Company car - advice please

[kiwi pom]

Think a pickup is probably the best option at the moment.

not against electric by any measure - but don't think that BIK, tax, overnight electricity prices won't increase when most people have switched to EV - got to raise the revenue from somewhere.

Besides, is there even enough electricity produced?

Why would you drive round in a pick up if you didn't actually need one though?
Not even sure the op needs 4wd with the amount of motorway miles he's doing. Most arable areas in the UK aren't exactly difficult to access.

 

[Robt]

@Scribus you clearly don’t pay BIK... what do you drive and what do you do for a living?

 

[Clive]

I'd love an electric car, but the ranges are still a bit off. And range at - 30°C is even more off. And i sometimes need to drive 1000 miles+ a day. And tow trailer. Maybe in 10 years time there will be an electric car that can do those thing fairly well.

is 10000 miles possible in a day ? certainly not typical usage

our family car does 20k pa but it’s extremely rare it would do more than 250-350 miles in a day. if i was going that far i would fly or get a train

 

[Scribus]

@Scribus you clearly don’t pay BIK... what do you drive and what do you do for a living?

Pee off salesmen to a great extent, oh, and a Beemer 1200 by preference.

 

[Highland Mule]

And i sometimes need to drive 1000 miles+ a day.

Well, that's stupid and irresponsible. Please don't do that on the same roads as me and my family.

 

[kiwi pom]

1000km's I'd get. Miles seem a bit much though.

How much are these electric cars?

I'm guessing my current car, bought new in 2017, will be the last petrol car I buy. Although I'll probably have it for another 10+ years.

 

[Finn farmer]

Well, that's stupid and irresponsible. Please don't do that on the same roads as me and my family.

Why's that? Easily doable within 16 hours. And we won't meet eachother on road, since we're in different countries.

1000km's I'd get. Miles seem a bit much though.

How much are these electric cars?

I'm guessing my current car, bought new in 2017, will be the last petrol car I buy. Although I'll probably have it for another 10+ years.

I've done 1800km in one day several times. We've a long country.

 

[An Gof]

Well, that's stupid and irresponsible. Please don't do that on the same roads as me and my family.

My wife often drove 600-700 miles in a day and conducted a business meeting. If you live in Conwall you have to travel. A 500 mile round trip in a day for a meeting is just normal.

 

[Scribus]

1000km's I'd get. Miles seem a bit much though.

How much are these electric cars?

I'm guessing my current car, bought new in 2017, will be the last petrol car I buy. Although I'll probably have it for another 10+ years.

Rising above the nitty gritty it's plain to see that the manufacturers have stepped back from the purely battery powered vehicle and are now pushing hybrids, which are conventionally powered cars but with an electrical transmission and a much smaller li-ion battery than will be found in a pure EV. Can't help but feel they have decided EV's are a non runner for the time being for various reasons. No sympathy for them, they should of done their homework before jumping on the EV bandwagon.

Toyota have really cocked it up, they went all out for the EV and even stopped making diesel cars in anticipation, now the company is having to try and make a virtue of the fact that its hybrids are petrol powered rather than the far more efficient diesel engine! No problem though, they have an expensive marketing department to cover up the stupidity of top management.

 

[Scribus]

Thank you for some very interesting replies - I think everyone is having the same challenge!

FYI be careful with hybrids as they need to do over 130 miles on electric alone to qualify for the lowest band from April 2020 onwards which writes off a couple of hybrid options.

Tesla still to expensive and the charging etc.

Rapidly realising that there is no answer - so maybe just go for the least worst option!

There never was a real EV answer, it was, and is, pure hype from those who hoped to make a bob or two out of it.

 

[Highland Mule]

Why's that? Easily doable within 16 hours. And we won't meet eachother on road, since we're in different countries.


I've done 1800km in one day several times. We've a long country.

Averaging over 60mph, and doing that for over 16 hours in a single day? There’s no way you could be safe and acceptably aware, regardless of what you think. Sure, you might have managed it, but your reactions would have been severely compromised by the end. If you were doing it as an employee, then as well as being unsafe it would be questionably legal too, and certainly not in the UK where alternatives exist.

My wife often drove 600-700 miles in a day and conducted a business meeting. If you live in Conwall you have to travel. A 500 mile round trip in a day for a meeting is just normal.

Your wife wasn’t working for a very responsible employer at that, but there’s a difference between 500 miles and 1,000.

 

[Scribus]

Averaging over 60mph, and doing that for over 16 hours in a single day? There’s no way you could be safe and acceptably aware, regardless of what you think. Sure, you might have managed it, but your reactions would have been severely compromised by the end. If you were doing it as an employee, then as well as being unsafe it would be questionably legal too, and certainly not in the UK where alternatives exist.



Your wife wasn’t working for a very responsible employer at that, but there’s a difference between 500 miles and 1,000.

Truck drivers are allowed 10 hours driving a day twice a week, which, if in a car averaging 60mph (probably impossible even on the motorways in the UK) equates to 600 miles or around 900km.

There is a lot less traffic in Finland and the roads are better. In Sweden they are kept in good condition because they double up as military airstrips.

 

[Wombat]

Averaging over 60mph, and doing that for over 16 hours in a single day? There’s no way you could be safe and acceptably aware, regardless of what you think. Sure, you might have managed it, but your reactions would have been severely compromised by the end. If you were doing it as an employee, then as well as being unsafe it would be questionably legal too, and certainly not in the UK where alternatives exist.



Your wife wasn’t working for a very responsible employer at that, but there’s a difference between 500 miles and 1,000.

Unfortunately as HSE don't include work related road deaths and accidents in any stats I would think a lot of people end up doing things in a car for work they shouldn't.

Not saying it's right but it would be rather simple for HSE to highlight these If they wanted I would say

 

[Highland Mule]

Unfortunately as HSE don't include work related road deaths and accidents in any stats I would think a lot of people end up doing things in a car for work they shouldn't.

Not saying it's right but it would be rather simple for HSE to highlight these If they wanted I would say

The working time directive applies in Finland, and that gives rules on rest hours of 11 in any 24 hour period, plus 20 minutes after six hours, hence limiting work long time to 12h20m a day. As far as I can tell the speed limit on motorways is 120kph (~75mph). That gives 924miles as a theoretical legal limit, and I really wouldn’t expect anyone to be functioning acceptably at the end of it.

 

[S J H]

I wouldn't have a 4x4 if I didn't have to, if I was doing a lot of road miles I'd have a Golf.

 

[Beef farmer]

Audi a6 allroad. Got one here, ticks all boxes

 

[Robt]

Audi a6 allroad. Got one here, ticks all boxes

As a 40% tax payer that would cost me £900 per month in BIK tax alone.......

 

[Beef farmer]

As a 40% tax payer that would cost me £900 per month in BIK tax alone.......

Dont get one then. Simples

 

[66Longhorns]

Three years ago our company car allowance bought you a reasonable spec diesel car, you rang the fleet administrator told her what you wanted and she gave you a list of cars available in your price bracket. This year my car is up for renewal, new computerized system with a choice of 1100 cars you could pick from, but guess what when you started to pick what you wanted they were all out of your price range. As I started to chip away at picking a car I realized all the diesels were very expensive and you could have a high spec petrol instead. Apparently the leasing companies are worried that in three years time they will be selling worthless diesel cars onto the second hand market due to changes in regulation/taxation.

For the first time in twenty five years I am reverting to a petrol car as it is two thirds of the bik of the equivalent diesel and I can get a high spec model rather than a basic diesel which matters when you do around 35k miles per year.

 

[JP1]

Dont get one then. Simples

Hence the OP’s question about his forthcoming company car