“If they don’t, a ban might be a good thing, since 99% of the people I deal with haven’t a clue what it costs to pay for your own car. They should know what it’s like for those people who do.”
Why the ECOS isn't as good a deal as it seems
The prospect of a new car every six months on terms significantly better than anyone outside the car industry can enjoy sounds great, doesn’t it? Not according to one manufacturer employee in receipt of the benefit.
The employee, who asked not to be identified, has a 1.0-litre hatchback on his firm’s ECOS that costs him just £85 per month. He pays no benefit-in-kind tax or national insurance contributions on it and it’s replaced every six months.
However, he says there are strict limits as to which model he can order and with which options, and even then, his order can be overruled by the factory and a different specification from the one he requested supplied. He must pay an excess mileage charge if he does more than 6000 miles in the car and any damage it suffers must be repaired by a manufacturer-approved garage whose prices, he says, tend to be higher than elsewhere.
If he puts the car through a car wash, any swirl marks must be polished out at a cost of £80, and a chipped windscreen must be replaced, not repaired.
“The scheme is great in the sense that the car is cheap, and unless I damage the car, I don’t have to budget for new tyres or servicing,” the employee said.
“The downsides are that it’s quite inflexible and the higher refurbishment and repair costs put many employees with families off the scheme, because of the damage their kids might do to the car’s interior.
www.autocar.co.uk
