Cheapest way for me to 'own' a car?

maxsteam

If you can be bothered to read up on how to buy an older car, it's not difficult to get something that has a few years of life left in it for £1k. If things go wrong, you can buy another one and still have money left in the budget.

In terms of what's going to be best for your wallet, it's definitely to buy an older car and claim the mileage allowance.

If the £6k must be spent, it's enough to get something really really nice, as long as you are sensible.

ex-pat_scot

its a no-brainer to go with a company EV, with 1% BIK this year and 2% the next.
£500/m (your £6000) would get you a decent Enyaq, Tesla or Ioniq5, and your tax bill would be peanuts:
Option 1. Take the car: Car value roughly £40,000 - 1% BIK would be £400 and tax on that would be £240 at your marginal rate.
Option 2. Take the cash. £6000 salary would get you £2,205 net cash pa. (at 60% marginal tax rate plus 3.25% NI).  What are you going to be able to buy / run / repair for that amount of money?

Sadly, if you buy the EV yourself, rather than co car scheme, then you miss out on the fab BIK rates.
(this is my (tiny violin) predicament - same sort of package but no company scheme to use)

ex-pat_scot

maxsteam said:

If you can be bothered to read up on how to buy an older car, it's not difficult to get something that has a few years of life left in it for £1k. If things go wrong, you can buy another one and still have money left in the budget.

In terms of what's going to be best for your wallet, it's definitely to buy an older car and claim the mileage allowance.

If the £6k must be spent, it's enough to get something really really nice, as long as you are sensible.

Be aware that there may be restrictions on what you can use for company purposes - formal and informal
Eg some specify max age and type of vehicle. I've worked at consultancies that state must be less than 5 years, no 2 seaters, fully maintained and serviced, evidence of insurance showing company use.
I've also suffered the withering comments from senior partners when turning up at clients in tatty LandRover. Turned out OK though, as I took 7 of senior client staff home in a blizzard in the LR.

Frankly, very few clients get to see what you are driving, if you are indeed driving for work. Mostly you are tucked into a corner of a visitors' area and only the reception/ security get to see your car.

Grumpy_chap

ex-pat_scot said:

Be aware that there may be restrictions on what you can use for company purposes - formal and informal
Eg some specify max age and type of vehicle. I've worked at consultancies that state must be less than 5 years, no 2 seaters, fully maintained and serviced, evidence of insurance showing company use.
I've also suffered the withering comments from senior partners when turning up at clients in tatty LandRover. Turned out OK though, as I took 7 of senior client staff home in a blizzard in the LR.

Frankly, very few clients get to see what you are driving, if you are indeed driving for work. Mostly you are tucked into a corner of a visitors' area and only the reception/ security get to see your car.

This is, perhaps, the biggest challenge if using your own car for company business, especially any kind of consultancy work.

Too old a car, and snide comments about it not presenting a positive image.

Too "good" a car and snide comments about consultants fleecing the client.  That actually becomes a real issue when considering a £50k Tesla even thought total cost of ownership is likely on a par with a £35k ICE.  Similarly turn up in a Mondeo that has all the bells and whistles, £30k, no problem. One of my colleagues got a run-out 5-series touring for £28k and no-end of snide comment.

ex-pat_scot

Grumpy_chap said:

ex-pat_scot said:

Be aware that there may be restrictions on what you can use for company purposes - formal and informal
Eg some specify max age and type of vehicle. I've worked at consultancies that state must be less than 5 years, no 2 seaters, fully maintained and serviced, evidence of insurance showing company use.
I've also suffered the withering comments from senior partners when turning up at clients in tatty LandRover. Turned out OK though, as I took 7 of senior client staff home in a blizzard in the LR.

Frankly, very few clients get to see what you are driving, if you are indeed driving for work. Mostly you are tucked into a corner of a visitors' area and only the reception/ security get to see your car.

This is, perhaps, the biggest challenge if using your own car for company business, especially any kind of consultancy work.

Too old a car, and snide comments about it not presenting a positive image.

Too "good" a car and snide comments about consultants fleecing the client.  That actually becomes a real issue when considering a £50k Tesla even thought total cost of ownership is likely on a par with a £35k ICE.  Similarly turn up in a Mondeo that has all the bells and whistles, £30k, no problem. One of my colleagues got a run-out 5-series touring for £28k and no-end of snide comment.

when I started training at one of the big 4 (then the big 6), the senior partner had a fancy 5 series, but used a 15 year old 5 series for client visits. Clients don't like consultants turning up in better vehicles than their directors.
Same with contractors. I've seen them turn up to client site in an Aston. Didn't end well - finance director binned him on principle as "he was clearly being paid too much".

maxsteam

ex-pat_scot said:
.

Be aware that there may be restrictions on what you can use for company purposes - formal and informal
Eg some specify max age and type of vehicle. I've worked at consultancies that state must be less than 5 years, no 2 seaters, fully maintained and serviced, evidence of insurance showing company use.
I've also suffered the withering comments from senior partners when turning up at clients in tatty LandRover. Turned out OK though, as I took 7 of senior client staff home in a blizzard in the LR.

Frankly, very few clients get to see what you are driving, if you are indeed driving for work. Mostly you are tucked into a corner of a visitors' area and only the reception/ security get to see your car.

There will always be snobbery in an office. Some people spend huge chunks of their salary just to have the flashiest car. I've been there. In terms of one-upmanship, I always preferred the cost-effective option and drove the oldest, cheapest car, but always something respectable enough to give colleagues a lift or park in a posh client's car park.

Insurance for business purposes should be insisted upon by the employer if you will be asked to use the vehicle for anything more than commuting to your main office.

doningtonphil

Surely Salry Sacrifice on an EV is THE way to do this?

1% benefit in kind and you are effectively reimbursing the company for the cost of the company car so in theory could choose any car you like.  The big win is the cost comes out of your gross pay so the 'hit' on your back pocket is very much reduced.

For example, I am leasing a car that cost about £540 a month from the leasing company.  I sacrifice the same amount from my salary aand it reduced my take home pay by a figure in the £300s.  Ia m a basic rate tax payer.  If you are a higher rate then the savings will be even more significant.

Who is your Salary Sacrifice provider?  What EVs do they offer?

slaney

Thank you everyone for your thoughts.   I think for the moment I will stick with my jalopy, clunker, heap, and rust bucket until I see what is what.  I have no idea post pandemic how much work will be on a client site and how much will be remote.  I also need to see the contract.