[Closed] I am now paying to work

In both cars I have, over the last 5 years, averaged no better than 39mpg

Someone would be way better off with a hybrid then 🙂

I've yet to see a hybrid in an estate bodyshell, otherwise I'd consider one.

hatchback or saloon are no good for me as i have a big ****-off heavy bag of cymbal stands that live in the boot; a loading lip would be a nightmare

I asked HMRC, via my MP, why the rates hadn't been reviewed and adjusted in-line with the rise in fuel costs. I got some wishy-washy reply. Grrr!

Looking at the overall cost per mile from the AA - it doesn't appear to have moved much over the last 10 years or so, don't know whether that's down to other costs decreasing or something else

I've not had chance to have a good look though

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/running_costs/archive.html

OP double-check with your car insurer. Some only cover you for commute to ONE place of work.

If it is part of your job to commute between one or more location they might invalidate any claim. Weasle out of anything...

Ps. 11p is utterly revolting. Sorry. Ours was 31p and I thought that was tight so became liberal with how I worked out journeys 😉

Hora - 11p is when they supply the car & all running costs - 11p is just to cover the cost of the fuel

the higher figures 40p etc is when you have to insure tax etc.

Ok/understand.

I classed our rate as towards the depreciation and wear and tear.

11p definitely covered the fuel cost?

The milage rate was 40p/mile in my old work, even if you were using a bike 🙂 A friend of mine put in a milage claim for a 100 mile commute by bike once, the HR staff called him assuming he was joking at first 🙂

How many bananas can I claim for a 12 mile off road daily commute?

I guess our 54p per mile plus 15 mins travelling time per 10 miles is pretty good then.

I've yet to see a hybrid in an estate bodyshell

Depending on your load.. Prius with the seats down has a load area about as long as an estate (ie easily long enough to sleep in say), but it lowers towards the back of course so it's not as big volume. Also the load are is flat with no lip. The boot is not big with the seats up though.

The reason I suggest is that it is that the MPG suffers far less in traffic than it does in normal cars.

ok, but a Toyota Pious? come on 😉

ugliest car on the road since the Fiat Multipla

besides I'm stuck with the Saab for another 4 years

I think it looks alright.. certainly not face-smacking awful like that SsangYong thing, or chavtastic like an Astra.

And the new Pious - 72mpg, 89g CO2 and 135bhp. Can't go wrong 🙂

Yeah, well, so do lots of other people. Fly with any major low-cost carrier and there's a good chance one of the pilots is paying to be there.

well I'll see what hybrids are around when I come to trade in the Saab. Hopefully there might be a few more less ugly things by then 😉

Primary concern is a lip on the load area - which must be able to take the bag of stands widthways - or rather, lack of lip. Only then does the MPG & other stuff come into play. It might be able to do 100mpg but if I have to raise the bag over a lip to get it into the boot, it's a loser

[i]I guess our 54p per mile plus 15 mins travelling time per 10 miles is pretty good then. [/i]

As long as you are indicating to HMR&C about your 14ppm income - or are you in the public sector by any chance?

[i]As long as you are indicating to HMR&C about your 14ppm income - or are you in the public sector by any chance? [/i]

Yup I do and tax is done for us. That is the top amount mind for use when working away from base station. Training rates are about half that.

there is a more fuel efficient route which involves going north to Otley then east to the A1, and then south. But it's almost double the distance.

julianwilson - Member
yep, even a few years ago in my NHS lease car for work I used to subsidise them for about £30 a month in fuel. I suspect most car users would just get disciplined if they refused to drive when they could have. I certainly would have

NHS rates are usually quite good - as for discipline, well my job spec states "car driver desirable" but seeing as I've not driven since last June and won't be driving until next March at the earliest (medical reasons, not naughty reasons) my employer can't do anything about it. Some of it just relies upon good route & time management to ensure the same ground isn't getting covered twice (or even three times) in a shift

Hora - Up until I took that big hearse of a Saab - I was often doing 700-800 business miles a week in my golf - and getting back 13p/mile!

How much do you think that was costing me!?! I badgered our directors until they started paying me an extra £150 month whilst doing that kind of distances.

there is a more fuel efficient route which involves going north to Otley then east to the A1, and then south. But it's almost double the distance.

Not really fuel efficient then 😀

well, per mile, yes 😉

anyway, I had a quick google. As far as I understand, at present there are 4 commercially available hybrid cars in the UK marketplace:

Lexus - too expensive
Prius - yuk
Honda Civic - saloon only
Honda Insight - see Prius

when Honda do a Civic Estate Hybrid (or better still, an Accord Estate hybrid), I'll think about it. Hopefully that'll be in about 3 years time, so there'll be some on the used car market when I come to trade in the Saab.

And another thing. Moving job to somewhere more local would be lovely, if I could find one, but I seem to have developed myself a 'niche' set of skills; moving to Barnsley is NOT an option!

Ask for a fuel card, or have a tracker fitted to log your miles on company use, a sealed unit so it cant be fiddled.

Also check your car insurance is stil valid if youre useing the car illegally for buisness use, have a prang,and no matter who`s at fault you want get anything and be landed with a large repair bill.

You need to tell the insurance company if you use the vehicle for more than social domestic or pleasure, and travel to one place of work.

Insurance companies and the police are cracking down now on this.

Honda Civic Hybrid is not the same Civic you're used to. It's a weird version of the American version of the Civic, looks pants and is nothing like as good as the Prius. The Honda hybrid system is just not as clever - you can't drive slowly on electricity only, so it's not as good in traffic. New Insight is ok but a cheap small car in all honesty, unlike the Prius which is a lot nicer.

You could just get a BMW or any of the other cars that have stop-start, that would also help. But again, no slow driving on electricity.

They are unlikely to make estates in Hybrid form as hybrids are aimed at the eco market here, and estates aren't aerodynamic enough to make it work I think.

I get 14p/ mile and will do approximately 40,000 miles this year, good thing i bought a golf gti that averages 33mpg! I think i will get a company car and fuel card next year.

[i]You could just get a BMW [/i]

had one. Lovely car but not big enough, especially the boot. Too expensive too, now. Maybe the next 3-series... if they can sort out the rear wheel arches

A friend of mine put in a milage claim for a 100 mile commute by bike once, the HR staff called him assuming he was joking at first

Maybe the next 3-series... if they can sort out the rear wheel arches

Blimey, you are a bloody poser aren't you?

I will be claiming my cycle commutes to Bristol that I did earlier in the year. I think it's 15p/mile...

[i]Blimey, you are a bloody poser aren't you?[/i]

er, 'scuse me?

Did you not read what I said just before that? "Too expensive" were the words I think I used.

Look. I'm not going to buy a Toyota Pious. Too ****ing holier than thou, and that's just the owners. The other hybrids currently available in the UK are not suitable - either too big & expensive (Lexus) or too small (the rest).

I think I mentioned a f*cking big heavy bag of stands that I would rather not have to lift over a 3-4in lip in addition to getting up to height. In addition to that there are 7 drums, including the bass drum & floor tom, which between them take up the whole of the back seat.

I've [i]had[/i] a 3 Series BMW Touring, the gap between the wheel arches was not physically wide enough for this bag of stands; the Saab I have now - which was £7k cheaper than the equivalent BMW, by the way - swallows it all nicely, with enough room for cymbals, 5 of the seven drums AND a guitar amp AND a view out of the back window.

I didn't even look at the current 3-series because I didn't want the initial outlay. Which also ruled out Audis (which I don't like anyway), Mercedes & all the other ponce-mobiles out there

so before you call me a poser again, come & lift this bag of stands into your choice of greenmobile - by yourself - and then think again about what you were going to say