I wonder if any of you guys can offer me some help...I am a bit out of touch with car ownership - had a van for the last 10 years.
I drive at the moment a VW caddy TDI,its a company pooled vehicle. Due to my work role changing I am looking at a largeish estate, preferably diesel. I am looking at spending about 8-9K on a car and charging the company mileage to cover costs, probably about 15,000 miles a year, I will be getting in the region of 35p per mile.
The question is what car - I like the look of the following:
Merc C250 TD sports estate
Volvo V70 / S70 2.5TD
Obviousley at the sort of money I will be paying I will looking at 90 K mileage, what kind of depreciation and maintenance costs can I expect on these cars, also what kind of mpg will I get?
I like the octavia estate but I would prefer something a bit bigger and with a bit more poke.
What would be my best way of financing this, I would not be buying the car outwright.Would it be cheaper for the company to buy the car and I pay TAX as per normal?
Any other suggestions welcomed !
Cheers,
Mike.
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Who pays for servicing? How long do you anticipate it will have to last you?
You have chosen cars that, as you say, will have high mileages and mid to long term costs are more likely to be higher - hence my questions.
Octavia TDI estate of any interest? You would get a two year old with much lower mileage. These are highly specified cars as standard.
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Basically I will pay for all costs related to the car,I worked it this way:
15,000 x .35p = £5250 total amount per year I get for the car
say 40 mpg ( @ £5 per gallon ): 500 / 40 = 12.5p cost per mile
fuel costs for a year : 15,000x.125=£1875
£5250 - £1875 = £3375 per year for depreciation, insurance and maintenance.
What do you reckon, have I got my sums right?
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How do you edit posts?
A new moderator comes along and does it for you <<
forgot to say, I like the octavia estate but I would prefer something a bit bigger and with a bit more poke.
No, I think you may have said that :o) ND <<
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Sorry Mike it isn't possible to edit posts here!
I would guess 35p/mile is less than the actual cost of running these vehicles. Also will you be adding another 10K of private mileage to the 15K company stuff?
Speaking from experience it is damn hard to keep middle aged, high mileage, prestige vehicles going on a company payment.
Unless you have a burning need for something "posh" then a newer diesel like the Skoda is far nearer the mark.
M.M
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Mike I think MM is correct about 35p/mile being on the low side.
I retired from the Civil Service in 1996 and the rate then for a 2ltre car was almost touching 40p/mile.
These calculations are based on all aspects from fuel, wear and tear and extra insurance for business use.
Just checked on the Civil Service web-site and they show the rates which appear to be in current use although it is dated 2001.
This shows the cost in Euros for some reason so you would have to convert.
www.revenue.ie/pdf/it_51.pdf
alvin
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Mike, Ignore the above link... the one below looks much better.
tinyurl.com/pfe0
alvin
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A mondeo diesel estate would be my choice. There are plenty of them around and parts are pretty cheap.
Have you investigated car leasing? You can get fully maintained leases. I think lex allow you to lease older cars rather than brand new ones so you could save quite a bit. If you are going to be doing 15k miles a year then you realistically have say £4500 a year to buy and run the car, leaving a few quid a year for the deposit on the next car in a few years time. Depreciation wouldn't be an issue and the interest charges may be lower per year than depreciation costs.
teabelly
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Mike,
Do you get the full 35p for all 15,000 miles ?
I've known two pay per mile company schemes, and it's only been this allowance for the first 2k miles, then it drops to an allowance which just about covers fuel costs.
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Audi A6 1.9 TDI Avant. Very cheap to run for the size of car, 50mpg is possible.
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Hi
I think I'm right in saying that the Revenue will allow you to receive 40p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p per mile thereafter. If you're paid 35p per mile you can claim 5p per mile back from the Revenue. Once you're past 10,000 miles, 35p per mile might open you up to BIK taxes on the extra 10p per mile so I would check with the company or an accountant/adviser first as to what your potential liability is.
I had a Passat TDi Estate now replaced with a Picasso HDi. The Picasso has more usable space and is a much smoother and quieter drive although it doesn't have the power and gives me 42-44 mpg where the Passat gave me 48-50 mpg. Can't argue with the VAG TDi engines for power and economy. The Octavia Estate is well worth a look if badges don't offend!
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Gents,
First off thanks for the trouble to reply.
I have taken on board some of the advice here and I can see where you are coming from when you say forget the bigger cars - its a valid point - My drive is only 15' long so the big mercs r volvos are an ( expensive by the sounds of it ) non - starter.
I do like the old volvos though - I think a smaller v40 may be a bbetter bet.
Thanks again,
Mike.
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I have just changed cars for my wife. She wanted a small estate. Personally I do not mind paying a little more and having the security of a main dealer 12 month warranty and 30 day return policy.
I looked at the V40 and the A4. V40s from main dealers are very expensive and I really did not like the interior. I plumped for an A4 100tdi SE, 1996, 59k miles for £7.5K, no PX. I must say for a 7 year old car it is in immaculate condition, is a lot nicer to drive than my BMW 5 and is streets ahead of the Golf that the wife had before.
On hindsight I only sold the wife in a V40 because I thought that they would be a lt cheaper than the A4 that she wanted. They weren't and by comparison they are really nasty inside. Having said that I did not look at the updated V40 which I think came in in 200 or 2001
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Add to these comments the observation that if you need an estate for load carrying capacity it will rule out the V40. Octavia 110 TDI has plenty of poke where you need it and has huge cargo area. But it is relatively cramped in the back seat.
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quote>> On hindsight I only sold the wife in a V40 because...... < that bad then ? :
\" Tell you what mate, take her off my hands and I\'ll chuck in the Wife.......\"
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Sorry, the V40 is an inferior car in almost every way to the Skoda, even maybe in matters of image.
Otherwise you may like to look at a Focus or an Astra; neither is stylish but they are both economical and capacious, and far newer and cheaper to run for your £9k budget than anything prestigious.
If you want a bit of prestige, then I suggest an Audi A4 but if it's going to be a work car, I would go for something no more than 2 years old because even then you may end up keeping it until it's five - and if a work car is off the road, with potentially large bills (on a prestige car, if it goes wrong, it could be very expensive, even if the average cost across all cars is not that high) you may be exposing yourself to a loss of professional prestige or lost earnings.
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The best way to view a V40 is over your shoulder as you run away from it, very quickly.
I would echo the suggestions of a Mondeo or perhaps Astra/Focus. All good solid vehicles, (but check the Car By Car for specific problems on the TDCi Mondeo)
Failing that, if you can stretch to an A6 they do have the image, if not the handling you might expect from a "prestige" manufacturer,
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