Which Company Car

[ExoMale]

with the prices of diesel and the fact the government are slowly trying to phase them out, if its a long term thing then it might not be worth getting a diesel as you still have to pay for it some how, but then i suppose it depends what the petrol options are and if any have these new 1ltr, 1.2, 1.4 eco turbo or tsi motors in the range.

i am biased though, i had a 1.4 hdi 307 that did me great for a year even with a final 159k miles before i got rid of it as it started to be riddle with problems more costly than the cars worth so since last week i traded it in for a 63 plate 2008 with 43k miles with the 1.6 vti petrol and havent looked back, okay the range is 422 miles compared to 700 of the hdi, but its nice to be paying less money to fill it up again not to mention the long term prospect, okay its my car, but if i had to pay for a company car id still pick petrol.

 

[ExoMale]

I've got a Citroen C1 and while it's fine for city driving, it's not great for a 60 mile trip on the motorway every day.

If I kept the allowance, I'd have to pay to get out of my current finance and then get another vehicle which will require a down payment of some kind.

i had a 13 plate 107 which only has the 1ltr petrol option compared to the C1, but i did over 20k miles in the 2yrs i owned it and was fantastic, a lot of those miles were motorway, it was a personal car that had 24k when i got it, so comfortable on the long journeys and kept up well on the motorway, was a cracking car for what it was and easily did 400-425 miles from its tiny tank.

 

[Casdawer]

Thanks for the input guys.

I’m going to hold fire on the car and save my car allowance till I get to the point where I can sell the car with no money going onto loans or credit cards.

This is achievable in about 5/6 months by which time my probation period will be up so it also makes sense to wait.

I’m looking at getting a mortgage in the next 2 years and by June/July this year I will have 0 debt so I don’t want to end up having yet another loan which is why the company car appeals to me.

 

[[TW]Fox]

i had a 13 plate 107 which only has the 1ltr petrol option compared to the C1, but i did over 20k miles in the 2yrs i owned it and was fantastic, a lot of those miles were motorway, it was a personal car that had 24k when i got it, so comfortable on the long journeys and kept up well on the motorway, was a cracking car for what it was and easily did 400-425 miles from its tiny tank.

It's about as bad a car on the motorway as you can get!

 

[ExoMale]

It's about as bad a car on the motorway as you can get!

never driven the C1, but i was very pleased with my 107 its now my mums so i do get to drive it now and then and did a few runs to devon over the holidays and was very good still, even for a car that now has over 80k miles lol, if it wasnt for having 3 kids and needing something as practical as the 307, i wouldve had it back instead of getting my new car.. i would have the C1 for a cheap diesel option as that size car the engine would pull better than the 307 and tuning it a little... i guess its what your used to and expectations.

 

[Kenai]

I’m looking at getting a mortgage in the next 2 years and by June/July this year I will have 0 debt so I don’t want to end up having yet another loan which is why the company car appeals to me.

Bear in mind that they look at your income vs outgoing to assess affordability, having £2500 land in your bank per month but spending £350 on motoring may be better than having £2000 land in your bank but with a company car.

 

[Casdawer]

Bear in mind that they look at your income vs outgoing to assess affordability, having £2500 land in your bank per month but spending £350 on motoring may be better than having £2000 land in your bank but with a company car.

Hmm, that’s a fair point though i didn’t think that ‘additional income’ counted? I thought they only based it on base salary?

 

[Peerzy]

Hmm, that’s a fair point though i didn’t think that ‘additional income’ counted? I thought they only based it on base salary?

You'll usually be asked for salary plus any additional income. You can include things like overtime (usually average of the last 3 months), guaranteed bonus' and regular payments (such as on call payments or car allowance).

 

[Peerzy]

never driven the C1, but i was very pleased with my 107 its now my mums so i do get to drive it now and then and did a few runs to devon over the holidays and was very good still, even for a car that now has over 80k miles lol, if it wasnt for having 3 kids and needing something as practical as the 307, i wouldve had it back instead of getting my new car.. i would have the C1 for a cheap diesel option as that size car the engine would pull better than the 307 and tuning it a little... i guess its what your used to and expectations.

I agree completely, a 107 / C1 is much better on the motorway than walking, cycling and riding a horse.

Against almost anything else it's completely awful.

 

[ExoMale]

I agree completely, a 107 / C1 is much better on the motorway than walking, cycling and riding a horse.

Against almost anything else it's completely awful.

i cant tell if your actually agreeing or being sarcastic ha ha.

i know these small city cars are not for everyone, but i appreciate them, also when i was living in devon and had to drive everywhere, having something nimble and cheap to run was a bonus, that 107 was like an upmarket to an 02 1ltr swift i had ha after my 02 corolla T sport was riddled with problems which ironically next to a 2001 petrol mondeo saloon was the most unreliable car ive owned despite being the fastest and it was a toyota(i even have had a 1.8 mgf which was reliable till chavs wrote it off), that 107 has only had routine work in the same time of ownership(2 years each), that swift was even more reliable, but was only a 6 month stop gap..

 

[Kenai]

Hmm, that’s a fair point though i didn’t think that ‘additional income’ counted? I thought they only based it on base salary?

They'll count it if its regular and 'guaranteed', so they'll ignore random bonuses etc. but car allowance will count as normal expected income.