New company car time - must be an estate

Nick1881

Nick1881

Nick1881

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Joined
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Location
Nuneaton, UK
So my Passat lease is nearing it's end and it's time to order my new car.

The choices are limited and so is my budget. I have done 78k in the Passat and it's not 3 year old until April, so I need something comfortable with plenty of space, I carry a fair amount of kit around.

We now have the option to add extra money to spec the car up, this would be taken monthly from my wages.

Manufacturers on the list.

BMW - I can only select 1 series, 2 series and X1 so no good.
Mercedes - Again like above its A and B class and GLA.
Citroen - C4 etc, not really keen on anything here.
Ford - Focus or Mondeo
Peugeot - 308 SW is about the only choice

I feel that the Focus may be too small though I could get a nice spec. I'm not sure what a 308 is like, I've never driven anything from Peugeot or spent any time in them.

Mondeo I could a 2.0 TDCi Titanium but it would cost me £9 a month, Zetec spec wouldn't cost me anything. I could save money by going for an ECOnetic, even in Titanium spec I'd actually get money back and save on Tax, but I don't know what ECOnetic actually is. Is it worth considering?

Ideally I'd like a Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Titanium X Pack, but it will cost me £38 a month.

The pricing on the ordering system was broke, to the point where even a basic Mondeo would cost me extra money, it seems to be better but I'm not sure it's fully fixed as a Mondeo Style spec is on the list as £105 a month extra, hopefully they sort it soon and the prices may change a little.

Part of me would prefer an automatic, sadly it won't let me select a Mondeo auto, however the 308 SW I could get in auto.

An example of 308 SW

308 SW 2.0 HDi 150hp Allure manual saves me £14 a month
308 SW 2.0 HDi 150hp Allure auto costs £6 a month
GT Line is £11 a month in manual and £37 for auto

So really it's 308 SW or Mondeo estate. Then it's what spec I go for and if I should pay extra for higher spec.
 
The 308 is by all accounts a decent car now, but unless you're going with an option that saves money (and that's a driver for you) I couldn't look beyond the Mondeo
 
My personal opinion, having been there and done it, is that I would never again add my own money to get a better company car.

You already pay, in my view, a substantial amount of company car tax (as the government sees company cars are perks, not tools) and to then add you own money as well is truly money down the drain as you're not only worse off from that, but it will also increase your tax liability on the car as the value is higher.

Mondeo would be your best option, but please don't spend your own money on it as well!
 
Trouble is I want a nice spec, I don't mind paying a little bit to make it a nicer place to be. Also I hate halogen lights with a passion, it's one thing I really hope to avoid. The 308 would have LED lights, I'd have to spec up a Ford for LED or Xenon.

I don't mind a low steering wheel and I'm quite tall.

Here is is the Focus Auto choice showing the monthly extra or saving
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Focus Manual for comparison.
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I'll admit to not knowing a massive amount about the spec of Mondeos, but is the ECOnetic really worth ~£70 more per month than the TitX?
 
Would 100% be the mondeo for me, I think its a cracking tool! And is a great drive. But would also agree with what has been said.. Don't add to the pot with your money.. It's a tool for work.
 
The Econetic spec has slightly lower emissions, so the tax is slightly lower.

I'd go for the 2.0 Econetic Titanium X Pack. X Pack adds LED headlights, full leather and some other niceties. Well worth £21.73 a month.
 
Ok so Mondeo looks like the best bet. Titanium spec would be good, I think the 1.5 engine would be a bad idea. Econetic might be OK, the wheels aren't great and I guess it will have a little less grip, but I'm not going to be racing around and I'd benefit on the motorway, less road noise and less fuel used, also save some money.

2.0 Econetic Titanium X Pack - £20 a month isn't too bad to have a really nice spec.

I won't be ordering yet until they confirm the prices are correct, last week the most basic Mondeo was +£3 a month, I emailed the fleet manager and he confirmed there was a pricing error that they were looking into.

Thanks for the replies.
 
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Do you know how long the waiting list is for a brand new Mondeo ?

The focus can take anywhere between 2 to 5 months..
 
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I think it's something like 12-16 weeks, not sure. Are you thinking about the changes to vehicle tax?

I guess it wouldn't arrive until April, is this going to end up costing me a lot more?
 
I dont think I would be happy in a 120bhp mondeo, even the new one is a heavy car.

We have the 2.0 163 titanium x, and that's not rapid by any definition.
 
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