Help me figure out MSE friendly car rental

Bullfighter

So I've accepted a new job which is going to mean a significant increase in business mileage. Perhaps up to 2k miles per month.

I'll get 45p per mile expenses, and no car allowance.

I'm thinking that my current car with 80,000 miles on the clock is at risk of major failure if I start piling on 30,000 miles per annum (it's a turbo and automatic so major failures are £1000s). It's also very thirsty (it's petrol, turbo and automatic!!).

Buying a brand new car is out of the question since whilst it gives worry free motoring it will depreciate hugely with that mileage.

Buying a nearly new cheap to run diesel is a better option, however driving 6+ hours a day in a cheap entry level car is not really a compromise I'm willing to make, plus it will still cost a lot in servicing and tyres with that mileage.

My other option is to rent a car. On first pass it's insane right? £135/week gets me an automatic mid level hatchback from Hertz etc.

That's £540 per month. The equivalent repayments on a similar £25k new car.

However, the benefits are:

• Unlimited mileage
• No servicing
• No tyres
• No Road Fund Tax
• No MOT or repairs
• No insurance (it comes with the rental)
• The ability to swap cars eg an estate for a family trip or a Prius to do really long runs
• Cashback on Credit Card? (£30 pcm??)
• Various Membership benefits?
• Take advantage of Discount Codes (eg just found code for 30% off budget.co.uk!)

Plus I'm basing the cost on having a rental car all year round, My wife has a little run around and there will be some weekends and holidays when I just won't need a rental.


Am I missing something? My brain is frazzled at the moment and I'm probably missing something blindingly obvious.

Cheers

insert_random_name_here

Be aware that 45p/mile is typically only for the first 10,000 miles as that matches HMRC's tax free allowance.

If you're lucky your employer will pay you that for all your mileage, but you will attract an income tax liability for any mileage above 10,000 miles because their allowance after that is 25p/mile. So you'll need to pay back HMRC the equivalent of 4p or 8p/mile depending on whether you pay 20% or 40% tax.

If your employer does pay the lower rate after 10,000 miles then that's going to seriously affect your affordability calculations.

Bullfighter

insert_random_name_here wrote: »

Be aware that 45p/mile is typically only for the first 10,000 miles as that matches HMRC's tax free allowance.

If you're lucky your employer will pay you that for all your mileage, but you will attract an income tax liability for any mileage above 10,000 miles because their allowance after that is 25p/mile. So you'll need to pay back HMRC the equivalent of 4p or 8p/mile depending on whether you pay 20% or 40% tax.

If your employer does pay the lower rate after 10,000 miles then that's going to seriously affect your affordability calculations.

Thanks, very good point, however this is a net neutral point because other than MPG I will have this issue with a brand new car or a rental.

Pilgrim_22

I hire cars for 3-4 weeks at a time for the reasons you list above.
I use Skyscanner dot net to find the best deals and usually hire a Focus or Astra for around £11 per day. I took CDW anual insurance from icarhireinsurance dot com for £40 /year as opposed to the hire companies £5 /Day.

Expect to pay deposits up to £1200.

Do not hire from Green Motion! they are currently trying to charge me £630 for a stone chip smaller than my fingernail!