Long Term Car Rental

Pross

Has anyone on here ever used long term car rental? I'm considering it as an option instead of leasing or buying in the event that I get a new job with an allowance rather than company car. My thinking is that I can have a rental period equal to my notice period whereas with leasing you can end up lumbered with an outgoing if things don't work out in the a job and no maintenance worries. If anyone has ever done this are there any companies you would recommend? I've looked at most of the usual suspects and they seem to have decent sized cars available for the sort of money I would expect to see for a car allowance.

markhewitt1978

It's an idea, but perhaps buying a car and then selling it on would work out cheaper? Of course riskier.

Pross

Yeah but 10 years plus of having a company car has left me quite liking having no worries about maintenance plus it would be a struggle to buy a decent level of car (I drive about 30k miles a year) and tax / insure / service it for the amount I would expect to get given in an allowance. I have got a 12 year old Frontera that I would use in the first instance but I'm not sure it would last long with the sort of mileage I'd be doing and it isn't cheap to drive!

markhewitt1978

Be careful with the milage then, and make sure it's agreed in advance.

Pross

Yep, I've been looking at 2,000 miles or 3,000 miles (not that I am even in a position where it is an issue yet!).

sungod

not used either option, don't have a car! but i do get a car allowance with the job

just in case you haven't had one before, bear in mind a car allowance is taxed just like the rest of income

you need to factor in whatever mileage/other allowances you'll get, and what, if any, the tax position is on them, as part of the calculation

i remember years back one of the guys i worked with went through it all and eventually plumped for the leasing option

given the state of the economy, i'd think you'd be in a strong position to haggle on any leasing deal

laurentian

Pross wrote:

Has anyone on here ever used long term car rental? I'm considering it as an option instead of leasing or buying in the event that I get a new job with an allowance rather than company car. My thinking is that I can have a rental period equal to my notice period whereas with leasing you can end up lumbered with an outgoing if things don't work out in the a job and no maintenance worries. If anyone has ever done this are there any companies you would recommend? I've looked at most of the usual suspects and they seem to have decent sized cars available for the sort of money I would expect to see for a car allowance.

I do exactly this for my Company car (my business) The business is relatively new so we set it up this way to avoid long term liabilities such as two and three year leases)

I can get just about any car I want but, for personal tax reasons, have settled on a 2 litre diesel golf with a high spec (Think its the TDi Bluemotion)

It costs £450 per month plus VAT and I get it through a local company in Rugby

junglist_matty

laurentian wrote:

It costs £450 per month plus VAT and I get it through a local company in Rugby

:shock: My Audi A4 Avant 2.0TDI cost me £5.5k last year, £300 to insure and could sell it within a few days for £5k easily! Reliable and good value

joelsim

junglist_matty wrote:

laurentian wrote:

It costs £450 per month plus VAT and I get it through a local company in Rugby

:shock: My Audi A4 Avant 2.0TDI cost me £5.5k last year, £300 to insure and could sell it within a few days for £5k easily! Reliable and good value

^What he said. £450 +VAT per month, you must be barking mad.

Kendal Black Drop

laurentian wrote:

...2 litre diesel golf with a high spec (Think its the TDi Bluemotion)...

It costs £450 per month plus VAT

I have a 2 litre petrol Golf and it cost me £550 outright. It is twenty years old though and won't have as good fuel economy as a Bluemotion, but £450 a month would buy a lot of petrol.

Pross

Kendal Black Drop wrote:

laurentian wrote:

...2 litre diesel golf with a high spec (Think its the TDi Bluemotion)...

It costs £450 per month plus VAT

I have a 2 litre petrol Golf and it cost me £550 outright. It is twenty years old though and won't have as good fuel economy as a Bluemotion, but £450 a month would buy a lot of petrol.

That would be my other strategy, get something cheap and if it only lasts a few months it doesn't matter. The only concern would be that it would let me down miles from home but I could always rent for a day or two or even use the car club for longer journeys.

joelsim

If you bought something decent with a good depreciation record then it would be fine surely?

Monkeypump

Joelsim wrote:

junglist_matty wrote:

laurentian wrote:

It costs £450 per month plus VAT and I get it through a local company in Rugby

:shock: My Audi A4 Avant 2.0TDI cost me £5.5k last year, £300 to insure and could sell it within a few days for £5k easily! Reliable and good value

^What he said. £450 +VAT per month, you must be barking mad.

Missing the point, aren't you?

Nice new car, no additional costs, no depreciation, and can change it with very little notice. Most reasonable car allowances would cover this, so seems a reasonable way to drive a new car if you don't want to buy.

pdstsp

:roll: That's very kind of you. :roll:

simonhead

I wouldn't bother with a rental, did the number crunching when i was in a similar position and it didnt work out economical. I ended up getting a Honda Insight second hand with a service plan thrown in for 9k, get 47 miles to the gallon. I ended up keeping it flogging the wifes car as i can now cycle in to work.

CHRISNOIR

emlease wrote:

Hello everyone...
We specialise in Short Term Car Lease, Long Term Car Hire & van Rental service. We offer convenient & practical solution to your requirements.

Welcome aboard. What are your thoughts re: making helmets compulsory for cyclists?

jordan_217

emlease wrote:

Hello everyone...
We specialise in Short Term Car Lease, Long Term Car Hire & van Rental service. We offer convenient & practical solution to your requirements.

Can you supply decals?

pblakeney

jordan_217 wrote:

emlease wrote:

Hello everyone...
We specialise in Short Term Car Lease, Long Term Car Hire & van Rental service. We offer convenient & practical solution to your requirements.

Can you supply decals?

Or more importantly, kitchens?

drlodge

Kendal Black Drop wrote:

laurentian wrote:

...2 litre diesel golf with a high spec (Think its the TDi Bluemotion)...

It costs £450 per month plus VAT

I have a 2 litre petrol Golf and it cost me £550 outright. It is twenty years old though and won't have as good fuel economy as a Bluemotion, but £450 a month would buy a lot of petrol.

I have a 12 year old Lexus RX300, it still rides like its new and is excellent for long journeys. £450 a month would buy the car outright in under a year!

secretsam

Like others have said, get a good quality second hand car

I used to work for a company where we did a lot of travel, and all the users had older, 'heavy metal' (Audis, BMWs, Saabs, etc) - stuff that could handle miles but was comfy and nice to drive. I had an A4 (1st gen), marvellous car.

Dig up a 3 year old BMW diesel or something similar and run that. Or something plain Jane - Skoda Octavia, all those taxi drivers can't be wrong! My Bro' in law has one, been to the moon and back, no worries

Pross

Stayed put in the end so still have a company car, just got to decide what to go for next year when it's due for a change. Tempted by the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

Pross

Can someone confirm a query for me on a related issue please? My company car allowance is the value of the lease for their 'standard' car (a Blue Motion Golf) but we can get a different car providing it meets with company policy and pay extra towards it if required. I have my eye on an Outlander PHEV which would cost about £170 per month extra but I would actually be better off due to the much lower BIK rating (5% versus 15%) and savings on fuel as I should be able to do virtually all my normal commute on battery if I don't go too fast on the motorway section. The question is, if I make a monthly contribution to the lease payment (i.e. the extra £170) how does this affect the BIK and how much I get taxed? I assume that I would be entitled to some reduction in the tax charged as I wouldn't be getting the full benefit.

pinno

I px'd my Saab for £5k Merc 220cdi some 4 years ago. I get 50+ mpg (over 60 on a run) and it is inexpensive to run, has never let me down (touch wood) and sails through the MOT every year. I think your assertion about cost and reliability isn't quite accurate but you are just going to ignore my post anyway.

Pross

Looked at Mercs and like them but the lease costs tend to be on the high side and I'd rather go for a Passat or Octavia. The Mitsubishi I fancy should save me about £40 per week on fuel on a normal week and if my contributions are exempt from tax I'll be significantly better off even though list price of the car is nearly double my current car!

daniel_b

Pross said:

Yeah but 10 years plus of having a company car has left me quite liking having no worries about maintenance plus it would be a struggle to buy a decent level of car (I drive about 30k miles a year) and tax / insure / service it for the amount I would expect to get given in an allowance. I have got a 12 year old Frontera that I would use in the first instance but I'm not sure it would last long with the sort of mileage I'd be doing and it isn't cheap to drive!

I read that thinking I'm positive they were never making fronteras in 2011, and then saw the date of the post