Personal car breakdown when on business use - who pays for repairs?

Bob63

Some things to think about....

HMRC is clear that 40p/mile is approved rate for "expenses related to your use of your own vehicle for work journeys". This includes petrol, tyres, insurance, maintenance etc. This is the only contribution your employer is allowed to make without you attracting an income tax liability.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/mileage/employee-factsheet.htm

Do be aware that the 40p/mile allowance is only for the first 10,000 miles per tax year, after which the approved rate drops to 25p/mile. If you do more than this and your company continues to pay 40p/mile then you will be liable for income tax on the 15p/mile difference. If you receive a monthly car allowance on top of this (I get around £700/month from memory) then that is fully taxable.

You may want to check your t's & c's of employment as I am expected to have a fully working vehicle in return for receiving my monthly car allowance. Saying to my employer I can't do a business trip because my car isn't working is not acceptable as the company pays me to make a vehicle available. The monthly allowance is intended to pay for vehicle purchase (including interest & depreciation) or lease, as well as fixed costs. The mileage rate pays for variable costs related to the distance travelled (fuel, tyres, servicing etc)

littlesnuggy

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

£285 to replace a spring - sorry to inform you but you've been had.

They had to change the springs, anti roll bar links and cv boot kit (whatever all that is) and they convinced me that both sides needed doing otherwise the car might not sit level. Parts were are £120 and 3 hours labour the same on top, plus VAT.

cheesy.mike wrote:

If you receive a monthly car allowance on top of this (I get around £700/month from memory) ...

I get no such allowance, just the 40p per mile. I've only been in the job 6 months, and probably done around 250 miles, and I will never exceed 10,000 miles each year!

molerat

littlesnuggy wrote: »

When I said my petrol was reimbursed.... I do actually get 40p per mile. Suppose I can't expect any more then.

I'm just aggravated with the stupid thing (the car!), as I've just renewed my insurance at over £350 (yes,yes went through all Martin's tips and comparison sites, this was the cheapest), I have to pay nearly £100 annually for a residents parking permit, now this - and I use the car about once a month for work and once every two months for personal use! :mad:

Do you really need a car for that amount of use. Hire cars, public transport and taxis would probably work out cheaper. If you did not have a car
your employer should hire one for you and re-imburse all costs.

littlesnuggy

I honestly would prefer not to have it - more hassle than it's worth, but at my interview they said I would need my own transport (I already had the car, it was just kept at my parents' while I was at University). Whenever possible, I take public transport anyway because I don't particularly like driving, and finding parking when I get home is a nightmare!

lisyloo

I get no such allowance, just the 40p per mile.

Ok, when you said you get paid for petrol I mis-understood what you meant.
Unless you are driving a sherman tank then 40p is not just for petrol (and yes I know sherman tanks use a lot more than that).

It is intended to cover all your costs.
That includes the petrol and but also business insurance and additional wear and tear.
The costs you have recently incurred were not solely because you did a few extra business miles, they would have come about anyway (maybe a few miles later).

My car costs me about 20p per mile to run so I make a profit when I travel on business but admittedly I have a pretty cheap car.
If you have a much nicer car then you might find the 40p is a bit tight these days but then that's your choice to have a fancy car and unless it's something you agreed to in your contract then you could do have the option of simply refusing to use your personal equipment.
Your employer has no right to demand you use it (of course if may be convenient for you).
You could simply insist they provide public transport, hire car or taxi (as appropriate).
I have a number of colleagues who do not have access to a car (some don't have one, some need to leave it for the wife and kids) so they have no right to expect you to use it (unless it's in your contract or was verbally discussed up front).

In my view 40p per mile should be enough to compensate most people with most cars.
If you have an exceptionally expensive then you have the choice of either using your luxury car and subsiding the business or finding cheaper alternatives that have already been discussed.
It's not not up to the business to transport you in luxury so it you own car exceeds very standard and normal levels then it's really your problem I'm afraid.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I think 40p per mile is quite reasonable and so do the Inland Revenue. If you get more than that then you have to pay tax on it as it's consider a "benefit" - so my view is in-line with the official one.

mymatebob

If they say you "need" your own transport then I would expect them to make some sort of proper payment for it not just the 40p a mile. If you did not have the car would you not have been offered the job? If you had to get rid of the car would you be unable to do your job? If you don't need the car sell it and raise and save some cash

lisyloo

but at my interview they said I would need my own transport

The next time someone tells me the whole story will be the first time (JOKE)

OK, sorry to sound harsh but you agreed and knew about this.

But having said that, are there alternatives that would better suit you.
Could you hire a car (even subsiding for business may be cheaper than having a car you don't want and all the associated costs).
If you live in a big city could you do a car share? Check out google to see if there is somewhere near you.
Could you get a very cheap car?
Why not discuss your concerns with your employer?
Even though you agreed, it may not be much more expensive for them to hire you a car, so it might be that they don't mind.

lisyloo

If they say you "need" your own transport then I would expect them to make some sort of proper payment for it not just the 40p a mile.

40p per mile is quite a reasonable payment on the assumption that the person would be running their own car anyway i.e. paying road tax, MOT, insurance etc anyway.
It's designer to cover the ADDITIONAL costs when you already own a car.

The problem here is that this person would not otherwise be owning a car so it doen't work.
They did however agree to it, so they have to find the best way out of the situation now.

lisyloo

Here's what I meant by a car share.

It really depends on whether there is something similar where you live/work, but it's one posible solution (no connection). There are other companies and this is just an exmaple.

http://www.whizzgo.co.uk/howItWorks/index.htm

mymatebob

As you say if they have their own car 40p is fair recompense my question is what if they didn't have their own car? Is that a condition of the job or just something that was mentioned in passing?

People will agree to lots of things to get a job, but once you have got it things can change!