private car used for company mileage

wolvoman

jjames wrote:

My figures:

Extra insurance ... £30/year
MOT ... £40/year (passed both times)
Servicing/Maintenance ... £150/year, no maintenance required (40K on first set of tyres/brakes/exhaust etc) -- under manufacturer's warranty until it is 5 years old.
Road Tax ... £125/year (nothing really as this would be the case if it were a private car as well)
Depreciation ... £1000/year max on my car.

Still not costing me that much I have to say

If cars are costing people more than the 40/25p/mile, they're driving the wrong car. The 40p/mile is NOT to pay for the upkeep of the car; that is what the £4-5000 a year you get as a company car allowance is for.

Sorry, but I would say that your car is far below the average for running costs as far as cars go. Your figures are not even close to those paid by most people who use a car for business mileage.

Generally people who receive a car allowance do not get anywhere near the 40p/25p per mile, it is more like 5p to 15p or thereabouts. Those without car allowances may get more. Least I've ever got is 25p per mile, most is 55p per mile, but that definitely had to account for upkeep of the car.

I've posted this on another thread before, but the cost of running a car is significantly more than just fuel.

Insurance costs more for higher mileages.
Insurance costs more if you need to use the car for business mileage.
Service intervals are reached more frequently so servicing costs are higher.
Wear and tear is higher and so repair costs are higher.
Depreciation is higher. Cars depreciate quicker if used on the road than if stored in the garage - also more mileage equals more damage and hence higher depreciation.
And of course petrol costs more as you cover more mileage.

jjames_3

Even if you don't get the full 40p/25p per mile, surely you can claim the rest back from the taxman?

In fairness I only do around 13-15K in business miles per year, which is below the average. But in the 30,000 miles I've run this car (it had only 12,000 when I bought it for 3k) it's never needed any consumable parts (and has only been in for one repair in that time, for a noisy rear wheel bearing which was probably caused when the missus decided to kerb it at 40mph, tsk), and the £3000 paid for it means that depreciation can only ever be £3000/the number of years I use it for.

I understand that most people pay more than this for their car, mainly, presumably, because they don't want to be driving around in a cheap (albeit reliable and economical) Korean car all day. But even so I don't understand where these massive figures some people quote come from.