Decisions decisions...... S3 or company car???

C_Audiboy

C_Audiboy

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I've got a decision to make: keep the S3 or get a new company car.

I'm currently only using the S3 at the weekends, which is great, but I've just bought a new house which means I can't justify not using it all week. So, its one or the other.

My choices are:-

Keep S3........
Take £375 p/m 'cash for cars' allowance (which is taxable as per my regular pay)
Allowance would cover all loan payments on car
Pay for all maintenance and running costs myself
The car is still owned by me
Receive rubbish 9p per mile for fuel

OR

Sell S3 and get new company car..........
Make approx £5k in my back pocket from the sale of S3
Get a new company car for approx £20k and ins group 13 max
Servicing and maintenance would be no cost to me
Take the tax hit for the company car from my pay packet
The car will never be mine
Receive rubbish 9p per mile for fuel

I'd reckon my mileage would be between 20 and 25k per annum.

The S3 currently has 39k on the clock. It's going great after the remap, and only want to sell it if I'm being really stupid keeping it.

OH WHAT TO DO /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Point me in the right direction here fellas!!!

Cheers /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif
 
£20k is OK, but insurance group 13? maybe a panda?
 
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£20k is OK, but insurance group 13? maybe a panda?

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Na...... an A3 2.0TDi sport or a Golf GT TDi are the likely suspects at the moment.
 
Keep the S3 and take the £375 per month.
 
Gonna get a bit of a biased view here though no?

I lost my Golf, then had a company car, then got an Audi, love having the personal car back...
 
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Gonna get a bit of a biased view here though no?

I lost my Golf, then had a company car, then got an Audi, love having the personal car back...

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Thats what I'm looking for....... the pros and cons of doing exactly that!!!
 
I'd say have a car you want not a car you don't really want. It costs, yes, but to hell with it.
I want a change too. Had this S3 for 3 years now. But, TBH, I still like it as much now as the day I bought it. I haven't seen anything else that I really want. I've never had any car over three years before.
Of course, if money were no option, perhaps the S3 would have gone a long while ago.
I'm fortunate though that I don't use the car for anything other than the commute and pleasure.

Chris.
 
I'd take the money for another year at least to be honest (I assume you are allowed to change your mind) as putting another 20k on a low milleage S3 like your's won't be an issue for resale in my opinion and I'd look to keep it like that at least until the company has finished paying for your S3 then have another look as the money may be more appealing then.
 
With that sort of mileage you'd be mad to go back into the ever more costly company car scheme. OK you may only get 9p per mile, but if it's your car then you need to add another 12.4p per mile for first 10k miles then 5.6p after that. This is the AMAP credit you'll get from the IR for getting such a lousy mileage allowance.
So if you do 20k business miles per year, you'll get £1,800 back in tax.
Even with a diesel co. car you'll be paying £200+ in tax per month, and only breaking even on the fuel.
So in summary:
Co. Car = £2,400 cost
Private = £4.5k profit (less costs)
So by sticking with private you can add nearly £7k net, or over £10k per year gross (based on 40% tax) to your income.
I don't know anyone who has voluntarily opted back in to any company car scheme.
 
I had a similar dilemma but the company I work for would actually pay for all of my fuel (fuel card).

I did all the calculations and given the fact that my journey to work is only just shy of 4 miles and I can get there by tube in just 4 stops, there was only one way to go...S3 for the weekends and have never looked back!

My company are paying for my car (and some), I enjoy driving it and it's mine...what more can I say, opt out!
 
Option 1.
It's exactly what I do at the moment, even down to the mileage. Our company car policy also states that you have to keep the thing for 4 years, great paying tax on a new car, but I didn't want to be paying it on a 4 year old Astra!
If you have a car allowance from the company, can you still claim the difference between the company's petrol allowance and the governments?
A colleague has a 150Bhp diesel Astra sporthatch with the kit on though. Looks very nice, but it's no S3!
 
Your probably find that your ll get taxed say £150 ish on whatever you have as a compnay car & lose the car allowance so approx £500. The difference cost wise isnt that much (i ve taken the allowance & it works for me). It comes down to what car you would prefer to have assuming your servicing bills & insurance arent to high.

I would pay the extra get the car i want but thats me.

Matt
 
I'd keep the S3. Like AndyMac says, you'll be better off financially without the Co car. With the money you'd save, you could even buy a second S3 in just over a year and have it as the company workhorse.
 
Yes, the AMAP credit is just the tax back on the shortfall between the 40p (<10k miles) and 25p (>10k miles) the IR allow per mile and what the company pay you per mile.
It's instead of claiming the tax back on the maintenance of the car, you can't do both. You're allowed to do it because the car allowance is already taxed.
So if you're in the 40% tax bracket and you do 10k business miles per year you'll get the 40% back on the difference between 40p per mile and what the company give you.
So if you get 10p per mile from work then in addition you'll get 40% of 30p per mile so another 12p per mile which equates to £1200 per year. So definately worth doing.
The company I work for actually do it on my behalf when I fill in my monthly mileage, but you can also claim it back on the self assessment form.
If you're sensible and get a high mileage TDi for £8.5k, you actually make a profit on both the car allowance and the fuel. I make about £100 per month net on fuel alone.
You have to be doing a helluva lot of private mileage and very little business mileage for it to be more beneficial getting a company car & fuel card.
 
Sorry to hijack this thread, but as a taxpayer who has to buy his own cars and who has seen his ******' tax bill rocket under Mr Brown's careful stewardship, it seems to me like the loophole you have just so elegantly described is one our friend the Chancellor should be plugging sharpish.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/soap.gif
 
I'd step right down off that little box if I were you!

As someone who pays a lot more than his fair share of tax, I run my own car through my own company. This is the tax break I get for the general wear and tear, petrol money (again Mr Brown get's his), insurance etc. There's no one else picking up the tab or offering me a company car, I don't have any choice if I need to be somewhere.
 
But it's not a loophole. Under the old scheme if you opted out and received a car allowance then you could claim back the tax on servicing, tyres etc etc if the car was used for work. This method could very obviously be exploited with any number of dodgy receipts etc and was not linked to mileage so you could maintain a car tax free without ever using it for business.
It was also very labour intensive as each case was different. Providing tax relief on the fuel is much more straightforward as the only variable is how much mileage you do, which will be reflected in how much maintenance your car will need.
But yes, totally agree that a policy that actually makes sense & is easy to administrate would normally be scrapped pretty quickly.
The whole new company car legislation seriously penalises the people who do actually need a company car and do lots of business mileage, i.e. need a bigger car. I know people who have company X-type jags and a fuel card and are paying £500 a month for the privilege.
If you get a co. car purely as a perk then you're laughing because chances are you don't need a big engine as you're not doing any mileage and there's no option of a car allowance.
 
Aah come on now, Ted...
Surely in the People's Republic of Scotland - sorry the United Kingdom, it is not possible to pay more than your fair share of tax..............
Of course someone else is picking up the tab - all the other s0dding taxpayers for a start, because you're getting the "benefit" but aren't getting taxed for it.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Aah come on now, Ted...
Surely in the People's Republic of Scotland - sorry the United Kingdom, it is not possible to pay more than your fair share of tax..............
Of course someone else is picking up the tab - all the other s0dding taxpayers for a start, because you're getting the "benefit" but aren't getting taxed for it.

[/ QUOTE ]

WTF???

Oh, right then. I'd be expected to do 25k per annum business miles and get a pishy 9p per mile? That sounds fair to you does it??

I don't see what you are having a moan about to be honest. Have a dig at the folks in the dole queue on a Monday morning for taking all your 'hard earned' tax, not the folk that already pay 40% on their salary AND fuel tax on top.
 
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Sorry to hijack this thread, but as a taxpayer who has to buy his own cars and who has seen his ******' tax bill rocket under Mr Brown's careful stewardship....

[/ QUOTE ]

Has he actually raised income taxes? I thought that was NI contributions.
 
Right on Audiboy!
I think this issue is quite a way down on the list of "I'm being shafted by the IR"
I imagine you would also moan about smokers costing the NHS a fortune without realising that the NHS would collapse without the income they provide? Last count the 20 a day smoker pays in tax over his shortened lifetime over 800 times the typical cost for the treatment he will need, so you're welcome.

So what "benefit" am I getting exactly? To be able to run my personal car on business trips without making a huge loss on every mile?
I get taxed at 40% on my car allowance, I get taxed at 40% on the income I need to earn in order to pay for tyres, servicing, tax & insurance, the bulk of which is needed for business mileage. I get taxed at 70% at the pumps like everyone else. This rebate is purely compensation for paying income tax on the money needed for the increased upkeep of my car when used for business. It's a far more accurate method than a simple fixed amount attributed to having a company fuel card, where the individual pays a flat fee and gets all mileage (personal & business) for free.
So your argument is what exactly?
 
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Has he actually raised income taxes? I thought that was NI contributions.

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You are technically correct income tax has not risen, however if you look at the tax burden on each working individual sinse these nupties have been running things it's gone up a lot in my opinion!

Just you wait for road pricing I bet you can't wait! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/burningmad.gif

And I don't know who I support as they all seem as daft as each other - bring back common sense please!!!
 
Actually that's a very good point. My idea was that just like in a bar you can't get served if you're completely sh!tfaced, shops & restaurants should be able to say "sorry mate don't you think you've had enough?" to fat people and refuse to serve them.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Actually that's a very good point. My idea was that just like in a bar you can't get served if you're completely sh!tfaced, shops & restaurants should be able to say "sorry mate don't you think you've had enough?" to fat people and refuse to serve them.

[/ QUOTE ]

hahahahaha /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh_roll.gif
 
I said to a friend recently that they should have a set of doors or lasers to see how wide people are as they walk into McD's; the wider they are, the less they can buy.

"Hello sir, all you are permitted to purchase today is a single nugget, otherwise we might have to cut out a wall and hire a crane to get you out"
 
Seriously though, if beer and cigarettes carry such a high tax burden then why dont chocolate bars.

That would teach the fat cnuts!
 
You have my vote!!!!!

I think your national insurance contributions should be based on BMI. The fatter you are the more health care you'll need and the more you pay.
 
That's exactly my thoughts when they were banging on about food manufacturers not making the the fat content easy enough to understand. Just hike the VAT on pies & crisps, what's the problem?
 
With current fuel prices 9p a mile would mean that you were putting your own money into the tank of a company car not good, go the car allowance route, you know it makes sense
 
PMSL at hitting fat people for more tax and NI...trouble is, I'm 24 stone and it takes me about 16 pints to get merry so don't you think I pay enough tax? Mind you, I have been in hospital 6 times this year already for my dodgy knees.
 
[ QUOTE ]
With current fuel prices 9p a mile would mean that you were putting your own money into the tank of a company car not good, go the car allowance route, you know it makes sense

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Ah yes, but on top of the 9p a mile he'll get tax relief upto 40ppm etc so you can make money!
 
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With current fuel prices 9p a mile would mean that you were putting your own money into the tank of a company car not good, go the car allowance route, you know it makes sense

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah yes, but on top of the 9p a mile he'll get tax relief upto 40ppm etc so you can make money!

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Sounds good folks...... think I've made a decision now /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Its seems that pretty much 100% of you reckon keeping the S3 and taking the allowance is the way to go. Thanks to AndyMac's explaination of the tax/mileage setup I now have more of an idea what is going on!!

Cheers for all the advice guys - looks like I'll have the S3 a bit longer then!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/woohoo.gif
 
Keep the S3. Had the same choice as you and opted out. The fact that you get stung on tax was one thing, but losing some years personal insurance and not actually owning a car means you get fack all out of it. The S3 will last, mines on 116k and she is lovely, will be keeping her as long as I can. What else can match it for overall spec, interior finish and power!! Keep the S3
 
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