NHS Lease Car...worth it?

lucylocket1983

I currently have an NHS lease car through Knowles Associates. This is a small car that is relatively cheap to run and costs £80/month. I do a relatively large amount of miles each month for work (500-600miles) and I do not get paid additionally for this as it's already taken off the cost of the car. The monthly cost contains all maintenance, tyres, insurance, etc.

Well, my trust has now changed to NHS Fleet Solutions. This works in a different way by the cost of car being taken out of salary before insurance and tax, therefore you are effectively paying less. You also pay a higher cost for car but can claim mileage on top at the standard rate.

I have been looking at a Mini Countryman Cooper D, something fancier! I wanted the media and pepper back on top and this will cost £330/month but I can of course claim mileage on top of this.

Just wondered if anybody had any experience of NHS Fleet Solutions and whether it was worth doing. Or would I be better off buying a car privately?

Confusedandneedhelp

lucylocket1983 wrote: »

I currently have an NHS lease car through Knowles Associates. This is a small car that is relatively cheap to run and costs £80/month. I do a relatively large amount of miles each month for work (500-600miles) and I do not get paid additionally for this as it's already taken off the cost of the car. The monthly cost contains all maintenance, tyres, insurance, etc.

Well, my trust has now changed to NHS Fleet Solutions. This works in a different way by the cost of car being taken out of salary before insurance and tax, therefore you are effectively paying less. You also pay a higher cost for car but can claim mileage on top at the standard rate.

I have been looking at a Mini Countryman Cooper D, something fancier! I wanted the media and pepper back on top and this will cost £330/month but I can of course claim mileage on top of this.

Just wondered if anybody had any experience of NHS Fleet Solutions and whether it was worth doing. Or would I be better off buying a car privately?

Well u'll be claiming back between £270 and £324 for the first 3,500 miles. so thats 6 months free basically. and then you still get approx £150ish a month there after, so per year it will cost you £1,080. Not bad really with all the extra covered and a brand new car.

flashg67

They usually work out as good deals and a good way to a new, no hassle car.

One thing with salary sacrifice AFAIK is that your salary is reduced accordingly so if any bounus, pension, pay rise is based on your salary, you could potentially lose out this way.

The lease provider or your HR will have a factsheet/booklet to help you decide, but in theory, nothing wrong with the schemes and they're becoming very popular.

vansboy

I dont know about this change over, but a friend of mine has her replaced her Clio (£70/month) with a Polo (£100/month) and seems good value to me. No hassle motoring, anyone can drive, with her permission and a brand new car.

Have you looked at MINI own personal contract plans, to get a comparison?

VB

debz1981

Hi sorry to but in on this thread, but really cant find much info at all on the net about salary sacrifice. Does anyone have any idea how having a lease car through the salary sacrifuce scheme affects tax credits award??
Any help would be great!
Thanks

Amy.B_3

debz1981 wrote: »

Does anyone have any idea how having a lease car through the salary sacrifuce scheme affects tax credits award??

It might but circumstances change for different family situations, probably best giving them a call 0845 300 3900 and see if this applies to you.

Ian011

Amy.B wrote: »

It might but circumstances change for different family situations, probably best giving them a call 0845 300 3900 and see if this applies to you.

HMRC switched on replacment 0345 and 0300 numbers in several batches between April and October 2013.

In December 2014, all HMRC 0845 and 0870 lines were switched to play a "you must hang up and redial the new number" message.

In June 2015, all HMRC 0845 and 0870 numbers were switched off and return "number unavailable" tone.