If you had £38k or £700 per month to spend...

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A decent trip to Amsterdam every month and a golf gt tdi 4-motion with the remaining spend.

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Winner /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

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Cheers bud. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile_smoking.gif
 
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Booster, I don't know where you get your tyres from but you've been completey ripped off if you paid £160 each whatever they were.
For the slower readers among you, the car allowance route doesn't mean you go out and buy the same £38k car and finance it yourself, unless you're rolling in it.
You go out and buy a similar car 3 years old and save 50%, then you have more than enough to maintain it, and after 3 years the allowance is almost pure profit.
Any accountant that tells you you'd be better off taking a petrol company car wants his head testing. The only cars that are borderline are diesels, anything else it's a no brainer.
If you really want to screw the IR then buy a cheap high mileage diesel and make money on the fuel as well. Believe me I've done the maths and you don't need to be an accountant to see the complete waste of money a £38k petrol company car would be.

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Tyres were £139.50 each plus £8 fitting and balancing each. I also had a puncture repair for £15. I could have got them from Blackcircles for £123 but I've used the same tyre place for years and they don't use an air wrench on my wheels to avoid chipping round the wheel nuts. Besides I don't pay for them /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The point I was making is that as he drives a 3.2 petrol now I assumed he's going to go for another petrol car and that in that case factoring in all of the costs in my original post, he would be better off taking a company car especially as he is looking to spend 38k. Cars of that value, especially with big, lumpy petrol engines lose hell of a lot in the first year.

I would rather know exactly what its costing me (ie the tax each month) than having the unknown when it comes to selling it - as well as all the hassle that brings.

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OK even more simply:
£38k car = £12k per year taxable income = £5k per year in tax = £416 net tax per month
With a fuel card add another £250 per month
TOTAL - £666 per month
Still with me?
£700 per month gross car allowance = +£420 per month net
Plus tax saving of above = +£666
TOTAL +£1,086
3 year old £20k equivalent over 3 years = -£600 per month
15k miles per year over 3 years = 5 services = £2k
6 tyres = £600
3 x road tax = £480
3 x insurance = £2.4k
TOTAL = approx £5k = -£140 per month

Saving = £1k, cost = £740, result = saving of £260 per month + residual value of car approx £7k
Thus saving £460 net per month which is a lot of money for any unexpected expenses and private mileage. Plus if you also go diesel you'll be making 20p per mile on any business mileage up to 10k miles. Assuming 5k bus mileage = £1k profit or £83 per month
Result = £543 net per month in your pocket.
Better off with a company car? While some accountants may be able to make £500+ per month profit look like a loss, it's clear to me which is the better option.
 
Whilst i'm with you most of the way on that one Andy, a lot of jobs that provide an allowance specify a max age to the car. Most are 5 years, mine, unfortunately is 3 years. However, the maths is sound /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Please, no more talk of XC90. I love the 3.2 A3 I have now, and love the styling of the Alfa (as mentioned before)... I'm not after something to do the school run in, I'm after something that is a little unusual (if possible), great fun but practible enough.

I don't use this car for work, or even to commute... so. It's then down to wether I get a 3 year old car or not.

Sadly, the Brera only got launch on Saturday, so you can see the problems I might face.

That being said, I can see why I could, over 3 years, contribute to the BUYING of a new car, and then after 3 years, take all the money as a wage increase (which would more than cover the cost of running the car after I have to pay for everything... i.e. after the 3 year warranty).
 
I see the Brera was tested in,I think,Autocar this month.

Against the Golf R32.

The Brera won.

Said it was a far more rewarding and involving drive than the R32,which they said had dead steering,uninvolving handling and a dull interior.
 
nice one bowfer, thanks for the tip off. I've gotta say, I'm falling more in love with it every day... and some say you can't be a petrol head until you've owned an alfa... I just hope it's NOW not for the 'you get to know cars by fixing them' type of reasons, he-he.
 
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nice one bowfer, thanks for the tip off. I've gotta say, I'm falling more in love with it every day... and some say you can't be a petrol head until you've owned an alfa... I just hope it's NOW not for the 'you get to know cars by fixing them' type of reasons, he-he.

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It's precisely that reason that still puts me off.

I'd have one as a company car but wouldn't buy my own.
 
I don't see the attraction in the alfa, it looks ugly, (fat 4rse with 80s style headlights) still each to their own. I'd go down the Audi route, but hey I'm biased.
 
I'd love the RS4... but 50k of car... do I really want to spend money on that, or still have fun in a Brera and keep the dosh. Don't think I could afford an RS4 anyway.
 
So, how many for a trip to Amsterdam.

So far, it's Eeef, MB, and Bowfer, and maybe Andymac.
 
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