Viewing 26 posts - 41 through 66 (of 66 total)
  • Company car advice needed – select a car for me!
  • hora
    Free Member

    Are we talking about Beemer saloon(?) If I was new to driving and had to try and gauge learn to park in one of those I’d find it daunting. Beemers are nice cars but they aren’t what their marketing claims.

    TiRed
    Full Member

    Take the car allowance. It will be far more cost effective for a low mileage. In fact, our company car scheme was such poor value for office based staff, they abolished it three years ago. My last company car goes back, and I shall not be replacing it!

    As a new driver, buy something small like the Golf.

    djglover
    Free Member

    I’d say if you are doing big personal miles with a new license then you would probably be best on the company car route. Get some insurance quotes and do a spreadsheet though, thats what I always do. When I was under 40% tax and doing massive personal miles going to DH races a company car was perfect, cheaper than running my own car, as there was no cash alternative. Now I am 40% and with cash alternative doing low personal miles it is in now way economic to have a company car.

    Edit – out of all of them I’d take the BMW every day too. I have been a VAG fan for a long time too, but BMW’s are really so much nicer to drive, a bargain now because of the emissions

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    hora
    Free Member

    Yes, take the allowance and get something like this for £100 a month 8)

    Brycey
    Free Member

    As already mentioned insurance for a brand new driver on anything fairly decent (as many car allowances demand), could easily be a couple of grand, in which case a car allowance doesn’t look so good.

    A modern VAG* or BMW diesel with a modest output (318d Touring, 116d, the VWs you described, etc), will cost you buttons in tax and personal mileage fuel. I know you’re not a car nut, but one thing to bear in mind is the new 3 Series Touring to match the saloon just out is a year away still.

    Hora – I know you’re the fountain of knowledge on all things motoring, but have you ever driven a modern (last couple of years) BMW?

    Edit: * VAG = VW AG – VW/Audi/Seat/Skoda (and Lamborghini/Porche/Bentley of course, but maybe not relevant here 😀 )

    allthepies
    Free Member

    I see all those are diesels.

    Does your work commute involve lots of urban stop/start travel or is it a blast on a dual carriageway ?

    I ask because of the dreaded Diesel Particulate Filter, google will give you the background but basically DPF systems like reasonably long journeys where you can get up to 50pmh+ for a prolonged period (so they can purge themselves). Perhaps your weekend trips (if regular) will satisfy this though ?

    If you do lots of urban trips with a DPF then they can fill up and potentially involve a trip to the dealer to purge them (and any cost would most likely not be covered by a lease deal which included servicing).

    Something to do some research into IMO.

    djglover
    Free Member

    What are you on about Hora. Parking the BMW will be practically the same as in the Golf! Similar wheel base, yes more overhang at the back on the BMW but any newbie driver is going to have way over compensated on space to clip anything!

    Brycey
    Free Member

    Good point allthepies. The 1.2 and 1.4TFSI petrol VAG engines are peaches.

    nickf
    Free Member

    I ask because of the dreaded Diesel Particulate Filter, google will give you the background but basically DPF systems like reasonably long journeys where you can get up to 50pmh+ for a prolonged period (so they can purge themselves). Perhaps your weekend trips (if regular) will satisfy this though ?

    If you do lots of urban trips with a DPF then they can fill up and potentially involve a trip to the dealer to purge them (and any cost would most likely not be covered by a lease deal which included servicing).

    If it’s a company car, who cares?

    Good point allthepies. The 1.2 and 1.4TFSI petrol VAG engines are peaches.

    And really thirsty. I know someone getting just over 33mpg on a 1.4 TSFI Golf. He doesn’t drive Miss Daisy, but he’s hardly Lewis Hamilton either.

    On a personal lease deal would be more relevant, admittedly.

    allthepies
    Free Member

    If it’s a company car, who cares?

    Well I would if I were stuck with a car for 3-4 years and had to take it into the dealers lots of times 🙂

    br
    Free Member

    In your position go for the cheapest overall company car that covers your basic criteria – mine is; auto, 4/5 doors, air-con.

    Many years ago a company I worked for had to adjust their insurance policy as spouses’ were covered, but under 21’s (employees and employees’ children) were not – and my wife was under 21. I took a Citroen BX 16 valve as a company car 🙂

    This was when our 309GTI had just been sold as the insurance had leaped from £350 comp to £1000 TP…

    The company car tax (1/3 as +18k in those days) was less than the insurance.

    nickf
    Free Member

    Well I would if I were stuck with a car for 3-4 years and had to take it into the dealers lots of times

    It’s quite astonishingly unlikely that this would happen though; DPFs don’t clog anywhere near as much as the internet tinfoil-hat brigade would have you believe, and in any cae, the OP’s said he’ll be doing a lot of long-trip weekend miles, which will clear out any potential gunkiness.

    My car’s got two DPF’s, it has 135k miles on it, and let’s see how often it’s had a DPF issue. Hmm, that’d be zero times. Not one. An that’s with a reasonable amount of urban running.

    BenHouldsworth
    Free Member

    My car’s got two DPF’s, it has 135k miles on it, and let’s see how often it’s had a DPF issue. Hmm, that’d be zero times. Not one. An that’s with a reasonable amount of urban running.

    I second this, 130K on the clock, mostly motorway yet an average speed of 38mph (got to love British roads) and no problems with the DPF.

    That said, the joy of a company car is regular dealer servicing (mine gets done every 12000 miles so about 3 times a year).

    Gribs
    Full Member

    Either the 320 (though only in estate form) or the Focus depending on how much you care about the £110 difference. I’d pick the 320 as it’s much better to drive, is more comfortable and refined, plus has the best real world fuel ecconomy.

    Ignore the naysayers opinions about bigger cars as they’re wrong. As long as you have some spacial awareness bigger cars can be easier to park as you tend to be able to see the ends, unlike in a lot of modern small cars. I recently had to park a corsa and that was really hard work.

    madhouse
    Full Member

    Of those cars you picked, I’d have the golf. The passat is HUGE, we almost got one but decided on a golf estate instead as the missus was more confident with it seeing as we already have a golf hatch.

    The bike’ll happily go in the back of either with the seats down and front wheel off.

    Oh and the hatch is a DPF, 100k, 55mpg and only ever been to the garage for regular services.

    peterfile
    Free Member

    Many thanks for all the responses guys 🙂

    So basically, I’ve narrowed it down too…most of the options on my list :);)

    I think that the company car route is definitely the one to go though, 3 years worth of a brand new (and relatively expensive car) with fully comp insurance, all for a few hundred quid a month. Not much chance of getting that trying to go it alone, insurance costs alone will probably be £2k for anything remotely interesting.

    Thanks again.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    Absolutely. You’d be mad not to, IMHO.

    steve_b77
    Free Member

    BenHouldsworth – Member
    Personally, I’d never have a ford again after having a Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Titanium for the last 3 years
    I’ve had the complete opposite experience, just returning a Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Titanium X with 130,000 on the clock and it hasn’t skipped a beat.

    What’s put you off Steve?

    Well it’s not exactly reliable, it’s got 72k on the clock the majority of which are motorway miles and it’s had the following replaced:
    – Clutch & flywheel assembly
    – Slave cylinder
    – various sensors
    – Turbo
    – exhaust manifold
    – stereo unit after it swallowed all my CD’s and wouldn’t let them out again!!

    BenHouldsworth
    Free Member

    WOW!!! That’s quite an impressive list Steve

    theotherjonv
    Full Member

    Golf.

    I have a Passat and love it, but it’s the 2ltr Bluemotion and i wouldn’t want any less power. The Bluemotions are incredibly tax efficient. Build quality is great.

    As for CoCar vs private lease. For me the issue is that if anything goes wrong I just sling it in the garage and it gets fixed. if you do go self lease try to get one with a good long warranty and service deal.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    – stereo unit after it swallowed all my CD’s and wouldn’t let them out again!!

    Oddly, mine did that. I’d forgotten about that. Took it back to Ford who swapped the head unit and returned my discs all nicely wrapped.

    Only other problem I’ve had with mine is a flickering headlamp bulb that took Ford about five visits to fix properly.

    With a company car it doesn’t really matter at the end of the day. The engine could fall out and it wouldn’t make a difference, I’d just kick it back to Ford and take their discourtesy car until it was fixed.

    legend
    Free Member

    With a company car it doesn’t really matter at the end of the day. The engine could fall out and it wouldn’t make a difference, I’d just kick it back to Ford and take their discourtesy car until it was fixed.

    It does matter though. Company car or not, visiting garages is just a pain in the arse regardless of who’s paying

    Cougar
    Full Member

    No skin off my nose, it’s not out of the way and I’d only be sat at work otherwise.

    hora
    Free Member

    Private leased cars come with the same warranty as they are also new cars.

    My £100 @ month C1 is just one such example.

    Passats have also suffered multiple issues!

    tazzymtb
    Full Member

    steve_b77 that’s quite a light list of modern mondeo faults, mine was about 3 times that long when my company refused to accept it back from yet another repair as it was unsafe and had intermittent safety critical faults.

    the rest of the fleet have been blinkin dreadful as well ( all with multiple electrical faults)

    such a shame as the drive was rather good in those rare moments of it working without having to worry about which bit of it would fail next

    never having another ford again

    oldgit
    Free Member

    I’ve just gone for a 2012 new Civic, seems bit good on paper cost and efficiency wise.
    Lumping more into the pension instead.
    BMW 320 M Sport goes back Monday…won’t miss it.

    EX model one down from the top of the range GT, silly low tax.

Viewing 26 posts - 41 through 66 (of 66 total)

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