car, my budget is around 30k.
For those who don't know I have to pay income tax on the "benefit in kind" that the car is classed as, which is graded by the co2g/km figure that is quoted for any particular car.
I have no restriction as to what car I buy, I'm not worried about fuel consumption, insurance or value for money. The only thing I have to worry about is how much it will cost me in income tax each week! Top of my list would be a secondhand M3 but that would cost me £200 p/w
My current shortlist contains..
A new RS Focus, which will cost me £130 p/w
A new Subaru WRX STI 4 door, £135 p/w
A secondhand Golf R with DSG, £120 p/w
I don't know how well this reads as I'm a bit dyslexic!
Hi,For those who don't know I have to pay income tax on the "benefit in kind" that the car is classed as, which is graded by the co2g/km figure that is quoted for any particular car.
I have no restriction as to what car I buy, I'm not worried about fuel consumption, insurance or value for money. The only thing I have to worry about is how much it will cost me in income tax each week! Top of my list would be a secondhand M3 but that would cost me £200 p/w
My current shortlist contains..
A new RS Focus, which will cost me £130 p/w
A new Subaru WRX STI 4 door, £135 p/w
A secondhand Golf R with DSG, £120 p/w
I don't know how well this reads as I'm a bit dyslexic!
sorry to say this but you must be mad thinking of one of those for a company car as the car tax is far too astronomical and the mpg will prob be under what you can get from the company to cover your miles
the RS focus would cost you £600 per month in TAX and this will only RISE if you look at what the rules are for car tax.
A SECOND HAND GOLF would be well over £500 PER MONTH.
Surely you don't want to pay £600 per month for a hatchback?
a 320d efficient dynamics is what i'd go for if you can have it as the tax works out around £100 per month and is a nice car
Legacywr said:
I could get a secondhand D3 bi-turbo, but by the time you have added the extras it will cost me circa £130 anyway. I am a pistonhead so a 320d etc just don't appeal to me.
I don't do any business miles at all.
I think the maximum I would pay would be £150 p/w, which is what an RS3 would cost me, but I would need to wait until next year to raise my budget.
And there is something else that I haven't mentioned, should I keep my current car, a Subaru Legacy GT Spec-B estate. 280bhp, fantastic to drive, looks great, and only costs me £85 p/w as it is a grey import and under 2 litre!
There must be more to this if you don't do any business miles and must buy through a company.I don't do any business miles at all.
I think the maximum I would pay would be £150 p/w, which is what an RS3 would cost me, but I would need to wait until next year to raise my budget.
And there is something else that I haven't mentioned, should I keep my current car, a Subaru Legacy GT Spec-B estate. 280bhp, fantastic to drive, looks great, and only costs me £85 p/w as it is a grey import and under 2 litre!
as far as cars go i don't particularly think any of them for 30k are too appealing, think the focus rs is a bit chav to be honest so the golf is the one out of that bunch but i wouldn't go for any of those.
Those figures are about right for car and fuel tax for a 40% tax payer. If you think about it, a 300hp 30k hot hatch, insured, maintained and all the fuel you can eat for £500 p/m doesn't seem to bad.
That said though, there's a reason why you find 40% tax payers opt out and take the cash allowance.
That said though, there's a reason why you find 40% tax payers opt out and take the cash allowance.
Looking at your profile I see you have other fun cars, so tbh I can't understand why you'd pay a crippling tax bill to drive a hot hatch company car. TBH, a boring diesel daily has it's advantages; relaxing dawdle along drive, anonimity (personally I think this is a good thing on your daily commute) and most of all it would save you an absolute packet which could be spent on your fun cars.
OT, but I want to know where I can get a job driving a van that comes with a £30k company car as a perk!
OT, but I want to know where I can get a job driving a van that comes with a £30k company car as a perk!
sklar said:
Those figures are about right for car and fuel tax for a 40% tax payer. If you think about it, a 300hp 30k hot hatch, insured, maintained and all the fuel you can eat for £500 p/m doesn't seem to bad.
That said though, there's a reason why you find 40% tax payers opt out and take the cash allowance.
doesn't include fuel mate!That said though, there's a reason why you find 40% tax payers opt out and take the cash allowance.
Ok, this is how I see it.. I'm a petrolhead, I want a nice car, I love my cars and as we all know they are an expensive passion. Think about how much your car costs you a year? Tax, insurance, maintainance, fuel, purchase cost and depreciation!!
If I buy the WRX STI it will cost me 7k during the next tax year. That's it! Surely that's a bargain isn't it?
If I buy the WRX STI it will cost me 7k during the next tax year. That's it! Surely that's a bargain isn't it?
Legacywr said:
Ok, this is how I see it.. I'm a petrolhead, I want a nice car, I love my cars and as we all know they are an expensive passion. Think about how much your car costs you a year? Tax, insurance, maintainance, fuel, purchase cost and depreciation!!
If I buy the WRX STI it will cost me 7k during the next tax year. That's it! Surely that's a bargain isn't it?
you'd still have to pay fuel unless you get a fuel card which you'd pay extra for and you can't claim back more than the employers allowed to give you for fuel so would be out of pocketIf I buy the WRX STI it will cost me 7k during the next tax year. That's it! Surely that's a bargain isn't it?
personally i think it's madness but i can (vaguely) see your point
7k net is big money to most to run a car - that's 12k gross ish.
dave9 said:
Legacywr said:
Ok, this is how I see it.. I'm a petrolhead, I want a nice car, I love my cars and as we all know they are an expensive passion. Think about how much your car costs you a year? Tax, insurance, maintainance, fuel, purchase cost and depreciation!!
If I buy the WRX STI it will cost me 7k during the next tax year. That's it! Surely that's a bargain isn't it?
you'd still have to pay fuel unless you get a fuel card which you'd pay extra for and you can't claim back more than the employers allowed to give you for fuel so would be out of pocketIf I buy the WRX STI it will cost me 7k during the next tax year. That's it! Surely that's a bargain isn't it?
personally i think it's madness but i can (vaguely) see your point
7k net is big money to most to run a car - that's 12k gross ish.
dave9 said:
doesn't include fuel mate!
I'm sure it must include fuel, here's the calculations on a Focus RS from Comcar.P11d £27870
% charge 35%
BIK £9755
20% tax payer pa: £1951 /12 = £162 /52 = £38
40% tax payer pa: £3901 /12 = £325 /52 = £75
Fuel
P11d £18k
% charge 35%
BIK £6300
20% tax payer pa: £1260 /12 = £105 /52 = £24
40% tax payer pa: £2520 /12 = £210 /52 = £48
To put that into perspective, my Polo GTI costs me £48 in tax a week all in for car and fuel at 40% and I only fill up 3 times a month at £55 each time using my fuel card with only private mileage.
Edited by sklar on Saturday 12th March 19:30
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