Company car choices

Gooner Leroy

Gooner Leroy

Gooner Leroy

Soldato
Joined
11 Mar 2012
Posts
2,984
Location
Canberra
I am about to start a new job which comes with a company car. I've been given quite an extensive list (not massively exciting though :() but have narrowed it down 2 cars but I can't make my mind up and I don't possess much car knowledge so I am hoping you lovely people will be able to help me decide.

It's between an A3 sportsback 1.4Tfsi 150 sport S Tronic(5dr) or a 118d Sport (5dr).

At the moment I drive a 59reg Mazda 6 TS 1.8l.

I've always wanted an audi but then the BMW caught my eye too.

My everyday commute will be 60 miles (30 each way) and mostly on the motorway.

Are there any distinct advantages that one has over the other? I've read a few reviews and they seem quite equal.
 
show us the rest of the list? I'm sure you will be missing some great cars, usually skoda superbs etc.
 
The main concern with a company car is the BIK (Benefit In Kind), which is the percentage of the value on the vehicle that you will be taxed on.

Apologies if I'm telling you something you already know, but as you appear to be a first time company car driver you may be unaware of the implications.

The BIK is determined by the CO2 emissions of the car, and on this measure diesels normally perform better than petrol cars. Also worth noting is that this year the 3% adder for diesel cars has been scraped making them an even more attractive choice.

Also be aware that the amount of tax you pay will increase each year, and the percentage is effectively increased by 2% every year, so consider this when working out which car to choose.

For reference it appears that the two cars you chosen work out as follows.
Audi: BIK 19%
BMW: BIK 23%

(which goes against what I was saying above about diesels often being more attractive than petrols).

Be aware that the BIK rates may vary from what I've posted above as the exact model chosen (including gearbox choices) will have an impact on BIK.
 
grudas said:
show us the rest of the list? I'm sure you will be missing some great cars, usually skoda superbs etc.
Click to expand...

No Skodas but the other cars I have looked up are:

A3 1.6TDI 100 Quattro SE
Mondeo 2.0Tdci Zetec
Mondeo 2.0Tdci Econetic Zetec
Lexus CT 200h 1.8 Luxury CVT Auto
Mazda 6 2.2d Se-L/Nav/Se
Golf 2.0Tdi SE

It appears that I'm limited to a £25k priced car

Havana_UK said:
The main concern with a company car is the BIK (Benefit In Kind), which is the percentage of the value on the vehicle that you will be taxed on.

Apologies if I'm telling you something you already know, but as you appear to be a first time company car driver you may be unaware of the implications.

The BIK is determined by the CO2 emissions of the car, and on this measure diesels normally perform better than petrol cars. Also worth noting is that this year the 3% adder for diesel cars has been scraped making them an even more attractive choice.

Also be aware that the amount of tax you pay will increase each year, and the percentage is effectively increased by 2% every year, so consider this when working out which car to choose.

For reference it appears that the two cars you chosen work out as follows.
Audi: BIK 19%
BMW: BIK 23%

(which goes against what I was saying above about diesels often being more attractive than petrols).

Be aware that the BIK rates may vary from what I've posted above as the exact model chosen (including gearbox choices) will have an impact on BIK.
Click to expand...

I've looked up the amount of tax I will pay for each of the cars and the audi works out as £75 a month and the BMW £85 a month. I didn't realise that the BIK will increase 2% each year though so thanks for pointing that out.
 
Last edited:
Based on the Audi, expect your monthly tax to increase by approx. £10/month each year with the BIK going up 2% every year.
 
Havana_UK said:
Also worth noting is that this year the 3% adder for diesel cars has been scraped making them an even more attractive choice.
Click to expand...

HMRC have gone back on this, so diesels are still taxed at the higher rate.

also worth noting that by 2019/20 the highest rate (37%) will apply to any car with emissions greater than 155g/km.
 
toasteh said:
HMRC have gone back on this, so diesels are still taxed at the higher rate.

also worth noting that by 2019/20 the highest rate (37%) will apply to any car with emissions greater than 155g/km.
Click to expand...

Wow, didn't know this...doubly pleased I got out of a company car in that case!

HMRC must really hate company car drivers!
 
The engine in that Audi is fantastic, that's where my choice would be.

If you could get it in a Seat Leon with more toys then even better!
 
VincentHanna said:
Can you not take it as an additional payment and sort it out yourself?
Click to expand...

They do offer that but after looking at the leasing sites and including the mileage and maintenance cover which I will get with the company car, the costs get significantly higher and then I'll have to pay for my own insurance on top of that.

rossk26 said:
The engine in that Audi is fantastic, that's where my choice would be.

If you could get it in a Seat Leon with more toys then even better!
Click to expand...

No Seats on offer.

Jamesyboyjim said:
Who's going to pay for the fuel? If you don't have a fuel card I'd be thinking 60 miles a day is diesel territory.
Click to expand...

No fuel card but apparently the audi does 50+ mpg which is better than my current car :p
 
I've driven both and the BMW is really underwhelming, small inside and the looks are dodgy. The Audi is much better in my opinion and that engine is a peach.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom