New Job - Car Help Please

Dubb3d

Dubb3d

Dubb3d

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Joined
5 Jan 2008
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95
Location
Essex
Hi Guys,

Recently got a new job that I will be starting shortly where I will be required to do a lot of travelling around the UK, so the company offers a £5200 car allowance per year. My car atm is a 1.6 petrol focus with high miles so I will need to replace it with, more than likely, a diesel (2.0TDi of some sort I assume).

My query has been either to go new, e.g. I went and drove a citroen DS4 and really liked it, thought the interior was nice and they also do a £5000 deposit contribution which brought the price of it new down to around £15000, but on the other hand I have been thinking its an idea to look at approved used Audi's etc with the same budget and run that instead?

The benefits of the new car is obviously warrenty etc and having that piece of mind is quite nice, so what would you do in this situation?
 
I'd double check with your employer as I think theres something with CC Tax that they get you to buy Brand New (Fox is the best person to advise on this, as well as car allowences in general)

If you're looking at Citroens I have a diesel Citroen DS3 and the 1.6 eHDi lump I have in mine is lovely, plenty of poke, generally the french dervs these days aren't too bad. It's just the electrics lol.
 
Is the cash before tax? Are you a higher rate tax payer? Can you claim fuel or mileage? If so what ppm do you get. What mileage are you expecting?
 
You might want to check that. Normally.with an allowance the mileage payment is circa 16p. 40/45p is the hmrc standard recoverable rate for the first 10k miles for non allowance/car users
 
Op, although it doesn't normally make the most financial sense, I'd be tempted by a pcp car with maintenance included if you are risk averse and want to pay for peace of mind. 5,200 per year should get you a much nicer car than a ds4.

However if it were me, since you get 40ppm for the first 10k miles, I'd be tempted by an outright second hand purchase and something a little more exciting than a small engined derv.
 
Buy a pixo

Mate's just clicked over 60k in his and creaming the car allowance and being paid 18ppm for petrol isn't too sad in a 900cc 3 cyl car
 
What would the other options be you think? 1 series, A3 etc?

Is one of these cars at ~2 years old going to be much more to run than a new DS4 for example?
 
Robbie G said:
Op, although it doesn't normally make the most financial sense, I'd be tempted by a pcp car with maintenance included if you are risk averse and want to pay for peace of mind. 5,200 per year should get you a much nicer car than a ds4.
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I'm not sure it will - when you look at what he'll have after tax you'd be suprised at how much you DONT get for your money on a maintained lease with sufficient mileage for company use.
 
Dubb3d said:
What would the other options be you think? 1 series, A3 etc?

Is one of these cars at ~2 years old going to be much more to run than a new DS4 for example?
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A 2 year old A3 or 1 Series are both very old cars now - the A3 came out in 2003, the 1 Series 2004. It's 10 year old tech, essentially. The DS4 might even be a nicer bet...
 
Ive got the DS4 deal as £250 per month with pretty much everything on it and leather interior (its the 2.0TDi too), after tax I think the allowance is around £350 a month so you think makes it a decent offer?
 
Dubb3d said:
Ive got the DS4 deal as £250 per month with pretty much everything on it and leather interior (its the 2.0TDi too), after tax I think the allowance is around £350 a month so you think makes it a decent offer?
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Don't forget maintenance costs etc as well.
 
You really need to do a spreadsheet of all incoming and outgoings to see if it works.

Insurance, tax (probably not much), maintenance as above too plus the real world fuel costs which will rise over the years. Remember insurance is for business use too, the company will likely want proof.

Also remember that the extra payment given to you might take you into a higher tax bracket too. As mentioned above you also need to confirm the mileage rate you get as this will have a considerable effect after 10,000 miles if the rate changes and in tax.

Lastly, depending on how you actually fund the car, remember that you will be responsible for it if anything happens and you change job for example. This is something you really need to consider as life changes over years of course.

If it was me, id buy something under £10k with an approved used warranty or similar to limit the financial liability but still have something decent with a bit of cover.
 
I don't really know the Civic market, but that just seems like a heck of a lot of money for a very ordinary not particularly new car.
 
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