What is the "worth" of a company van

[V8 Stang]

It has been mentioned by my boss of potentially having a small company van in leu of a pay rise.

So im trying to work out the pro's and con's.


I normally commute 35 miles a day (30 mins each way), 6 times a week in my Mustang, which averages 22MPG on V power (£1.50/L!), eats expensive tyres, 10K mile servicing etc

Also tend to use it for customer call-outs, so putting tools etc in the boot etc, plus 45P/Mile does not leave a lot for running costs.

As well as often collecting materials from wholesalers etc.


I am a coach build electrician (Motorsport trailers mostly), so am mostly in the workshop, with the occasional offsite callout.


So i see the pro's are:

Less fuel costs
Far less running costs on my Mustang
Substantial less milage on Mustang
No worries about damaging mustang with tools in boot etc, or getting interior dirty.
Mustang will feel much more special with the occasional use, and would probably go on more "fun" weekend drives.
No worries about car in work car park.


The con's:
Commuting in a boring van, rather than a Mustang! - however the commute is not that fun a drive due to traffic.
Paying £600/Month PCP on a car thats only occasionally used!
Paying £50/Month road tax on a car that's only occasionally used.
Paying £700/Year to insure a car that's only used occasionally.


I believe there is no company van tax if its only used for business use and commuting.

However it has been said the van would not be anything "special". I suggested a V8 chevrolet van

So Wondering what the suggested "worth" would be? compared to a small payrise (it wouldn't be anything big, Currently on £40K).


Would you go for the van?

Cheers

[anonymous-user]

No but a pickup truck still qualifies as a commercial vehicle and will be much more useable if you have a crew cab.

[Angpozzuto]

I'd 100% take the company van, do the boring work miles stuck in traffic using the company's fuel and save the Mustang for the fun stuff. It's make driving the Mustang feel that bit more special

[Scrump]

Not sure if vans differ from cars but with company cars if they are used for commuting then there is a BIK tax liability.

[insert coin]

Scrump said:

Not sure if vans differ from cars but with company cars if they are used for commuting then there is a BIK tax liability.

You can commute in a van without bik.

[Sterillium]

I'd take the van option - surely you can sometimes just decide to take the Mustang if you feel like it?

[Scrump]

insert coin said:

You can commute in a van without bik.

Wasn’t aware of that.

[megaphone]

BIK applies on a van if it is used for personal use, so if it becomes your main vehicle, you start using it at weekends to go shopping etc then BIK kicks in.

[Zetec-S]

Sterillium said:

I'd take the van option - surely you can sometimes just decide to take the Mustang if you feel like it?

^^^ This

[Muzzer79]

V8 Stang said:

It has been mentioned by my boss of potentially having a small company van in leu of a pay rise.

So im trying to work out the pro's and con's.


I normally commute 35 miles a day (30 mins each way), 6 times a week in my Mustang, which averages 22MPG on V power (£1.50/L!), eats expensive tyres, 10K mile servicing etc

Also tend to use it for customer call-outs, so putting tools etc in the boot etc, plus 45P/Mile does not leave a lot for running costs.

As well as often collecting materials from wholesalers etc.


I am a coach build electrician (Motorsport trailers mostly), so am mostly in the workshop, with the occasional offsite callout.


So i see the pro's are:

Less fuel costs
Far less running costs on my Mustang
Substantial less milage on Mustang
No worries about damaging mustang with tools in boot etc, or getting interior dirty.
Mustang will feel much more special with the occasional use, and would probably go on more "fun" weekend drives.
No worries about car in work car park.


The con's:
Commuting in a boring van, rather than a Mustang! - however the commute is not that fun a drive due to traffic.
Paying £600/Month PCP on a car thats only occasionally used!
Paying £50/Month road tax on a car that's only occasionally used.
Paying £700/Year to insure a car that's only used occasionally.


I believe there is no company van tax if its only used for business use and commuting.

However it has been said the van would not be anything "special". I suggested a V8 chevrolet van

So Wondering what the suggested "worth" would be? compared to a small payrise (it wouldn't be anything big, Currently on £40K).


Would you go for the van?

Cheers

You need to be a little careful here.

They're offering a van instead of more money.

You are comparing having the van to the money you'd save running an expensive car for commuting and the occasional work job.

Your current choice of personal car should make no difference to your renumeration at work. i.e If you had a cheap 1.0 Polo as your only car, you should get as much benefit out of this offer as having a V8 Mustang.

Look at what pay rise you 'should' be having - this comes from inflation, comparison to other similar roles, experience level, etc.

That pay rise is your target amount. If you could 'recover' this pay rise from having a van in comparison to using a normal car for commuting and occasional work jobs, fine.

If not, you should be looking to get the van and an uplift in money.

[DaveE87]

It depends on what the pay rise is. You can pick up small car derived vans for a grand or two that will easily achieve 50+ mpg and won't restrict you to van speed limits. Insurance is cheap too.

[dibblecorse]

Muzzer79 said:

You need to be a little careful here.

They're offering a van instead of more money.

You are comparing having the van to the money you'd save running an expensive car for commuting and the occasional work job.

Your current choice of personal car should make no difference to your renumeration at work. i.e If you had a cheap 1.0 Polo as your only car, you should get as much benefit out of this offer as having a V8 Mustang.

Look at what pay rise you 'should' be having - this comes from inflation, comparison to other similar roles, experience level, etc.

That pay rise is your target amount. If you could 'recover' this pay rise from having a van in comparison to using a normal car for commuting and occasional work jobs, fine.

If not, you should be looking to get the van and an uplift in money.

Or maybe there is no money for a pay rise once the employer takes into account hr rise itself, the increased employee NI's and Pension contributions, all of which are a permanent ongoing cost ....

Maybe what his employer has is a modest budget for a van that he can acquire in a tax efficient manner enabling him to give that to the OP and create a beneficial win win ...

When talking about pay rises, there is no 'should' , money is tight out there and there will be more people being let go over the coming months, I personally think his employer is at least trying to do something.

[lyonspride]

I've seen employers offering a van, but not to be used for personal use....... Hmmmmm, having a van blocking my driveway, so I have to move a van and a car to get my kitcar out? and then I have to hope they didn't notice i'd "used" the van, when they check the activity logger? Screw that!
They're basically renting a parking space and security to look after their van, what a joke.

There will be a desk jockey along shortly to tell me why i'm wrong.

Edited by lyonspride on Monday 9th August 20:38

[Register1]

Angpozzuto said:

I'd 100% take the company van, do the boring work miles stuck in traffic using the company's fuel and save the Mustang for the fun stuff. It's make driving the Mustang feel that bit more special

I have a company van.
To me I feel its worth £4,000 a year, ie I would need a £4,000 pay rise to give it up.
It gets changed every 3 years.
Currently a 70 reg Peugeot Partner.

[55palfers]

lyonspride said:

I've seen employers offering a van, but not to be used for personal use....... Hmmmmm, having a van blocking my driveway, so I have to move a van and a car to get my kitcar out? and then I have to hope they didn't notice i'd "used" the van, when they check the activity logger? Screw that!
They're basically renting a parking space and security to look after their van, what a joke.

There will be a desk jockey along shortly to tell me why i'm wrong.

Edited by lyonspride on Monday 9th August 20:38

It's not usually the employer stopping you using the van. Unless you want to pay BIK tax to HMRC, personal use of the van is not allowed.

[Eric Mc]

Scrump said:

insert coin said:

You can commute in a van without bik.

Wasn’t aware of that.

The BIK rules on company vans (or any company commercial vehicles) are far less onerous than on motor cars.

[Eric Mc]

55palfers said:

It's not usually the employer stopping you using the van. Unless you want to pay BIK tax to HMRC, personal use of the van is not allowed.

Not quite - "incidental" use of the van for personal purposes IS allowed. HMRC describes incidental use as the odd trip to the local recycling centre or helping someone move house. The commute to and from work is also excluded from BIK.

[lyonspride]

Eric Mc said:

55palfers said:

It's not usually the employer stopping you using the van. Unless you want to pay BIK tax to HMRC, personal use of the van is not allowed.

Not quite - "incidental" use of the van for personal purposes IS allowed. HMRC describes incidental use as the odd trip to the local recycling centre or helping someone move house. The commute to and from work is also excluded from BIK.

Some employers seem to expect you to provide secure parking for their property and to hell with whatever out of hours inconvenience that may cause to you the employee.

[DaveE87]

Eric Mc said:

55palfers said:

It's not usually the employer stopping you using the van. Unless you want to pay BIK tax to HMRC, personal use of the van is not allowed.

Not quite - "incidental" use of the van for personal purposes IS allowed. HMRC describes incidental use as the odd trip to the local recycling centre or helping someone move house. The commute to and from work is also excluded from BIK.

Is it similar to the requirement from many classic insurers to have a "normal" car alongside a classic? Obviously the use cases are different.

[Eric Mc]

Don't know.