A slightly less vague Spec Me

Jez · 16 Jul 2013 at 11:32

Its such a shame you have an age limit, my last 2 work cars have been V8 Mercs

If it were me, i would go and buy a 2009 530i and be done with it, the car is a nice enough drive, the engine is great, BMW warranty is joke cheap. Job done and you get full rate. I dont know how on the ball your company is, but i would then keep it looking nice and drive it until they really took issue with its age, i bet you could drive it for rather longer than officially stated.

Skeeter · 16 Jul 2013 at 11:34

I could also get Fox to find me one

Although he isn't a fan of the e60...

Jez · 16 Jul 2013 at 11:43

The E60 is a nice car, its tons better than the total junk churned out by Ford and the cheaper brands. The only gripes people have is that its not as sturdily built as the older E39 model, which is fair, but it doesn't make the E60 a bad car.

rodenal · 16 Jul 2013 at 12:03

The best all rounder I can think of is the Octy VRS if that will still attract the better fuel payment?

If it's going to work out financially then I'd put the effort in to get a car rather than lease. In fact wouldn't a pcp deal potentially be benefitial here?

Abyss · 16 Jul 2013 at 13:00

Saab 9-3?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201306267493969/

Abyss · 16 Jul 2013 at 13:03

rodenal said:
The best all rounder I can think of is the Octy VRS if that will still attract the better fuel payment?

If it's going to work out financially then I'd put the effort in to get a car rather than lease. In fact wouldn't a pcp deal potentially be benefitial here?

Octavia VRS is 1984 cc
I personally wouldn't go near a PCP if my mileage was very changeable like the OPs. Bank loan at 5.x% would be my route and in likelihood the cheapest.

Muffin` · 16 Jul 2013 at 13:35

Abyss said:
Saab 9-3?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201306267493969/

290 bhp SAAB LOL

'Hi! I'm here to fix your Till

'

Skeeter · 16 Jul 2013 at 14:17

Lol.

My only concern with a loan is it means buying something a few years old, meaning I could plow through the 6 year old age limit quite quickly. With a PCP I'd always have something less than 3 years old.

I seriously doubt that I will do more than 15k a year for the next 3 years, so I should be able to look at PCP options with that mileage.

rodenal · 16 Jul 2013 at 14:24

Abyss said:
Octavia VRS is 1984 cc
I personally wouldn't go near a PCP if my mileage was very changeable like the OPs. Bank loan at 5.x% would be my route and in likelihood the cheapest.

Depends how capacity is considered I guess - i.e if the car is billed as 2 litre then is it accepted as such? Very few cars will be bang on the cubic capacity

PCP could potentially work out so long as the mileage consideration is well thought through and realistically stated.

For a private purchase I'd never do it, but for the op to treat effectively like a lease but with added financial benefit through his employer it's worth considering.

Abyss · 16 Jul 2013 at 14:25

Skeeter said:
Lol.

My only concern with a loan is it means buying something a few years old, meaning I could plow through the 6 year old age limit quite quickly. With a PCP I'd always have something less than 3 years old.

Why not just buy at 3 years old and sell at 6 years old? 3 years is a long time!

Going for a new car just means you are taking a great hit on the depreciation which is being transferred into the PCP cost. Will work out cheaper (or give you a better car) if you have two cars for 3 years than one from brand new.

Skeeter said:
My mileage is changeable. At the moment I am doing a 140 mile round trip 3 days a week, but I could soon move to a contract thats office based, or one that's 200 miles away, I don't know.

Skeeter said:
I seriously doubt that I will do more than 15k a year for the next 3 years, so I should be able to look at PCP options with that mileage

You are doing 20k miles a year now just doing the 140 mile trip 3 times a week. This is without any other journeys or private mileage? Or do you mean that your mileage will likely drop long term?

Skeeter · 16 Jul 2013 at 14:36

Abyss said:
You are doing 20k miles a year now just doing the 140 mile trip 3 times a week. This is without any other journeys or private mileage? Or do you mean that your mileage will likely drop long term?

This project runs until the end of August. I could then be anywhere else. But I'm doing a relative high number of miles at the moment as a) I'm not staying in hotels, and b) my Broadband has been screwed up at home meaning I can't work from home at the moment.

I would not expect to do this many miles every week, all year long. But the problem with PCP, is I cannot guarantee that.

Havana_UK · 16 Jul 2013 at 14:41

If I were you I'd listen to Jez, as he's done this before so can advise you from personal experience.

It might be worth your while to speak with come of the lease companies out there, as they might be able to help you out, but with a £450/month gross budget that doesn't give you a lot of room to play as after tax/NI you're looking at between ~£225 & ~£315 (depending on your income tax bracket). Difficult to lease something of your spec at that price I'd think.

As Jez said you should also factor in the additional tax relief you can claim against the inland revenue fuel figures and what your company will actually pay you, but it's not going to be a whole lot extra.

Skeeter · 16 Jul 2013 at 14:47

Jez is well placed to advise, but a 5 year old BMW isn't the best option so far.

Jez · 16 Jul 2013 at 14:53

The age thing stumps me, there isnt anything for the money

You will just about get a 2009 530i for around the ballpark, which would give you 2 years of "life" plus however far extra you can push it before they force you to change.

rossk26 · 16 Jul 2013 at 15:02

Jez said:
The age thing stumps me, there isnt anything for the money You will just about get a 2009 530i for around the ballpark, which would give you 2 years of "life" plus however far extra you can push it before they force you to change.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201305317046538

Skeeter · 16 Jul 2013 at 15:05

Jez said:
The age thing stumps me, there isnt anything for the money You will just about get a 2009 530i for around the ballpark, which would give you 2 years of "life" plus however far extra you can push it before they force you to change.

Its a pain isn't it.

I did wonder why everyone in the carpark seemed to drive stuff no more than a couple of years old. Now I know, the car allowance policy pretty much forces you down the route of PCP or HP.

rossk26 · 16 Jul 2013 at 15:10

Skeeter said:
Its a pain isn't it.

I did wonder why everyone in the carpark seemed to drive stuff no more than a couple of years old. Now I know, the car allowance policy pretty much forces you down the route of PCP or HP.

You can still HP second hand cars. And that's the route I would take. A 2 or 3 year old car will be ideal in your situation. It's just finding the right engine size I guess.

Muffin` · 16 Jul 2013 at 15:24

Cracking amount of Approved Used Kia's about.

1 year old Diesel Auto Cee'd with NAV - sorted.

Skeeter · 16 Jul 2013 at 15:26

Where you looking Muffin?

Whats a good source for second hand HP?

Jez · 16 Jul 2013 at 15:27

Skeeter said:
Its a pain isn't it.

I did wonder why everyone in the carpark seemed to drive stuff no more than a couple of years old. Now I know, the car allowance policy pretty much forces you down the route of PCP or HP.

Its a real killer, i'd still be going for the 2009 BMW and seeing how long i could "blag" keeping under the radar once it officially hit 6 years old personally (after 2 years)