Some of you may remember this thread from last May.www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?t=27970&m=607691&v=e
My friend had to pick a company car. Over the last 9 months she has actually picked 3 company cars and none of them have came to fruition due to various factors, that to be honest, I don't fully understand.
So, as she has 4 years work left before retiring, she has decided she is now going to take a cash allowance now and buy a car that will hopefully take her into retirement and beyond.
She has decided on the car - a Qashqai. She has had one for a year ( a diesel top of the range Tekna) and so has decided its definitely a Qashqai she wants so that is not up for debate.
Petrol or Diesel?
Most advice is to bodyswerve diesel nowadays. However she has 4 years of possibly doing 15k miles a year, and being paid a mileage allowance for business miles. So I am thinking mpg differences will be a big factor in the overall costs.
Her budget will be around 13-14k which means around a 3 year old car (she wants front and rear sensors, reversing camera and heated seats). The petrol in this price bracket is the 1.2. Nissan no longer use the 1.2, instead now have a 1.3 which I assume means there were problems with the 1.2?
Anyone any thoughts on petrol v diesel in this scenario, and any knowledge of the Nissan 1.2 petrol engines?
Secondly, she has seen this car on Cinch. I have never used them or really looked into them but as my own last car was thro?ugh an auction buyer, I am guessing this offers more security than I had and I daresay they save on overheads of glass showrooms?
www.cinch.co.uk/direct/vehicle/92fb1b14-3e13-499f-9523-c3e54c698fab
Anyone any experience of Cinch?
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No experience of Cinch, but I’d avoid the 1.2 petrol. Too many reports of major problems and replacement engines being required. Friend of mine had to have a replacement engine at less than 60k miles.
Sounds like she does enough miles to warrant a diesel and the 1.5 dCi unit does have a decent enough reputation for reliability.
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Yes, I believe the 1.2 doesn't have a great reputation. If she can stretch to the newer 1.3 they seem to be a lot better. I think the 1.3 is pretty much the same engine that is used in The Merc A Class and indeed the Dacia Duster, so take your pick which is the more reassuring bit of trivia.
I also agree that for now, the 1.5 diesel would still be a better option on her miles. Four years of a say, £500 annual fuel saving would be worth having you'd think.
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>> Four years of a say, £500 annual fuel saving would be worth having you'd think.
Well, you say that....
Assuming your £500p.a. is correct then saving £10 per week but having to drive 300 miles / 6 hours with an engine I didn't want? And paying £13,000 for the privilege?? All well and good if you want the diesel but surely insufficient reason if you don't.
If the £2k matters that much then buy a car for £11,000 and have the engine you want.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Sun 28 Mar 21 at 23:21
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A three year old car with a typical (say) 30k on the clock will be 90k and seven years old when she retires.
Whilst not excessive, this is getting to the danger period with any car. Not what most people want as they move into retirement.
Also worth noting that diesel are not flavour of the month at the moment. In 4 years time if she then needs to trade it in to buy something newer with less mileage it may be more difficult to shift than petrol.
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Of course it may not be appropriate to to ask her Bobby, but it might be quite significant to her calculation to know if she's a higher rate taxpayer or not.
If she pays tax at the lower rate then BIK on a car of that type wouldn't be too onerous, whereas if she pays tax at the higher rate it doubles.
If she's in the lower category, with four years to go, she'd probably be better off sticking with a company car and or even asking for one that incurs a lower cost.
You say that she's set on a Qashqai, and that may not be negotiable, but if she went for a Duster for example, which is about as close in size and usefulness as you you could get to her choice, the BIK would be much lower. Or indeed, if she's set on running her own car, one of those could be bought for less money, or a newer version sourced for the same money.
As Terry points out, if she follows her current plan, the car will be 4 years older than it is now and with 60,000 more miles when she retires. Which could/should be fine, but it might not be.
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All fair points guys and ones that I have raised with her.
Her theory just now is that if she takes a company car, it’s a 4 year contract and so she will leave her job with no wheels. Doing it this way she will have her own car and depending on circumstances at that point, she can then trade in/ downsize or keep.
It’s that balance of what is best for next 4 years of working compared to the end. That’s potentially 60k miles she wants to be comfortable driving.
She doesn’t want to consider anything other than a Qashqai and I can kind of understand. She has had one before, knows the car and is uncomfortable with the normal car showroom experience never mind the current one.
I am pretty sure she is basic rate tax payer. And I already mentioned would it not be better using a pension lump sum to buy a car on retirement but apparently she has already “cashed in” her pension early.
I might try and do some man maths on what that Qashqai might be worth at 6/7 years old and 70-80k miles on the clock. Think it might surprise her. Might not give her any more than if she saved £100 a month for next 48 months.
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Re the maths. You could run a fictitious WBAC quote on a currently 7 year old / 80,000 mile Qashqai. Just find one on AT to get a reg number to use. Might give you an idea as to what she could expect it to be worth. Doesn't allow for market fluctuations over the next four years of course, but as a snapshot, it might help in the decision.
No option to buy her current company car at a favourable rate is there?
That's what I did with my Merc a year ago. I got it for company book value and it's still "worth" way more than I paid for it.
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>>Her theory just now is that if she takes a company car, it’s a 4 year contract and so she will leave her job with no wheels.
If she takes a company car now and 60,000 miles breaks it then they'll simply give her another one.
If she buys her own car and 60,000 breaks it then she'll have to buy another one.
With 60,000 miles to go I know which risk I'd rather take.
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Well, of course your friend will quite rightly do whatever she sees fit. But, I'm inclined to agree with NoFM, if she's a basic rate taxpayer who has spent her pension pot, then staying with a company car would seem to be the smart move.
If she did, it would also be a smart move to start a car fund now, paying in whatever she can afford on a standing order or whatever each month, for the next 4 years or however long it is until she retires. At that point she could then buy whatever she wants within her budget.
But, if she's determined to go to private motoring now, you know what I'd suggest ( if it's permitted ) is to half her purchase budget, buy something suitable but older or more used, put the rest of the money into a car fund account and start building that up as above.
With luck, and a bit of judicious purchasing, she could almost certainly eke 4 years out of a cheaper car and have a nice wee pot of cash to buy something to replace it on retirement.
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>>to half her purchase budget, buy something suitable but older or more used, put the rest of the money into a car fund account and start building that up as above.
That is not a crap idea. It might be the compromise that will sway her.
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Ok just spoke to her.
She is going to find out tomorrow what is on her company car list and what the realistic lead times are. I have explained the risks associated with buying a 2-3 year old car, running it for 60k miles and having to foot the costs for insurance, servicing, road tax, breakdown and emergency repairs like new tyres etc.
According to her finance dept, the employer will pay her 10p a mile business use for a diesel car and 20p a mile for petrol!! That surely can’t be right? 15 years ago Safeway were giving me 35p a mile I’m sure!!
Will hopefully have more information tomorrow but I am heavily pushing her towards getting the company car and saving some money every month towards her retirement car.
And I have also read up on the 1.2 Qashqai petrol engines! Ouch! How Nissan have got away with this design flaw is unbelievable.
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Some employers take the view that employees in receipt of a car allowance (which is, in theory, to fund a vehicle) should receive less than the HMRC mileage rate as that is set to cover all the running costs of a car, or at least was when it was first published. Which includes costs theoretically covered by the car allowance. The 45p per mile hasn’t changed in my career I don’t think though.. But HMRC also publish fuel only rates (for those who have an non-expensed company car) and so some employers use those rates to reimburse those who also have a car allowance. Though as long as you don’t have a company car you can claim tax relief on the difference between 45p and the relevant fuel rate (for the first 10,000 business miles)
Last edited by: VxFan on Wed 31 Mar 21 at 02:51
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According to her finance dept, the employer will pay her 10p a mile business
>> use
>> >> for a diesel car and 20p a mile for petrol!! That surely can’t be
>> right?
>> >> 15 years ago Safeway were giving me 35p a mile I’m sure!!
Sounds about right for some places, we get similar and told to claim some cash back from the taxman. Although I've never bothered as it's pretty rare I use my own car these days.
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Peter, that would explain the low mileage rate then!
Cheers for this information.
I remember working for Safeway on secondment and being paid 35p a mile. I had a wee Saxo diesel at the time (with a numeric keypad immobiliser) and it did 60 mpg. I made an absolute killing during that secondment.
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>>she has already "cashed in" her pension early.
What does she expect to live on, the state pension topped up by pension credits, paid for by the rest of us?
I'd steer well clear of somebody with that sort of fiscal acumen.
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>> >>she has already "cashed in" her pension early.
>>
>> What does she expect to live on, the state pension topped up by pension credits,
>> paid for by the rest of us?
>> I'd steer well clear of somebody with that sort of fiscal acumen.
You have no idea why or for what she cashed her pension in on or how it will affect state payments later.
She may, for example, have cashed it in to pay her mortgage off. Meaning she will not need pension credits, and may have something to sell to pay her care costs in old age.
Real humbug there BT you MOG.
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Bathtub...For those of us with small private pensions, ‘cashing in’ isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I took the 25% tax free lump sum from mine the day I reached 55. Blew all of it on a third hand 330 convertible, a 15 day rafting trip down the GC and two very long trips around the US and Canada in the two following years.
The remaining balance I’ve been drawing down ever since...just enough so I don’t pay any tax. State pension for me later this year so that will all be spent on air miles, holidays and running the house. Coincides with the remnants of my private pension being drawn down on 6/04/21.
Having seen two elderly relatives paying £750 + a week in nursing homes, sharing with people paying nowt, I’ve no problem spending the dosh now.
But cashing in all of it probably isn’t sensible unless you’re onto a sure fire winner reinvesting it elsewhere.
It’s no fun getting old.
Last edited by: legacylad on Mon 29 Mar 21 at 15:38
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>>It's no fun getting old
"Old age should burn and rave at close of day"
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>> "Old age should burn and rave at close of day"
>>
I first discovered Dylan Thomas studying ‘Under Milk Wood’ for O level.
“Do not go gentle into that good night” might as well be my motto....I hated school, a reciprocal arrangement, and English lit & language were the only things I exelld at.
Last edited by: legacylad on Mon 29 Mar 21 at 18:13
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" .I hated school, a reciprocal arrangement, and English lit & language were the only things I exelld at. "
"Penetrol" - same here ...... hang on ........
"English lit & language were the only things I exelld at "
I read this a few minutes ago, and i'm still chuckling, me to.
Last edited by: stan10 on Mon 29 Mar 21 at 18:27
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>>English lit & language were the only things I exelld at.
I did well at history, mainly because the history teacher was ferocious. If the other teachers were as strict as 'im, I could have been living in a £400k owse in God's 2nd home country by now.
:o}
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>I did well at history,..
I wasn't really interested in history at school. Couldn't see any future in it.
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>> What does she expect to live on, the state pension topped up by pension credits,
>> paid for by the rest of us?
What would a modest sum in a private pension buy in terms of an annual payment?
There's no capital limit for Pension Credit though there is a tariff income.
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“Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in
sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘Holy s— what a ride!'” ~ Hunter S. Thompson
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My absolute belief and philosophy and how I lead my life.
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I drew the tax free lump sum at 55 and bought a lifetime annuity with the remainder. Being self employed and only earning an average income it simply wasn't worth continuing with it till I reached retirement age. The amount I'd have had to pay to ensure anything worthwhile at the end of it was unaffordable.
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That RoR was exactly my situ. My best pal, a very scruffy intelligent chap, advised me to stop paying into a pension, and divert all payments into a mortgage for a nice house in a nice area.
I owe him big time. All circumstances differ but in mine he was spot on.
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Diesel or Petrol Qashqai . / Cinch - Mr Moo
