need advice getting a company car

bubblesmoney

I am planning on getting a company car under the nhs car scheme being provided by some nhs employers. The scheme allows employees of the trust scheme to lease car for 3y {can extend another year} which is inclusive of car lease, insurance, tax, servicing, maintenence, break down cover. The insurance is not dependent on driver history. They take the list price of the car into consideration rather than the discounted forecourt prices.

I understand this affects the pension as it is a salary sacrifice scheme from pretax income.

But like the childcare vouchers scheme guess i will save some tax but will pay company car tax and benefit in kind tax. Does the end amount in my pocket monthly work out cheaper using this method excluding pension being affected.

I am a 40% tax payer and do pay into the nhs pension scheme. I cant seem to find any online calculator where i can input my salary bracket and tax and nhs pension contribution after which i can input the make and model of the car and see my monthly cost. Can anyone point me to any such online calculators please if available. My employers car lease scheme operator does not provide such an online facility and just gives a few examples instead and i have to pick a model and write to them and they get back with a quote. I am only allowed 3 quotes. I have used up my 3 quotes but not very keen on those vehicles after seeing the quotes.

instead of giving the name and model and waiting for a quote, i would prefer to know monthly out goings for make and model and then after seeing such a list {if available} then decide on the purchase / short list. This method would help me select a vehicle that is cheap (list price) and low insurance group and company car tax bracket and low P11D as those affect the monthly payment i will have to make.

My employers car scheme operator has no such list apart from a few models that i am not interested in. I am interested in a family car the size of a nissan primera / ford mondeo with a good sized boot, preferably a hatch back / estate with low monthly payment on the scheme. If anyone knows of an online list of such vehicles or a calculator that does the job then please can you point me in the right direction.

Many thanks in advance.

Is there any catch to the scheme.

What happens if for example I have an accident sometime during the 3y lets say 6m later and then the insurer says too costly to repair and vehicle gets written off by insurer, then will i have no vehicle but still have to make payments for three years! The FAQs of the scheme dont cover the issue. When i asked over the phone the people answering the helpline of the scheme didnt seem to know the answer to this question. I will write to them to get a written answer on this issue before proceeding any further.

spiro

Does this help http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs/cars.htm ?

Bean_Counter

You will need to consider CO2 emissions as well as list price in determining how much company car tax you will pay. This site shows different categories of cars by CO2 emission levels.

grizzly1911

Certainly the list price and CO2 (BIK rate) are the key drivers on any scheme. If you choose a vehicle on the low and high side you should be able to bracket in on the short list options. Low price low & BIK = cheapest. BIK rate x list price x 40% gives you a fair relative indication.

The list price is used as this is a HMRC stipulation for the tax calculation.

The salary sacrifice will make a difference to pension calculation and it will be cumulative/compounded the longer you stay in this type of scheme. You need to factor this into your go/no go decision. Probably compounded more if you are a higher earner.

I didn't have the salary sacrifice but by going for a modest vehicle and low CO2 believed it was advantageous to have certainly for peace of mind and even better if you do high mileages from a service/replacement parts point of view. Many Diesels are cheaper as they have lower CO2 emissions and lower BIK.

I would have thought the insurance side wasn't an issue as whilst the car is "contracted" to you the scheme would still want the asset value and it would get replaced or scheme "ended" unless you wanted to roll into a new car.

bubblesmoney

i came across this http://www.comcar.co.uk/newcar/companycar/poolresults/gtopten.cfm?clk=1 But ringing around and find some ridiculously long lead times for delivery like 6months etc for skoda yeti crossover and 9/16weeks for many others. Just trying to see if i can find an online list which has low lead times for delivery.

BLONDIE35_2

Hi there I have also been offered deals on the salary sacrifice scheme. I am not a higher rate taxpayer but here's my figures if this offers any help my quote was based on a Peugeot 3008 diesel 1.6.

Salary sacrifice £447.72
Savings on NI -£46.56
Savings on tax - -£83.72
Super Ann - -£29.10

Monthly take home pay reduced by - £288.83
Car Tax liability - £64.60

Net Pay reduced by £352.93

The insurance excess is £250 but sure what happens if written off I'm going to ask this question as hadn't thought of it. No excess on any glass.

How prices are set is dependent on depreciation over the life of the lease and the lower the CO2 emissions the cheaper it works out. I personally have decided on a Ford Focus as my family car (2 adults, 2 children) as I think this will be enough for us as now have a Zafira and received a price for this and worked out at £379 for us so too much.

opinions4u

Note the tax on many company cars is increasing in April by as much as 30%. You might want to factor in this future liability.

99 CO2 or less is the way to avoid this, but don't expect to do much outside lane driving!

SteveJW

Be aware that many of the leasing companies are becoming very strict about the condition of the car at the end of lease. They are applying very high standards in inspecting the cars and charging accordingly. A few stone chips and a couple of scrubbed alloy wheels can turn out expensive

My opinion is that the lessor has taken a high residual on the vehicle, the market is depressed so they are not getting their residual when they sell the car so they looking to get the most they can out of the lessee

Maybe worth asking colleagues their experience with different companies at the end of the lease, saying that in three years time attitudes may have changed

spiro

SteveJW wrote: »

Be aware that many of the leasing companies are becoming very strict about the condition of the car at the end of lease. They are applying very high standards in inspecting the cars and charging accordingly. A few stone chips and a couple of scrubbed alloy wheels can turn out expensive

My opinion is that the lessor has taken a high residual on the vehicle, the market is depressed so they are not getting their residual when they sell the car so they looking to get the most they can out of the lessee

Maybe worth asking colleagues their experience with different companies at the end of the lease, saying that in three years time attitudes may have changed

Ask the company for a copy of BVRLA Fair Wear & Tear Guide as this details what you can get away with and what you wont.

SteveJW

Agree with what you are saying about the guide.

Point I was trying to make is that a couple of years ago they were very lenient in applying the standards laid down and in my experience gave the customer the benefit of the doubt. Nowadays they are after every penny they can get and are very strict in applying the guide.

spiro

SteveJW wrote: »

Agree with what you are saying about the guide.

Point I was trying to make is that a couple of years ago they were very lenient in applying the standards laid down and in my experience gave the customer the benefit of the doubt. Nowadays they are after every penny they can get and are very strict in applying the guide.

Dont disagree just pointing them in the right direction. Even with stome chips it depends on how many. If you check you current car and it has lots they advise this can be down to your driving (too close) and that you need to change your habits before gettting a lease car.