Commuting car for new job NEED advice

[Seb14990]

Hi there

I will possibly be accepting a job next week which would require me to give up my current company car (330e) in replacing with no company car. The salary is considerably higher however I will need to factor in the cost of purchasing a car and running it c/35k miles a year.

My current budget for a car is preferably below £25k.

My question is what would be your choice of car for these long motorway miles? should I purchase the vehicle or go for a cheaper car and pcp it (i know the miles might be a pain)? or should I not aim that high in the budget and just get a small diesel?

I also know that HMRC helps will miles pay back in the form of tax reduction, any advice on this would be amazing.

Thanks for the help

Edited by Seb14990 on Friday 17th July 15:59

I have done the maths and realised it would be a bit crazy to buy a nicer car for all that money and watch it burn.

Still looking around for potential cars
SAABs seem good but a bit pricey (7/8k) for lowish mileage ones

Considered an older Volvo however my wife drives a new xc60 and I know I would constantly compare

Was looking at a Honda CR-Z but don’t know how I feel about going back to manual especially with my city driving.

Would be keen to hear some suggestions

Edited by Seb14990 on Monday 20th July 22:19

[randlemarcus]

35000 miles a year is going to be very punishing on any car. If your new employer can;t provide a car, maybe consider long term hire, and see if you still make a profit

Mileage tax relief is fun, you use your self-assessment to claim tax relief on the difference between the 12.8ppm your employer grudgingly pays, and HMRC 45ppm etc. Not as profitable as you might think.

[Seb14990]

randlemarcus said:

35000 miles a year is going to be very punishing on any car. If your new employer can;t provide a car, maybe consider long term hire, and see if you still make a profit

Mileage tax relief is fun, you use your self-assessment to claim tax relief on the difference between the 12.8ppm your employer grudgingly pays, and HMRC 45ppm etc. Not as profitable as you might think.

Long term hire is a good call. I will look into that now. Thanks for the advice

[mmm-five]

If you like the 3-series you had, would the obvious choice to be to go for something similar, such as:

• a 4 year old 330e from a dealer, with warranty, for £16k - https://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/vehicle/202007060927788...
• a 1 year old 320d for £24k - https://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/vehicle/202003138398036...

Or are you looking for something brand new?

[mmm-five]

randlemarcus said:

35000 miles a year is going to be very punishing on any car. If your new employer can;t provide a car, maybe consider long term hire, and see if you still make a profit

Mileage tax relief is fun, you use your self-assessment to claim tax relief on the difference between the 12.8ppm your employer grudgingly pays, and HMRC 45ppm etc. Not as profitable as you might think.

...and only for the first 10,000 miles - before dropping down to 25ppm.

[JakeT]

I'd go 320d. However 35,000 miles per year is insane. That doesn't include any mileage you might do of a weekend or holiday. You could be up to 45,000 miles per year. Your local dealer of whatever you buy will become very familiar with your name.

[mmm-five]

JakeT said:

I'd go 320d. However 35,000 miles per year is insane. That doesn't include any mileage you might do of a weekend or holiday. You could be up to 45,000 miles per year. Your local dealer of whatever you buy will become very familiar with your name.

I do 25,000 miles a year of just commuting...and it all comes out of my own pocket. Did 150,000 miles that way in a Z4MC, now a leggy £2k e46 330D Auto Touring does the commute - it's much more relaxing & worry-free.

OP, don't forget to factor in the correct level of business insurance cover you'll need for your commuting/business travelling/selling activities.

[JakeT]

I do about 12,000 a year commuting, with some business use thrown in. Averaging 25,000 miles a year all in I can still do three services a year on the car. the 420 miles a week I do when I am in the office all week is right at the limit of what I'd see is sensible.

[Seb14990]

mmm-five said:

If you like the 3-series you had, would the obvious choice to be to go for something similar, such as:

• a 4 year old 330e from a dealer, with warranty, for £16k - https://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/vehicle/202007060927788...
• a 1 year old 320d for £24k - https://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/vehicle/202003138398036...

Or are you looking for something brand new?

Nope not looking for anything brand new, I only chose the 3 series as company car tax was cheap due to the plugin hybridness. ill have a look at the 330e as its a fairly decent car

[Seb14990]

JakeT said:

I'd go 320d. However 35,000 miles per year is insane. That doesn't include any mileage you might do of a weekend or holiday. You could be up to 45,000 miles per year. Your local dealer of whatever you buy will become very familiar with your name.

Amen to that. 35k is factoring in any random personal miles. We do have another car at home so this will be strictly business miles for the most

[anonymous-user]

I'd be looking at something in the E-class/5 series level for that sort of mileage. They really are a step up in terms of refinement and comfort from the 3 series/C class and the price difference tends to be pretty slight when you're looking at used cars.

[ZX10R NIN]

It's a tough one as in reality you want to spend as little as possible whilst having something that'll soak up the 35k a year without depreciation being to savage & keep you fresh/be reliable as well as nicely spec'd.

I don't do as many miles as you but for me the Mondeo Vignale was the one that ticked all the boxes & leave you a nice amount of change in your pocket for running costs:

:https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202007020757304?postcode=pr10xr&model=MONDEO&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&price-to=25000&maximum-mileage=25000&radius=1500&fuel-type=Diesel&advertising-location=at_cars&transmission=Automatic&sort=price-desc&aggregatedTrim=Vignale&make=FORD&page=1

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Titanium Edition 190/180

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Then there's the new Insignia which is a very good car & a nice car like the Mondeo above you can extend the Manuafacturer's warranty.

SRI VX Line Nav

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

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Citroen DS5 these are a bit of a bargain at the moment & this particular one leaves you well in budget

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

508 GT

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

GT Line

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Another bargain is the Infiniti Q50 Sport 10k under budget with proven Mercedes running gear these are a great buy.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

V60 Momentum

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

S90 R Design

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Mazda6 GT Sport Nav +

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

XF R Sport Black Edition

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Sport Nav +

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

Leftfield if I was going to spend the full budget:

XJ Luxury

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

E350d AMG Line

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

[Seb14990]

ZX10R NIN said:

It's a tough one as in reality you want to spend as little as possible whilst having something that'll soak up the 35k a year without depreciation being to savage & keep you fresh/be reliable as well as nicely spec'd.

I don't do as many miles as you but for me the Mondeo Vignale was the one that ticked all the boxes & leave you a nice amount of change in your pocket for running costs:

:https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202007020757304?postcode=pr10xr&model=MONDEO&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&price-to=25000&maximum-mileage=25000&radius=1500&fuel-type=Diesel&advertising-location=at_cars&transmission=Automatic&sort=price-desc&aggregatedTrim=Vignale&make=FORD&page=1

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Titanium Edition 190/180

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Then there's the new Insignia which is a very good car & a nice car like the Mondeo above you can extend the Manuafacturer's warranty.

SRI VX Line Nav

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

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Citroen DS5 these are a bit of a bargain at the moment & this particular one leaves you well in budget

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

508 GT

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

GT Line

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Another bargain is the Infiniti Q50 Sport 10k under budget with proven Mercedes running gear these are a great buy.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

V60 Momentum

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

S90 R Design

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Mazda6 GT Sport Nav +

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

XF R Sport Black Edition

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Sport Nav +

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

Leftfield if I was going to spend the full budget:

XJ Luxury

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

E350d AMG Line

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

This is amazing thank you so much!!

[PeteinSQ]

Well my father is a private hire driver and easily does the mileage you're talking about. He recently past his 5 year old skoda superb on to us with 240k miles on the clock and still ticking along.

Whatever car you do get is going to end up worthless so I wouldn't want to spend too much. I'd also want something that was as economical as possible. He had a Skoda Superb Greenline. It has a tiny 1.6l diesel engine that does 60mpg in real world conditions. Full leather interior and incredibly practical.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

I know they're not even remotely desirable but you're basically going to destroy whatever you buy in terms of residuals and I can't imagine there will be much romance with driving left if you're doing that many miles.

[DailyHack]

SAAB 9-3 TTid (£30 VED) 2011, very well speced and very underated, cheap as chips, basically lost all it's value, built like tanks, quicker than most things in the same sector (420nm torque is stupid really), not many people appreciate or even know their twin turbo credentials, getting about 60mpg on a motorway run with cruise.

As soon as I get back to the office soon, it's business as usual and I will be doing 25/30k a year in mine.

Use to do it in a 2012 E91 318d another great commuter car, as you saw with your 330e no doubt, moved onto the wife now for family duties

[ZX10R NIN]

I have to say that it'd be the DS5 & Q50 for me as they tick the boxes leaving with 3-4 years worth of use before you have to look for a new one.

[kiethton]

Given its a new job in uncertain economic times I’d be only touching c10% of that budget until I was past probation/2 years.

In that case I’d be looking at the best c2004 Volvo S60 D5 manual I could and soaking up the seats knowing that when it came to move it on you’d have lost next to nothing.

[anonymous-user]

kiethton said:

Given its a new job in uncertain economic times I’d be only touching c10% of that budget until I was past probation/2 years.

In that case I’d be looking at the best c2004 Volvo S60 D5 manual I could and soaking up the seats knowing that when it came to move it on you’d have lost next to nothing.

The problem with a lot of cars in this price range is they still have a high number of original parts that at some point need replacing. If the OP isn't doing much driving during lockdown that's fine, but if he's going to be doing 25k the wear and tear issues will become apparent sooner rather than later. Then it comes down to questions like is it economical to repair and is my employer tolerant of my car being off the road for repair work.

[Eddie Twadds]

I was in a similar situation but for lower miles (up to 15,000). Loads of useful advice (thanks ZX10R NIN and others) was provided.

For me, long warranty and reliability were key so I chose a 2nd hand Kia Optima with AUC warranty: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Not exciting and won't win the office car park snobbery test but for 25,000 miles per year, I'd want the longest manufacturer warranty available (Kia go to 100,000 miles or 7 years, whichever is sooner).

[Siko]

I know it’s not what you want but having found myself imminently looking at P45 city I took a super job but 400 miles from home. I do the big commute twice a week and with a small daily commute on top I’m looking about 35k pa too. No company car allowance as I get a free helicopter and it’s all coming out my wallet.

I replaced an ancient Honda CRV with a newish manual Toyota Auris 1.6 diesel....it’s very nice indeed for a commuter, surprisingly comfy and returns 55-58mpg pretty much everywhere. I do the big commute nonstop and even 6-7hrs without a break is ok.

Crazy bit needs must....if you’re paying for it yourself and doing crazy miles I’d consider something cheapish that you can just burn, as others have said the value will fall off a cliff unless you change every couple of years or so. Good luck!