Car allowance schemes

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
12,946
Potential job offer i'm looking at includes a monthly car allowance. I want to make sure I look at things fully before i go off and spend the money (if it all comes through) so wondered what you guys who get a car allowance do?

Quite tempted to get myself a car on Hire Purchase, and then just swap it at the end of the deal or pay off the balloon if there isnt a restriction on the cars age.... but also considering leasing a car... can anyone suggest any sites for lease prices that don't look like they are ran out of a garden shed?
 
Dont forget you are taxed on the allowance.I looked at taking the allowance instead of the car, in the end i decided against it,most of the HP schemes were ok if you only did 15k a year,anything over this and it wasnt economically viable.

You dont necessarily have to have a new car, the rules at our place stipulate the car has to be under 7 years old and not have more than 125k on the clock at point of use,which opens up a lot of interesting opportunities when you have £400 a month to play with :D
 
Don't bother buy your own car

this is how I do it

4 year loan of £25000 ( plus small deposit )

payments £572 per month

car allowance £462 ( £272 after tax )

AMAP Tax relief £100 a month

sell car after 3 years , vaue will be about £12-14k and loan balance about £7k

so I am out of pocket by £200 a month but over 36 months I generate £140 a month in equity

insurance , tax , maintenance etc averages about £180 a month

so it costs me £240 a month to own a M3 and, of course, I am paying no company car tax
 
Rotty said:
Don't bother buy your own car

this is how I do it

4 year loan of £25000 ( plus small deposit )

payments £572 per month

car allowance £462 ( £272 after tax )

AMAP Tax relief £100 a month

sell car after 3 years , vaue will be about £12-14k and loan balance about £7k

so I am out of pocket by £200 a month but over 36 months I generate £140 a month in equity

insurance , tax , maintenance etc averages about £180 a month

so it costs me £240 a month to own a M3 and, of course, I am paying no company car tax

Nice :cool:
 
Rotty said:
Don't bother buy your own car

this is how I do it

4 year loan of £25000 ( plus small deposit )

payments £572 per month

car allowance £462 ( £272 after tax )

AMAP Tax relief £100 a month

sell car after 3 years , vaue will be about £12-14k and loan balance about £7k

so I am out of pocket by £200 a month but over 36 months I generate £140 a month in equity

insurance , tax , maintenance etc averages about £180 a month

so it costs me £240 a month to own a M3 and, of course, I am paying no company car tax

I like that a lot!
 
Rotty said:
Don't bother buy your own car

this is how I do it

4 year loan of £25000 ( plus small deposit )

payments £572 per month

car allowance £462 ( £272 after tax )

AMAP Tax relief £100 a month

sell car after 3 years , vaue will be about £12-14k and loan balance about £7k

so I am out of pocket by £200 a month but over 36 months I generate £140 a month in equity

insurance , tax , maintenance etc averages about £180 a month

so it costs me £240 a month to own a M3 and, of course, I am paying no company car tax

I'll have a chat with you about that on msn later if you don't mind mate
 
A lot of it will depend on how much your car allowance is, your expected mileage etc etc. Mine worked out better to take the car rather than the allowance.

It is worth sitting down & going through all the figures properly before making any snap decisions.
 
djjuk said:
A lot of it will depend on how much your car allowance is, your expected mileage etc etc. Mine worked out better to take the car rather than the allowance.

It is worth sitting down & going through all the figures properly before making any snap decisions.

there is no offer of a company car, just the allowance.

As for mileage, im actually expecting it to be pretty minimal/non existent for the first 18 months as i'll be based in London and using the train to get about.
 
Conanius said:

Fair enough, basically an increase on your basic salary then & taxed accordingly. If you get an offer of a fuel card then that also will have tax implications.

Edited to add there are plenty of PCP sites that will give you a rough idea of PCP\HP costs if that's what you are considering.
 
Conanius said:
there is no offer of a company car, just the allowance.

As for mileage, im actually expecting it to be pretty minimal/non existent for the first 18 months as i'll be based in London and using the train to get about.
What's the point in getting a car then?
 
Simon said:
What's the point in getting a car then?

pass, they are the ones who offered it to me.

I believe its for when I complete the initial phase of work on the project and move back to Cheltenham, as then I will be working there, Gloucester and Bristol.
 
Conanius said:
pass, they are the ones who offered it to me.

I believe its for when I complete the initial phase of work on the project and move back to Cheltenham, as then I will be working there, Gloucester and Bristol.
Get one in 18months then? Maybe Ive misunderstood, but you mention milages will be almost nothing. Or do you mean business miles
 
Simon said:
Get one in 18months then? Maybe Ive misunderstood, but you mention milages will be almost nothing. Or do you mean business miles

business miles. i'll probably be based in either Watford or Reading initially,
 
Rotty said:
Don't bother buy your own car

this is how I do it

4 year loan of £25000 ( plus small deposit )

payments £572 per month

car allowance £462 ( £272 after tax )

AMAP Tax relief £100 a month

sell car after 3 years , vaue will be about £12-14k and loan balance about £7k

so I am out of pocket by £200 a month but over 36 months I generate £140 a month in equity

insurance , tax , maintenance etc averages about £180 a month

so it costs me £240 a month to own a M3 and, of course, I am paying no company car tax

ditto, i used same thinking when buying the R32

allowance covers loan, I look after the maintence etc. about £150 a month
 
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