Time to change the company car, I’ve got a few options open to me. I’d love a new Sportline kombi but they’re not too keen due to the consumption and the mileage I do.

One of my options is cash for car. The last time I did this was in 2003 and it worked well, i got £400 a month then AMR for the mileage, nice and easy. My current employers are totally un-educated when it comes to company cars etc, so I have to propose anything to them.

I’ve got lease costs for the cars I fancy but I have to do a comparison Vs cash for car…

I would like some ideas on what you guys are getting please…

I’m on the bottom rung of the car scheme at my company and get around £780 per month, plus home to work and business mileage.

Not sure what the higher groups are, but could prob find out if that’s any use.

EDIT: actually, just checked a payslip, i’m on the second rung now (forgot it moved on the first anniversary of my joining). Started as £650.

Holy crap!

I work for a “large company” as a senior consultant. I get £260 towards my lease car – I can only spend this with the corporate lease company – on a limited list of manufacturers. P11D of £25k max and emissions of <139g co2/km. 15p per mile.

Is that £260 before tax?

When you factor in leasing a car, insurance, servicing and tax, even £400 a month NET doesn’t leave a lot of change.

I bought a cheaper car with cash and now spend the monthly allowance on drugs and hookers, while my colleagues have nice shiny cars.

£26k P11D value, not restricted as to type/CO2 etc, although they might frown on a 2 seater! 🙂

Edited to add: Also get all my personal mileage paid via petrol card.

I bought a cheaper car with cash and now spend the monthly allowance on drugs and hookers, while my colleagues have nice shiny cars.

Do you bring them into work, just to make sure your colleagues realise what a mistake they made?

£7500 per year which works out about £4500 per year/ £375 per month after tax. My lease car costs me £2,760 per year, £220 for insurance leaving me with £1,520 for servicing etc. Work pays my mileage at 13p per mile.

i declined a car allowance and drive bangers

i have no need for a car in my role – i have no desire to have a fancy car

taking car allowance would have left me out of pocket as i had to adhere to being less than 5 years old have 5 doors and have a minimum of 2litre engine ! – our policy is dated if you ask me.

I feel like I should footflaps, they all show off their cars, so why can’t I show off my companions?

I think i’ve mentioned this before, but there’s a guy who works in my building who currently pays £1,200 a month for a lease (he tells everyone) and drives the car 5 miles to work and back each day, then has to use a different car at the weekend to pick up his kids from his ex wife’s house. He doesn’t get paid a particularly high salary, but it definitely makes him happy!

I think i’ve mentioned this before, but there’s a guy who works in my building who currently pays £1,200 a month for a lease ……
He doesn’t get paid a particularly high salary, but it definitely makes him happy!

What is the car?

I suppose it’s his money at the end of the day, so he can spend it how he chooses…..

I get about £6k per year, no business mileage anymore so I pay all fuel. Car allowance comes with conditions that car has to be 4 seats, airbags, ABS, less than 6 yrs old, valid MOT and business insurance etc.

I bought a high milage 4.5 year old car so the allowance paid for it in about a year. Money now goes into an account for servicing, insurance, house repairs and bikes 😆

Fleet department are chasing me as the car is now 6 years old and needs changing but I keep ignoring them as every month I don’t change the car is “free” money.

What is the car?

I suppose it’s his money at the end of the day, so he can spend it how he chooses…..

SL63.

Sounds absolutely bloody amazing.

He’s a pretty decent guy, and I think he genuinely loves cars, so perhaps not just a status symbol.

£525 a month here, plus insurance and all fuel paid via petrol card. Claim back tax relief on about 10k miles per annum, which offsets the tax due on the fuel.

If I remember correctly it needs to be <6 years old, with 4/5 doors. This is widely ignored.

I buy a 6-12 month old car every few years.

I’m bottom of the rung – graduate engineer. Currently have a company car which is £20k P111D value. I can opt for a car allowance of £4k/year before tax.

I can claim mileage for any work associated miles I do.

If I was to opt for the allowance I can claim the difference back from the tax man.

£6k at my old place (pre-tax), mileage reimbursed at 18p a mile. Had to be under 5 years old and “suitable”.

It just about covered a typical Golf/Focus car on typical 3 year PCP, servicing, tyres, insurance (inc business cover), etc. I tended to buy something a year old and run it for 4, and it left a reasonable surplus for spending on bikes.

New one just does the standard 45p a mile with no allowance but no restrictions either, and pays a better salary anyway.

Claim back tax relief on about 10k miles per annum

how does this work? is that on business miles? i like the sound of that 🙂

T5 long wheelbase Kombi. Fully deductable. I pay tax on a £5.5k benefit in kind (includes fuel for all personal miles) 🙂

Dave (contractor/company director)

how does this work? is that on business miles?

See HMRC form P96 (I think 😆 )

About £4kp.a. for me. Medium company but there’s no conditions on what I do with the money. (I spend half on hookers and coke and squander the rest)

I hoped it would be joy money I could divert to a different bank account but sadly not.

I’m on the bottom rung of the car scheme at my company and get around £780 per month, plus home to work and business mileage.

So whats it like at JP Morgan anyway?

£25 per working day, run a 13 year old car and spend the surplus on high class hookers and champagne 🙂

Tax relief is if your employer pays less than the HMRC rates (45p for first 10k miles, etc).

You add up the difference between what your employer pays and the HMRC rate and can claim the difference in tax.

eg. you do 10k business miles, employer pays 20p. Difference is 25p a mile = £2500. If you’re a 40% taxpayer, you get back 40% of 2500 = £1000.

I get £540 per month and choose to take a company leased car which on our scheme can be absolutely any car you like so long as you can pay for it via your allowance and any top up you need to make. So for example a Porsche 911 on the list is about £1100 a month if you fancy spending that on a lease car. Tax on top of course which is where your choice perhaps can get more limited (not me though, I just swallow it and enjoy having a very fast car I could never afford to buy). Have yet to find anything in the insurance documents that prohibits track days either…

My setup is a bit bizarre. I get £625 a month which then gets taxed down to £375. I then have to fork out £105 for the maintenance and tyres and VED package (I feel I was stiffed slightly there) and then work pay for the insurance and I get 45p per mile for the first 10K miles then whatever it is after that. My loan/lease costs are £567 a month with a balloon of £13K at the end of 3 years or hand it back (Merc 220 diesel estate).

I probably just about break even over the year, or maybe get a bit back through the 45p per mile bit. Next time I’ll buy something 1 or 2 years old and do it all for myself. The £105 a month for the maintenance, tyres and VED is silly and irks me.

b*gg*r all. 45ppm for first 10k (about what I do). Suck it up sweetie.

Company cars are not really perks anymore.

I get about £6k a year (netted down to about £3500) which is more than enough to run my Passat estate.

7k annum with no conditions. I’ll then claim 45p for first 10k, then 25 thereafter (I think). Currently running a 5yo 5 series which is surprisingly cheap to run (520d). Though once the tax man has taken his 40% cut there isn’t that much left. I think 7 to 10k is the going rate for mid to senior level, so Peter you obviously doing alright 😀 ..

It’s the only car in the house now and the missus doesn’t like it, and has threatened to stop driving it………. Oh well.. 🙂

allowance around 6K, but opting into company car scheme gives better car for less net impact here. Being a 2 car family, the one we own does min poss miles and the Company Car is used for all domestic duties where possible. Business mileage in company car claimed back at 13ppm

N/A

I think 7 to 10k is the going rate for mid to senior level, so Peter you obviously doing alright ..

I’m pretty unimportant in the scheme of things in my office, it’s mostly people more senior than me (but its fairly niche investment arm of a big company, so not many entry level positions, so the bottom rung here is probably mid elsewhere).

The problem for me is that I didn’t drive until I got this job, so for me my salary is £10k lower than it looks on my payslip, since I now actually need to use it for a car!

£10k is about £5.8k take home.

£1k on insurance
£300 tax
£1500 servicing
£1500 depreciation

about £4,300 for me to run a car, which I didn’t need before, so it’s dead money in some respects. That said, I did about 20,000 personal miles in my first year, I bloody love driving now! 🙂

Company cars are a weirdly UK thing, most of Europe doesn’t have the same enthusiasm for them that we do esp for jobs where they are just perks rather than actually needed eg management positions.

I think I might be able to win this thread. Just over £200 a month towards a car from thecompany list. However, that’s only half of what is needed for something big enough to actually do the job. Less than 20p per business mile. Also, limited to 16000 miles a year, then 6p per mile excess mileage. My commute is over 15k.

Is that £260 before tax?

When you factor in leasing a car, insurance, servicing and tax, even £400 a month NET doesn’t leave a lot of change.

I bought a cheaper car with cash and now spend the monthly allowance on drugs and hookers, while my colleagues have nice shiny cars.

Your real life name isnt’ Rob per chance and you work for Cosworth engineering

I could have up to £250/month towards a Toyota from the Arval list and be taxed on it or £300/month before tax for my own. 15p/mile for a 2l diesel for work mileage.

Your real life name isnt’ Rob per chance and you work for Cosworth engineering

Yes! Did I meet you at the company golf tournament in Bora Bora last year?! Is Emily from accounts still walking with a limp? The things that girl can do with a bottle of olive oil and a load of string…. 😯

I used to get about £550 a month before tax and 12 p/mile.

I never bought a car as I didn’t really need one.

Current job – no car allowance but a much more interesting job

You’ll be taking all this into account the next time public sector pensions come up, right?

Company cars are a weirdly UK thing, most of Europe doesn’t have the same enthusiasm for them that we do esp for jobs where they are just perks rather than actually needed eg management positions.

Hmm, not quite true – was this based on fact?

I’ve had staff in Holland, France, Germany and Spain – all with company cars. Different levels though depending on the tax treatment.

I think I might be able to win this thread. Just over £200 a month towards a car from thecompany list. However, that’s only half of what is needed for something big enough to actually do the job. Less than 20p per business mile. Also, limited to 16000 miles a year, then 6p per mile excess mileage. My commute is over 15k.

BUt your commute should not count towards HMRC mileage. I presume you mean the lease agreement…?

I meant we’re restricted to 16k personal miles in the lease car.