MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Just been looking at shiny new bikes (its been 13 years since I bought a brand new bike!).
My employer offers the Cycle to Work scheme through Halfords. Initially it looks attractive, a £1000 voucher for £54 a month, total cost £624, plus the nominal final value fee. Which actually turns out would be 25%, or £250.
So the saving is now reduced to £125 with the additional niggle of technically, not being allowed to modify the bike for 12 months. Have I got that right...are the final valuations based on HMRC's table?
A British Cycling card would get 10% off and apply to discounted bikes/online offers and I own the bike outright, so it would seem its not worth using the scheme? 🙁
It's a tax break that rewards people who can afford it most more due to their tax rate. Clever design that....
Is there not the option to extend the scheme for a nominal fee and then have zero to pay at the end?
Also on mods are they going to check? They certainly don't assess each bike for condition so are they ever going to know what you have done with it?
For a basic rate taxpayer it's often more economic to look at buying a bike of your own choice from a dealer of your own choice, especially if you can find something in a sale or where the shop is willing to give you a discount. It then comes down to whether or not you have the up-front cash - and even then there are 0% Credit Cards available.
Many smaller shops will take the Halfords vouchers so you might get more choice but they also have to pay Halfords 15% of the cost so don't go in expecting a bargain.
I did the same maths and bought mine on 0% credit card, will pay off this year.
It says you can pay a one off fee to extend the hire, but it doesn't say how much and it takes a few years for the valuation to come down. I know the modifications one is a bit unenforceable 🙂
I can get 10% BC discount and an extra £80 via discounted Halfords vouchers so a £1000 bike is effectively discounted to £819.
Just trying to work out if Evans still do 10% discount for BC card holders instore (it seems it might be down to staff discretion) as I can also get £72 as points on an evoucher cashback type thing, so a £1000 bike costs £830 if they play ball. Which would be nice as I like their Pinnacle range!
dunno if the Halfords scheme is different to that managed by Cyclescheme, but with them you can either pay the high final value fee at the end of 18 months, or pay to extend the hire to 4 years, at which time their calculator says the bike is worth zero, and you keep the bike with no other payment required. On a £1000 bike this 'extended hire' cost me £70.
The scheme lost a lot of it's value to basic rate tax payers a few years ago when the courts decided you had to pay VAT (I managed to use it just before they changed the rules) and I've bought 3 bikes, none on the scheme, since.
Its not your bike, so if the company you work for folds its their property same if you leave probably, then theres the risk of theft, you cant insure other peoples property, its down to the original owner.
0% credit car is a better option.
if the company ceases to trade or you leave, you pay the total remaining amount from your final salary payment. If the company doesn't have sufficient funds to pay you your outstanding salary, Cyclescheme (or whichever provider you use) 'take ownership' of sorts and pursue you for the outstanding amount.
The final 13th payment is equal to your monthly payments if I remember correctly.
You absolutely [b]can[/b] insure the bike against theft as if it gets nicked, [b]you're[/b] still going to have to pay for the bike, not your employer and not C2W. I do this and I tell the insurance company each year that it is a C2W purchase. When the bike is paid for, I cancel the insurance on that bike and take it out on the new C2W bike that I get.In fact, C2W [b]advise you[/b] to get it insured. I get a new bike each year through Cyclescheme out of habit more than anything else. The savings, as pointed out above are next to nothing.
I'm pretty certain Evans won't apply a BC discount (or any other discount other than Price Match) on a C2W purchase but I'll hold my hand up if I'm wrong.
You can insure them and I am not aware of any companies ever reclaiming bikes.
It'll cost you £70 to extend the hire period or you can just not pay anything and take a chance the tax man doesnt come looking for you.
Either way it still very good value even more so if you can use it against a good value bike.
A hire contract forms sufficient legal responsibility to insure most things btw.
Not sure about the final payment thing, I bought a bike through Halfords cycle to work (though used the voucher at LBS). I 'paid' the full cost of the bike over the year but as it's a salary sacrifice I wasn't taxed on it, for an effective ~%30 saving.
Technically I'm still leasing it for the next few years but at 0 cost, until its value is negligible according to HMRC.
I believe I had the option to purchase it outright at the end of the year but I don't see why I would, and my employer didn't ask.
I'm using the cyclescheme again this winter for one main reason, I'm going to notice the money less if it's deducted within my wages than if I have to make a payment each month. Might sound daft but that works for me!
^^^ same as fox up there for me. Did some back of the hand calcs and the cost difference of cyclescheme vs credit was marginal so went for the least faff option.
Upgrading the bike is fine but if some kind of catastrophe causes the company to take your bike back (which I don't think has ever happened) then they'll take your nice new wheels too.