Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

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Sat 21 Dec 2019 19:48

Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance - Simpo

Due to a career change I’m handing back my current company diesel Mazda 6 tourer in Feb and need a replacement. The new firm don’t offer a company car, only an allowance, in this case £400 per month, (pre tax) with business mileage reimbursed at a rate I think being 12p per mile for the business use. The question is what’s the best way of financing the new car, used? Pre reg? Leased? and what should the replacement be? I could spend up to £17-18k but hopefully less and would need to change the car once it was 6 years old due to company rules.

On a daily basis there will be short city journeys ferrying kids to nursery interspersed with at least weekly longer journeys from South Wales to London and surrounding areas (trains not really an option) and some more local client visits. Estimated annual mileage probably 15-16k.

Family situation is that I have two young children aged 2 and 5 and all their gear and family down in Somerset and Devon meaning regular car fulls, bikes etc. Visiting them.

The Mazda was ok for size but proved very unreliable needing two new turbos, a replacement engine and had various electrical and sensor faults luckily all covered under warranty so past experience rules out another Mazda.

So far I’m considering Seat Ateca/ VW Tiguan I would have considered the Kodiak but think it’s probably too big for my needs and the Superb which is too big a car generally. Also considered Honda Civic, (previous shape estate) Kia Sportage and CRV. So as well as being suitable for family life it also need to be reliable as if purchased any issues will hit me in the pocket unless under warranty. In terms of economy realistically it needs to be capable of achieving an overall 45-50 mpg otherwise I will personally be hit in the pocket regarding any business mileage which would not be good.

Keep servicing and maintenance costs reasonable also being key. Tough set of criteria? Not sure, but I’m certainly struggling and could do with some help.

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Sat 21 Dec 2019 20:48

Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance - badbusdriver

Tough set of criteria? Not sure, but I’m certainly struggling and could do with some help.

Not if you can live with the looks (and do without an SUV).

You have already mentioned it, the Honda Civic 1.6 DTEC estate. As it is the previous model, the dearest should cost no more than £15k (in fact the most expensive on Autotrader is just under £14k). Honda's 1.6 is one of a small number of modern diesel engines which doesn't suffer from emissions equipment related problems (though with your mileage it shouldn't really be an issue anyway). But on top of that, it has great reliability, a spacious refined and comfortable cabin, huge boot, and 60+mpg. It's a win win!.

If you must have an SUV, well you can get the same engine in the CRV, though it is a bigger and less aerodynamic shape, so the economy will probably be about 10mpg less overall, maybe a bit more. £15k could get you into a 2018 model. Alternatively, you could get into a 2018 kia Sportage for the same money, but, assuming it has full Kia history, it will have at least 5 years warranty left.

Personally, i'd go with the Civic though (BTW, you want SE spec or above to get cruise control)

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Sat 21 Dec 2019 23:24

Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance - Avant

Good advice above from BBD (as always): I agree either of those Hondas should be fine. A Kia or equivalent Hyundai will be worth looking at because of the longer warranty - indeed a Kia will be under warranty for its whole time with you. But make sure it's had full dealer servicing, or the warranty is no good.

The Skoda Karoq (one size down from the Kodiaq) might suit you, although not if you need an automatic. The VAG petrol engines are very economical, not far off a diesel, and diesel costs more at the pump. In the current climate petrol cars are holding their value better than diesels. There's also the very roomy Skoda Octavia (hatch or estate) if the Superb is too big.

Illuminating to know that (assuming your company car is newish) Mazda still clearly haven't got their diesel engines sorted out.

Edited by Avant on 21/12/2019 at 23:26

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Sun 22 Dec 2019 00:54

Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance - catsdad

I have recently changed from a 1.8 petrol Civic to a 1.4 Golf petrol estate. It's early days but the Civic averaged 45 mpg brim to brim while the Golf (according to the computer as I've not yet done a brim to brim test) was averaging up to 50 in mixed driving but has just given me 60mpg on a 400 mile trip from the West Country to Edinburgh at max speed limit where it was practicable. This is better than any diesel I ever had on the same journey. As Avant says, very economical.

If you are tempted by a petrol VAG you will find that most from 2018 onwards are the 1.5 with the risk of kangarooing. HJ reports that there is a software fix but after previous unsuccessful fixes being announced I would be sceptical that's its a 100% effective retrospective fix.

Finally the 12p allowance seems very stingy and will limit choice if you want to run a car within that.

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Sun 22 Dec 2019 15:27

Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance - thunderbird

A Kia or equivalent Hyundai will be worth looking at because of the longer warranty - indeed a Kia will be under warranty for its whole time with you.

Not 100% correct.

The Hyundai warranty is 5 years unlimited but the Kia warranty is limited to 100,000 miles after the cars 3rd birthday.

Thus if the OP exceeds the 100,000 mile limit on the Kia after 3 years there will be no warranty.

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Sun 22 Dec 2019 17:55

Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance - leaseman

The 12p per mile allowance for business mileage is, indeed, stingy, and this is covered by HMRC rules.

HMRC allows the employers to pay 45 pence per mile for the first 10,000 miles per annum of business use tax free and, judging by the OP's total annual mileage, this would be the deemed cost to them of all business mileage.

The OP can claim tax relief for 33 pence per mile of business mileage (45 minus 12 re-imbursed) which would equate to 6,6 pence per mile as a 20% tax payer, or 13.2 pence per mile if they are in a higher (40%) tax band. This greatly enhances their budget for computing a sensible purchase/ lease for his/her/their (notice how gender sensitive I can be!) requirement.

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Sun 22 Dec 2019 20:56

Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance - Simpo

Thanks for the suggestions. The Kia warranty is obviously very appealing, given that can’t even begin to think what I could have been stung for on the Mazda if it wasn’t a company vehicle and/or Mazda covering the full cost of repair. I assume at least £5k, probably more? I would hate to be in that position. I’m not quite sure why Honda no longer offer an Estate of the latest Civic, mind you if they were to make as much of a mess of the design at the rear as they have with the hatch it wouldn’t be anywhere near my shortlist. I find the front end just about bearable.

Regarding the point about the tax relief, that is interesting to know. I was aware of being able to reclaim having some so years ago, but for some reason had assumed that this was because I was using my own car with no car allowance and being given 35ppm, but thinking about it, although I’ll have a car allowance this will simply be considered a private vehicle. Not sure why that hadn’t crossed my mind. I’ve clearly been reliant on company vehicles for too long...

Unfortunately I fall into the high tax band.

Any other suggestions of suitable vehicle to consider. And is it just me or does there seem to be a massive difference between what different manufacturers 1.6 diesel offerings are capable of in terms of actual, day to day MPG. Some being capable of 60+ mpg and others struggling to make 40, although i accept that vehicle weight and their aerodynamics do play their part.

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Mon 23 Dec 2019 00:25

Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance - Zippy123

I'm in a similar situation to the OP.

Remember to tell your insurance company that you will need business use cover for your car.

Your current employer or their lease company should be able to give to a report on the number of years without accident and reputable insurers will all that as a no-claims period.

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Mon 23 Dec 2019 19:33

Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance - Engineer Andy

The 12p per mile allowance for business mileage is, indeed, stingy, and this is covered by HMRC rules.

HMRC allows the employers to pay 45 pence per mile for the first 10,000 miles per annum of business use tax free and, judging by the OP's total annual mileage, this would be the deemed cost to them of all business mileage.

The OP can claim tax relief for 33 pence per mile of business mileage (45 minus 12 re-imbursed) which would equate to 6,6 pence per mile as a 20% tax payer, or 13.2 pence per mile if they are in a higher (40%) tax band. This greatly enhances their budget for computing a sensible purchase/ lease for his/her/their (notice how gender sensitive I can be!) requirement.

From what I remember, the 'low' 12p/mile mileage rate is normally if you have a company car, whereas the 45p figure is for when you either have a car allowance or just use your own car you've already got.

Many firms dress 'car allowances' up as a 'perk', but is in reality just salary, but is rarely 'pensionable' [from their side] and often does not go up with inflation or by the same percentage as your general salary. At least that was my personal experience.

Comapny cars (assuming you can choose one you like) are more useful for people doing high mileages and whose existing car is in need of replacement, but car allowances can be useful if you aren't sure of your long term future (you don't have to buy a car with it) and especially if your mileage is not high, and thus maintenance, depreciation and insurance is not too high.

Some firms can be particularly stingy on mileage rates, which can be especially bad if you do big mileages and where the mpg drops to lower-than-average figures, e.g. if they are mostly urban journeys in heavy traffic, and can sometimes not cover the actual fuel cost. Fuel cards are occasionally an option, but I haven't had any experience with those.

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Mon 23 Dec 2019 17:54

Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance - Heidfirst

Considered a Corolla TS hybrid (either s/h or ex-demo or perhaps new on PCP)?

Very reliable drivetrain, long (& extendable if you want ) warranty, reasonable servicing costs, mpg probably mid-50ish dependent upon your exact journeys/driving style, verg good NCAP score & you can probably flog it to a private hire car driver at 6 years/90k ...

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Tue 24 Dec 2019 16:26

Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance - thunderbird

The new firm don’t offer a company car, only an allowance, in this case £400 per month, (pre tax) with business mileage reimbursed at a rate I think being 12p per mile for the business use.

Many years ago both myself and dad used our private cars for business use at different companies.

I was paid the HMRC agreed rate which at the time was £0.43 per mile for the first 3500 miles which then dropped to about 1/2 of that. 3500 miles covered my annual use with some to spare.

Dad was payed a fixed allowance every month plus a reduced pence per mile.

The fact the OP is getting a low pence per mile is being compensated by the monthly allowance.

So 10,000 miles a year at the HMRC rate of £0.45 would be £4500.

10,000 miles a year at £0.12 would be £1200 plus £400 a month (taxable@ 20 or 40%) would be £3840 (20% rate) £2880 (40% rate) total £5040 or £4080.

Thus in the above example the OP would be better off as a 20% tax payer but worse off as a 40% tax payer.

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Tue 24 Dec 2019 22:05

Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance - brettmick

Left field choice, a Kia Optima tourer from Motorpoint. Year old for £13k or so so six years warranty left, loads of spec but I suspect almost zero resale value at six years old.

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Tue 24 Dec 2019 23:45

Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance - drd63

Have a look at leasing. £1000 up front and £300pm with 15k p.a mileage allowance will get you a Kia Optima. Plenty of other options out there.

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Wed 25 Dec 2019 06:45

Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance - joegrundy

Don't forget that the OP can still claim travelling expenses against tax to the extent that they are not reimbursed by the employer. It sounds as if the £400 a month is being taxed as part of the salary (i.e. as 'taxable emoluments') and is not being treated as reimbursed expenses, so can be ignored in this calculation.

HMRC rates are 45p/25p, so effectively he can claim 33p/13p per mile against tax. This is from gosimpletax:

"For employees claiming mileage, the business mileage allowance is calculated by multiplying the miles in each year by the specific rate per mile. Let’s take a look at this in practice with a hypothetical scenario.

The total business miles travelled by an employee is 11,500.
The maximum claim is 10,000 miles at 45p, and 1,500 at 25p – for a total of £4,875.
The employer reimburses at 15p per mile for a total of £1,725 (11,500 at 15p).
The employee can therefore claim tax relief on £4,875 (the maximum tax-free payment available) less £1,725 (amount employer pays) = £3,150.
If employees pay tax at the basic rate, they can claim a refund of £630 (at 20%); or £1,260 if they are a higher-rate taxpayer (40%)."

Edit: sorry, didn't notice leaseman's post above. As you were.

Edited by joegrundy on 25/12/2019 at 06:54

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Wed 25 Dec 2019 08:14

Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance - Falkirk Bairn

Many years a company car driver.

Latterly changed to driving my car with monthly & mileage allowances

My tack was to buy as new or nearly new car.

Last one was a Honda Civic Estate - out going model, special edition with some 30% off list. it was under £11,000

My employer paid for the car 2 x over in 6 years - kept it another 2 years after retiring then sold it for £2700.

Bought 2001, Sold 2007 - 6.5 years, 93K and depreciation was £8200 or £103 / month

No real repairs - 1 electrical fault under warranty, servicing - open door fault showing but the door was closed ) exhausts, tyres, brakes, lambda sensor, etc etc

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Wed 25 Dec 2019 08:22

Mazda 6 Tourer - From company car to car allowance - RT

Left field choice, a Kia Optima tourer from Motorpoint. Year old for £13k or so so six years warranty left, loads of spec but I suspect almost zero resale value at six years old.

Hyundai i40 and Kia Optima, same car underneath, voted most reliable luxury car by What Car? magazine - but check that warranty is actually still valid, if work has been done outside the dealer system the long warranty won't apply.

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