Been offered a company car

Jez said:
This whole conversation is about why it isnt as simple as you make it out to be. In the absense of a cash alternative obviously he is mad not to take it as it is a package increase. But for most people there IS an alternative, at which point IME company cars rarely make financial sense.
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Yeah, definately; my points were made in the context of the thread though. I'm a good example of where it can go a bit wrong:

1) Owned a Focus ST, got offered a business 'needs' car (no cash alternative) and the choice was VW, Skoda, Seat, Toyota. Chose the VW Golf GTD with a load of options, list £25k (first mistake, but on the logic that it was still going to work out cheaper than running the ST, which was true given the lack of cash alternative).

2) Got promoted, new position includes business 'benefit' car (cash alternative available, full range of manufacturers available). The cash alternative is £5,500 here, so £320 per month in the back pocket after tax. Problem is I'm tied into a 3 year lease on the Golf.

Golf GTD now costs me £320 (opportunity cost of not taking the cash), trade up of £70, BIK @ £70. Total of £460 a month for a 170bhp derv. It's a nice car, but not that nice. Can't complain during the current climate mind.

Lesson - look forward and consider any changes of circumstance during the lease period! :)
 
I know, but knowing where I work and the sector would make it pretty obvious with a quick Google. If anyone is actually interested, drop me an email.
 
Am I the only person getting deja vu of that bloke in the "About you" thread that wouldn't post a pic because he thought it was a security risk for his job? :p
 
Joshy said:
Am I the only person getting deja vu of that bloke in the "About you" thread that wouldn't post a pic because he thought it was a security risk for his job? :p
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I did remember that and didnt want to come across like that, which is why I wanted to explain it was about privacy.

In the same way I don't want my home address being public, I don't want my work address being public either. It's a small sector and knowing how inquisitive people here are, someone would have looked up the company
 
Seems fair enough, it doesn't really matter which sector it is anyway - it's not as if you've been making bold statements about your work or anything which is usually what leads to people wanting to know more :)
 
[Corsa]Fox;17888662 said:
Seems fair enough, it doesn't really matter which sector it is anyway - it's not as if you've been making bold statements about your work or anything which is usually what leads to people wanting to know more :)
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I do get an allowance for secret agent duties

It's an interesting business and I'd happily talk about it off forum if anyone is interested, but it really isn't relevant here
 
I was just curious as to what the government is still pouring money into- whether it was something IT related or whether your IT team was supporting another function that was being well funded. You haven't configured your trust account apparantly. Mine is in trust if you really don't mind talking about it off forum :)
 
monkey_boy said:
I was just curious as to what the government is still pouring money into- whether it was something IT related or whether your IT team was supporting another function that was being well funded. You haven't configured your trust account apparantly. Mine is in trust if you really don't mind talking about it off forum :)
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Could have sworn it was configured!

Email sent anyway
 
Cool thanks. I was going through a list in my head, but didn't think of that. Hope it goes well.

I still wouldn't hold my breath for a huge rise and choice of car though. It's definitely an employers market out there, so I'd just be happy with my lot and try and stay under the radar for a while. Each to their own.
 
It's not that I'm holding my breath for anything - it's just that I'm no better off financially if I took that Audi, there are several downsides and it may work out better for me down the line anyway :)
 
But you could ditch the accord and if you like walking to work that much leave the car at the office a couple of days a week or leave it at home if you know you're not going out? How long does it take you to walk to work?
 
The walk is about 45 minutes.

Part of the problem is I often don't know until the last minute if I need to go to the datacenter or another site, so I cant really plan for that. Thats just one of a few things, the biggest one is probably the whole thing with changing our contracts.

If it was a nicer car or I was commuting a longer distance (and thus making a good saving on fuel) then it would be a simpler choice.
 
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