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!
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
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?
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.
To answer some of your questions I am a company director hence the no restriction on what I buy. I don't really see the point of not having a company car when you consider how much it would cost me to buy and run a car of my own, even more so when you look at the price of petrol going up all the time! We always buy everything outright, we are not part of the lease culture.
Do you really think 7k a year is too much to run a car for a year? Surely we all put over £50 in our tanks each week?
I'm not sure I would, but if I bought a DS3 Racing it would only cost me £67 a week!
Part of the reason for this thread is also to compare the cars too!?
ps. Thanks for all the replies so far!
Do you really think 7k a year is too much to run a car for a year? Surely we all put over £50 in our tanks each week?
I'm not sure I would, but if I bought a DS3 Racing it would only cost me £67 a week!
Part of the reason for this thread is also to compare the cars too!?
ps. Thanks for all the replies so far!
JimexPL said:
Ds3 racing sounds like a good idea.
If imports fall through the co2 trap because it doesn't have a uk figure on the v5 then why not get a used camaro or c6 corvette? 400hp+ sounds like the way to go!
If the import is under 2.0 litres you pay tax based on 25% of the new value of car. If it's over 2.0 litres then that rises to 35% of the new car value, which also happens to be the top rate anyway making the Corvette as expensive as an M3!If imports fall through the co2 trap because it doesn't have a uk figure on the v5 then why not get a used camaro or c6 corvette? 400hp+ sounds like the way to go!
Welshbeef said:
Ok with the updated info makes sense.
Thing is list price is going to sting you.
However you could go classic car ie Aston DB4 jag e type etc these all cost under £10k when new so even top rate it's a mere £250 ish PCM and your issue was similar amount weekly. Plus how epic would it be to have a proper classic car as a co car. Certainly the bragging rights.
Enjoy.
Unfortunatly classic car taxation is based on thier current market value!Thing is list price is going to sting you.
However you could go classic car ie Aston DB4 jag e type etc these all cost under £10k when new so even top rate it's a mere £250 ish PCM and your issue was similar amount weekly. Plus how epic would it be to have a proper classic car as a co car. Certainly the bragging rights.
Enjoy.
VeeFour said:
Legacywr said:
Unfortunatly classic car taxation is based on thier current market value!
Unless you find one that's over 15 years old, but worth less than £15k.Which means you could quite possibly drive a 635CSI for not a huge amount of cash compared with a modern equivalent.
Welshbeef said:
Legacywr said:
Just an update, I had an extended test drive of a Subaru WRX STI yesterday and really liked it. I think that I will try and get a JDM 2 litre imported but I will probably have to wait though.
will it be fully expensed ie fuel card? If so your going to feel a lot of bik tax painVeeFour said:
That'll be taxed at 25% of list if under 2000cc (I haven't checked, but I'm assuming it's something like 1998cc, and not just over, which would be painful).
Plus the 25% charge on fuel.
So, yes, around £100 / week.
Are you really sure it's worth £100 / week in tax for something that belongs to the company?
Bear in mind that it's pretty much double what a 320d ED would come in at.
This will be MY car, but bought with company money. Don't we all drive the best car we can?Plus the 25% charge on fuel.
So, yes, around £100 / week.
Are you really sure it's worth £100 / week in tax for something that belongs to the company?
Bear in mind that it's pretty much double what a 320d ED would come in at.
VeeFour said:
Legacywr said:
This will be MY car, but bought with company money. Don't we all drive the best car we can?
If you're worried about BIK charges, then it belongs to the company. So you're paying £400 / month for something you don't own.
My philosophy with company cars it to pay as little in tax as possible - so when the CC goes back in October, I'm getting a hybrid.
So.. another customer and I are both at Litchfield Imports picking up our new, exactly the same, WRX STI Spec C's, and we both drive off.
Over the following year the other customer has to pay out for insurance, £1000. Fuel, £50 p/w, £2600 p/y. 2 tyres, £300. Service, £200. DEPRICIATION, £4000!
The above figures are quite conserative, but that's at least £8100 in a year. That same car has cost me £5000!
Over the following year the other customer has to pay out for insurance, £1000. Fuel, £50 p/w, £2600 p/y. 2 tyres, £300. Service, £200. DEPRICIATION, £4000!
The above figures are quite conserative, but that's at least £8100 in a year. That same car has cost me £5000!
I don't have any terms and conditions applied to my purchase or use of my car. it is basically mine, funded by the company, but with a contribution to the taxman.
My first choice of car would probably be an M3, but as I quoted earlier in the thread that would cost me £200 p/w and that is bit too rich for me.
An aircooled Porsche as a daily? They are soooo far out of date! lol
Bentley? I'm not that old.
Lancia? They really aren't reliable enough.
MG, oh gawd no!
Another thing you need to take into consideration is that i don't need to find the 30k capitol to buy the car either!
My first choice of car would probably be an M3, but as I quoted earlier in the thread that would cost me £200 p/w and that is bit too rich for me.
An aircooled Porsche as a daily? They are soooo far out of date! lol
Bentley? I'm not that old.
Lancia? They really aren't reliable enough.
MG, oh gawd no!
Another thing you need to take into consideration is that i don't need to find the 30k capitol to buy the car either!
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff