Dilema time - The Prelude, after I get it back from the bodyshop, is starting to get a bit long in the tooth. It has done us proud so far but my business milage is now starting to get to the point where the prelude is costing too much (new abs pump needed soon) and my increasing gearth is making it less and less comfortable to drive on anything but short journeys.
So what to do! I have 2 choices at the moment - first is to get a lease car via my Ltd Co. I will be doing about 10k business miles per year and would have about £175 to spend on the car, for this I could get an Astra/Focus or my favorite choice a Ford Ranger ;o) It would mean a new car, look good at customers sites and hopefully have little in the way ongoing repair costs.
2nd choice - and the one I am leaning towards at the moment is to spend about £2k on a luxary barge, buying it as a private car and taking the 40ppm out of the business (would be better off financialy with this choice) For this money I could easily get a Nissan QX with less then 80k and all the toys - and hopefully the reliability as well - run it for 2 years or so and if need be scrap it after this time (having made £8k out of milage). Down side is the possibility of big repair bills!!!
Anything obvious I have overlooked (or cars) or any suggestions that I may want to consider? Will be looking to change just after Xmas.
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>>would have about £175 to spend on the car, for this I could get an Astra/Focus or my favorite choice a Ford Ranger ;o)>>
Please tell me the source of such cheap cars...:-)
I presume you mean a month?
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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i guess you're looking at £1750 for an Astra / Focus, or £2000 on a Nissan QX.
If you buy a Ford Ranger you'd be paying £1750 a month in fuel!!!!
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Yep, obviously I meant per month!!
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Now having just read the thread about the "replacing my mondeo" the kia magentis has also been thrown into the mix - having a look a the autotrader suggests I could get quite a new car for 2k with lowish mileage and it should do my 10k per annum with ease - has anyone driven one for any length of time?
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Why don't you lease the new Focus but pay for fuel privately, then you can still claim the 40p/mile as expenses - that's exactly what I'm doing at the moment.
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If it's his business then he wouldn't be able to do a business lease. My accountantt was always totally against leased cars on the business & I for a fair chunk of the time claimed the mileage allowance.
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That's exactly what I do now - my business (with me as one of two directors & main shareholders) is the signatory on a business lease of my car, and I pay appropriate company car taxes on the vehicle. All my petrol is paid for privately then I claim back business mileage at 40p/mile which works out very profitably as the vast majority of my mileage is business. Clearly this isn't appropriate for everyone but it works well for me and our accountant has no issue with it.
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Oh right, i see what you mean now James86 - hadn't thought of doing it that way, so might be another option to look at.
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I don't want to do a private lease as it would cost a lot more that way - I have a my own Ltd Co and am VAT registered, so leasing as a business lease would be better, but buying privately would be better financially in the long term (I think).
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Having said that have you looked in any detail at lease prices? I think you might struggle to get a Focus for £175 (unless maybe a low trim/engine). Mine is a Focus 2.0tdci titanium and is about £300/month - but I am on 25kpa as well so maybe you could achieve that price. Mine is also fully maintained - not sure if that's something you would want to do or not.
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As it would only do 10k a year I was looking at non maintained and a smallish engine 1.4 etc, but would be leased on price rather then anything else - hence why the idea of buying a big barge appeals more, as I would get a lot more for my money - I hope!
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Remember there are real benefits to buying a business vehicle. Road tax, diesel and servicing can be offset against the business. If you are VAT registered, you recover the VAT. A point that is often forgotten however is that you get 50% capital allowances relievable in year of purchase @ basic rate or at top rate. This could be a further £2-£3k.
Remember you don't have to buy a pickup, there are van versions of Jeeps and landrovers (although they only have 2 seats)
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Yeah get an LS400 as long as it has FSH it should be as reliable as they day it came out the factory.
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Yeah get an LS400 as long as it has FSH it should be as reliable as they day it came out the factory.
Ask Adam about the LExus that he very nearly bought and i think he'll disagree.
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That was a GS and he was the unluckiest person since Mr Unlucky etc etc.
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Three years ago I got a lowish-mileage '98 QX as a cheap 'stop gap' car after my 7-series bit the dust. I only intended to keep it six months or so. I still have it !and the only non-service item has been the exhaust centre pipe which cost £75 from Bosal. It starts on the button, rain or shine, the autobox is smooth, the climate control works a treat and the paintwork is free of rust.
I routinely buy and sell Mercs and have yet to see a '98 C-class is as good condition as my QX. It doesn't ride or handle as well as a C-class but its a very quiet motorway cruiser. I just take the 40ppm and smile...
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That Lexus.
Craziest thing - but I saw it the other day at a petrol station on the outskirts of Liverpool so it's running again.
Yes - the gearbox blew up but APART from that, (yes, I know) it was immaculate. No rattles or squeaks, drove very nicely and felt very solid. The leather was immaculate and apart from the design, visually it would have passed for a new car. That's how good it was.
Lets not forget, it had over 170k on and was 11 years old. If another came along tomorrow with 100k on, I still think I'd get one. Truly amazing cars that are sadly overlooked by many.
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Actually - I think the QX was rated as quite a good handling car - like the primera fairly sharp - although ride a little firm - but - probably better then a c class.
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