Technically they stopped dishing out company cars in April, but they left it in for me and my colleague (new recruits, only been there 3 weeks) as it had gone in the job advert. In reality the only business miles I'll be doing is if I go on a training course or something outside of the Borough. All my work sites within the Borough are within comfortable walking distance, and the ones that are not are on my way to/from work anyway. I agree, not being covered by a company insurance policy is a shame, but its nice to have that flexibility (*cough* remap :P ) whilst maintaining NCB etc

Just be carefull getting insurance, that the owner (firm/lease co etc) is listed as the owner/an interested party.

From experience of having a private lease, this can actually add £50 to a policy. :(

How many share engines with Fords?

Apparently 1.6 and 2.0 petrol enignes from the mk1 are shared with the Focus as well as the PSA/Ford 1.6D.

I think the mk2 engines are basically the same but not read much about them yet.

Just be carefull getting insurance, that the owner (firm/lease co etc) is listed as the owner/an interested party.

From experience of having a private lease, this can actually add £50 to a policy. :(

So I've found :( Plus it means most of the comparison sites are pretty useless.

Yup. You'll find most of the choices wont entertain you. Last year I only had a choice of 5 that'd offer cover with reasonable terms. But as there was only £5 in it, why I've been with Bell for 3 years and not really bothered looking. Gets even more fun when you need class 1 business too.

All down to the fact is they know they cant offer crap settlements in the event of a loss. You'll also find very few offer the new car in first 12 months as well, with those that do charging a hefty levy. Did try CK and Flux, but TBH the terms werent favourable event though premium was lower.

Now I own the car, quotes are 1/3 less than they would be for the same or better cover. For the first time, Direct Line is competitive for me.

Personally I would have taken the money to pay for a loan to buy a car.

Yes, you may not have got something as good as the Mazda, but once the loan is paid off you would have an (albeit depreciating) asset, whereas with leases you are always forced to pay a monthly fee to use (aka borrow) the car (Ok, you get a new car every 3 years, but is that so important when the quality of cars these days is so good?).

I first took the cash 9 years ago, bought a brand new Bora, paid it off in 3 years and now have a working car that is adequate for work (and still holds some value) and a nice cash bonus each month that can be used for other things (like a new vRS a couple of years ago, also now paid off). The only thing I don't have is a shiney new car every few years.

Just my tuppence worth.

Personally I would have taken the money to pay for a loan to buy a car.

Yes, you may not have got something as good as the Mazda, but once the loan is paid off you would have an (albeit depreciating) asset, whereas with leases you are always forced to pay a monthly fee to use (aka borrow) the car (Ok, you get a new car every 3 years, but is that so important when the quality of cars these days is so good?).

I first took the cash 9 years ago, bought a brand new Bora, paid it off in 3 years and now have a working car that is adequate for work (and still holds some value) and a nice cash bonus each month that can be used for other things (like a new vRS a couple of years ago, also now paid off). The only thing I don't have is a shiney new car every few years.

Just my tuppence worth.

It's not always that black and white though.

First off , a lot of companies will let you opt out but expect you to run a car of an equivalent standard and age. My employers had this condition (though it's now been removed) so I wouldn't have been able to do as you suggest. I also do too many miles to make this an ideal proposition.

There's a lot to be said for not having to take out a loan as well. There's no such thing as a 100% secure job and it would be a nightmare to find yourself out of work with a large loan to pay off and no income. Payment protection insurance can add a big chunk to the cost of buying a car.

Finally there's the figures themselves - I was offered a generous cash alternative so I was able to run my Octavia for three years and still be quids in. Second time round I didn't do quite so well so the third time round I've spent less money to make sure opting out works well for me.

Everyone's situation will be different and it sounds like Tom's made a decent choice.

There's a lot to be said for not having to take out a loan as well. There's no such thing as a 100% secure job and it would be a nightmare to find yourself out of work with a large loan to pay off and no income. Payment protection insurance can add a big chunk to the cost of buying a car.

Swings and roundabouts as if you have a lease and lose your job, you may then be left without any income or car.

As you say, not always black and white - as I tend to keep cars for a long time, and have a good allowance with no criteria for age, taking the money is the only sensible way for me.

Edited 2 October, 200916 yr by Tom_vRS
quote fixed

PPI may not cover you as well as you think, and the last quote I had suggested it adds about 10% to the cost of the loan.

I'm confident I made the right choice.

I am however annoyed, I have been chasing a delivery date today. The car is at the dealer, PDI'd, prepped and taxed, but it will not be released to the lease company as they haven't paid for the last car they had (my colleague's). This is fair enough I suppose, but the reason they haven't paid is because my employer hasn't signed a contract with the lease company for my colleagues car on grounds they had "forgotten". Sounds like a proper nonsense to me, but I'm hopeful for delivery next week.

It's not always that black and white though.

First off , a lot of companies will let you opt out but expect you to run a car of an equivalent standard and age. My employers had this condition (though it's now been removed) so I wouldn't have been able to do as you suggest. I also do too many miles to make this an ideal proposition.

When I had a car allowence I had this too. Must be less than 3.5 years old, serviced to manufacturers spec, insured for class 1 business use (and confirmed to employer) and be of equal size to what I would have got due to carrying parts etc - Vectra or similar.

I went maintained lease with payment protection (£4/month). GAP was included.

Well I'm still infuriated by the whole thing. The car is still sat there, registered, PDI'd and taxed, but I can't have it as the lease company have paid Mazda for the last car they have with a cheque which has to clear before I can have mine :(

Lombard by chance?

Thanks metric boy! Whatever happened to BHP and lb/ft?

That's 182BHP and 285lb/ft then...

almost same torque as me.... but 100bhp less

almost same torque as me.... but 100bhp less

But double the mpg, half the insurance, and its actually 295lb/ft

EDIT - And, you cheating fecker, a standard MPS is only 280lb/ft, so my torque penis is larger. And a standard MPS is only 256bhp, so thats only 71bhp, and how much is your road tax Col :eek:

I'm not kidding myself though, I haven't chosen a diesel because I can afford to run a performance petrol... :(

Lombard by chance?

No its Toomey. But it turns out the problem is shared with the people at my place that sort out the lease cars as they didn't get the last contract to them quickly enough, so this time they want everything signing and paying in advance :( I reckon it will be late next week now :(

Who? Never heard of them.

Me neither.

Toomey Hire & Leasing

Me neither.

Toomey Hire & Leasing

Very big Multi Dealer in Basilden Essex

Just to tease myself, as I was passing past the dealer on Saturday, I popped in to have a look, and it was there in the corner of the back yard under a tree, covered in crap, alloys caked in dust etc. If its not with me this week I'm going to cancel the order, and if its got more than 10 miles on it I'll refuse delivery. The amount of dust on the wheels isn't conductive to a couple of miles on a PDI imho. Both my colleagues who have taken delivery of Mazdas have had 7 and 8 miles on the clocks...

Ho hum, hopefully it will be this week anyway.

Legally 25 is acceptable del mileage.

And remember, it can usually be reset up to twice if done below 25miles on almost all cars.

Legally 25 is acceptable del mileage.

And remember, it can usually be reset up to twice if done below 25miles on almost all cars.

I don't believe there is a specific number for a legal limit on delivery mileage.