Change of Car Advise

pepp77 · 11 Feb 2011 at 16:32

I currently drive a 2000 plate W reg BMW 323i Saloon that I picked up for just under £2.5k in Dec 2009. The car is great but it is quite petrol hungry as I currently manage about 20-22mpg under normal usage. This is 10 miles each way on my daily commute into central London (Ive actually started using my mums Mazda 3 to do this commute) and then occasionally I will do longer trips out to customers sites - this could be to anywhere Wales/Manchester/Cambridge etc - so I do see some motorway miles. My yearly mileage is probably only about 8000 miles in total so Im not a heavy user.

Insurance on the BMW is £560 fully comp with 9 years no claims and business travel cover included (I live in a pretty nice part of outer London, but the insurers dont seem to think so!!!)

Im looking at replacing it with something that is cheaper to run but still fairly fun and will admit I have been looking at different TDIs (Mondeos, Boras) and also 1.8-2.0 litre petrols (Golfs, Leons, A3s) as these seem to be in the right kind of area, but weirdly I have also been looking at Imprezas and Celicas. I had a 1.6 Golf before the BMW and would rather not drop down to something as slow again.

I would prefer a hatchback style rather than another saloon as it has got annoying having to put work boxes on the back seat due to not being able to get them in the boot opening.

Im struggling to really make any useful decisions (but luckily do have until the start of June before the insurance runs out to decide) so thought I would post on here for some ideas of what to have a look at.

Any questions that might help you advise please ask.

Oh and I forgot to say max budget is £3k, but closer to £2.5k would be best, as I have £500 from a tax rebate and the money from the sale of the BMW to use, plus whatever I put aside between now and buying.

Thanks

pepp77 · 14 Feb 2011 at 14:57

Any thoughts?

Morba · 14 Feb 2011 at 15:01

You don't need a diesel, the biggest amount of miles you do should be paid for by your company.
Would an A3 1.8T be in budget? That would give you some power and be a hatchback.

pepp77 · 14 Feb 2011 at 16:21

Morba said:
You don't need a diesel, the biggest amount of miles you do should be paid for by your company.
Would an A3 1.8T be in budget? That would give you some power and be a hatchback.

Just worked out that last year I did 4224 business mileage (out of the about 8000), issue being they only give me 25p per mile regardless of engine size so although it covers petrol it doesnt really cover anything else.

An A3 would probably be the right type of car, but they hold value well and so I might not be able to get something new enough in the budget, but I will be looking.

Although you say I dont need a diesel a quick calculation suggests that the cost savings in getting a diesel would probably at least cover the years insurance cost each year (using todays prices at my local pump).

It seems a 2003 Mondeo TDCI would be at about my budget, would this be a good buy and better than say a 1.8 98'ish A3?

Fusion · 14 Feb 2011 at 16:35

Can't go wrong with a Focus. Good to drive (better than the Golf/A3) and you'll get a lot more for your money with that budget too. Stick with a petrol, the 1.8 would probably be fine for you (115 bhp) or you could go for the 2.0 with ~130bhp.

pepp77 · 14 Feb 2011 at 16:41

Fusion said:
Can't go wrong with a Focus. Good to drive (better than the Golf/A3) and you'll get a lot more for your money with that budget too. Stick with a petrol, the 1.8 would probably be fine for you (115 bhp) or you could go for the 2.0 with ~130bhp.

My mum had a Focus a few years ago and I didnt like it inside that much - the dash/driving area seemed odd/not nice, however I wont rule it out as I will admit they do seem to be very reliable.

Cheers.

Morba · 15 Feb 2011 at 12:23

pepp77 said:
Just worked out that last year I did 4224 business mileage (out of the about 8000), issue being they only give me 25p per mile regardless of engine size so although it covers petrol it doesnt really cover anything else.

You can claim the other 15p back iirc.

pepp77 · 15 Feb 2011 at 13:16

Morba said:
You can claim the other 15p back iirc.

Thanks for this post - I am enquiring.

Morba · 15 Feb 2011 at 13:33

pepp77 said:
Thanks for this post - I am enquiring.

Its likely to be tax relief, rather than hard cash, so might not work out as 15p extra. A few people here can explain it better than me!

Vonhelmet · 15 Feb 2011 at 13:45

Morba said:
Its likely to be tax relief, rather than hard cash, so might not work out as 15p extra. A few people here can explain it better than me!

For business use of a private car, you can get a 40p deduction from your taxable income for each mile you travel up to 10,000 miles, and 25p per mile beyond that. If the employer pays 40p, then this amount in full is not taxed. Often an employer in this situation will agree with HMRC not to tax that income as part of PAYE. If they don't, you have to contact HMRC to claim it. Similarly, if the employer pays less than 40p per mile, you can claim a deduction for the balance from your income i.e. in this case, the OP is paid 25p per mile, but he is entitled to claim a deduction from his total income of 40p per mile. Quite how this works out in practise depends on whether the 25p he is paid is taxed or not, but that's pretty much how it works.