New job, company car: gutted gotta sell my baby

Pug · 16 Jul 2007 at 10:05

New job starts next month, really looking forward to it, but it means the Celica (and my grins) have to go. Instead, gonna be forced paying a chunk of money to drive something uninspiring.

Proper gutted. Good avenues to sell through? got Pistonheads on the go for now...

Wicksta · 16 Jul 2007 at 10:07

Can you not get a cash alternative to a company car? That's what I do.

[TW]Fox · 16 Jul 2007 at 10:10

company cars are usually lease cars, no reason why you cant pick something nice and enjoy it. Had they not been discontinued the Celica would have been available as a company car.

wassap · 16 Jul 2007 at 10:24

Depends on the lease company and the rules of the company.Our place we arent allowed to have softops,4*4's,2 seaters or 2+2's.

We deal with LEX and its hit and miss what you get good deals on, currently the mondeo is uber cheap, the mondeo TiT is tha same price as a poxy 307 :eek:

It all depends on what deals they get.

Pug · 16 Jul 2007 at 10:34

well, i'm going to speak to them properly when i start, but they said odds are i'll have a pool car. The policy operates that th cars get replaced every 4 years or 100k miles, so i could get a right knacker, or worse, a diesel :eek:

j/k

wicksta - how does things like insurance work out? All sorted through the lease you take on?

IAmATeaf · 16 Jul 2007 at 12:23

Unless you need to do a serious number of miles a year you'll find that financially it may be better to opt out, that's if the company allows it. If you're given a pool car then you won't have to pay company car tax if the company acknowledges that the car is not solely yours.

I opted out and took the alternative of £600 a month, this figure is then taxed etc... but at least I get a choice whereas on the list we only had Ford, Vauxhall, Saab, Rover plus some others which I can't remember.

IAmATeaf · 16 Jul 2007 at 12:25

Pug said:
well, i'm going to speak to them properly when i start, but they said odds are i'll have a pool car. The policy operates that th cars get replaced every 4 years or 100k miles, so i could get a right knacker, or worse, a diesel

j/k

wicksta - how does things like insurance work out? All sorted through the lease you take on?

Depends on the size of the fleet but normally the car is just leased and the company would just have an insurance policy to cover all employees.

Wicksta · 16 Jul 2007 at 12:42

Pug said:
wicksta - how does things like insurance work out? All sorted through the lease you take on?

I pay for my own insurance, sounds like I have a similar deal to IAmATeaf. I use the monthly payments to pay off the loan I originally got for my car so not leasing at the moment. I might look at leasing an e92 BMW in the future though.

Gilly · 16 Jul 2007 at 12:44

Why do believe you'll not get something at least as good as a Celica?

Pug · 16 Jul 2007 at 16:14

Gilly said:
Why do believe you'll not get something at least as good as a Celica?

hehe cheeky

the list i have seen is evidence enough that they are all poorer than what i drive currently - A3/4s, Passat, golf, Mondeo etc... All standard trim (velour) 1.8/1.9 diesels etc...

With my Celica, which i accept not a lot of people like/have experienced i love the revs, handling and stlying of the car. It may not be for everyone, but it is pretty capable, and massivley underrated imo

just checked, and nice to see Evo agree with me:
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evolongtermtests/31672/celica_tsport.html

Make no mistake, this is a hardcore coupe.

[TW]Fox · 16 Jul 2007 at 16:15

The downside was that even with 190bhp on tap overtaking required forward planning

Sounds like your new company car will be quite an upgrade - you'll get some performance

Pug · 16 Jul 2007 at 16:19

[TW]Fox said:
Sounds like your new company car will be quite an upgrade - you'll get some performance

hee hee, you know damn well what i mean!

Besides, nothing a few downchanges wouldnt fix!

Vertigo · 16 Jul 2007 at 18:34

IAmATeaf said:
If you're given a pool car then you won't have to pay company car tax if the company acknowledges that the car is not solely yours.

And you don't use it for private use at all, including commuting.

Pyscho_Si · 16 Jul 2007 at 20:13

IAmATeaf said:
If you're given a pool car then you won't have to pay company car tax if the company acknowledges that the car is not solely yours.

You will also have to leave it on a company site on weekend. It you take it home on a weekend it becomes a taxable benefit.

Pug · 16 Jul 2007 at 21:14

when i say pool car i mean from the companies car pool, as in a spare one from the ex-employee i'm replacing. I get to take it home, unlimited personal mileage with a fuel card, for my own use blah blah hence my concerns about paying a lot out for something not of my choosing.

Vertigo · 16 Jul 2007 at 21:36

Be aware that you'll get taxed on the fuel too so you'll have to do a fair bit of personal mileage to make the card worthwhile, depending on the emissions band of the car in question of course.