Annual cost for your car

[curiosity]

My husband has a W reg Golf company car (old for a company car with frequent problems), which is too small for our needs as a family of 5. However we get free insurance,Tax, petrol (�20 per month) and any repairs. BUT get taxed to the hilt, don't get family tax credit because the value of the car (?New) is taken as an income. We live in a sought after residential area but don't have a garage and car vandalism/crime is fairly common (we've had 3 wing mirrors kicked off by passing kids on bikes costing around �80 each) obviously at no cost to us. My question is, would we be better off with our own car that suits our needs, he's been offered �200 a month to not have it, after bringing up our quandry with his boss, but how much does the insurance, fuel etc etc cost you approx a year? We mainly drive locally, but would both walk or cycle to work as it's close, it's mainly holidays once a year that involve any long hauls, or jaunts maybe once a month for his work, but, the frequent damage to cars on our road might sway us towards a better company car rather than buying our own. I'd be grateful for your opinion.

[almcd007]

Ask around if there are any garages close by that you can rent or ask a neighbour if they have a garage to rent.

How much does a car cost is like how long is a piece of string. You could do maybe with a step up in size - Mondeo size/Passatt etc or if you can - you could do with a small MPV if you have kids. Scenic/Espace etc. Have a look at www.Autotrader.com and have a look at the reviews of the cars to give you a better idea.

Will he still be able to claim expenses ? If so that might go towards insurance etc - surely he must be able to claim petrol/diesel back ?

Also if he can cycle to work - why does he need a company car - does he go out of the office to appointments ? If not - you'd be better off without it.

[curiosity]

Yes, mdoo98 it does seem daft that even though it's a sought after area car crime is bad, but unfortunately we're enroute to a bad area where asbos and the like are rife, it's mainly mindless vandalism by teenagers. almcdoo7 yes it actually only takes 10 mins to cycle to work as well, but he is expected when needed to go to the other end of the country for meetings or to do work, even though his base is local they have contracts all over, but this isn't a weekly thing. I like the Passatt also. He still needs to check out the expenses, but I'm sure he would be entitled to milage/petrol. Thanks for your answers.

[tali122]

in running a car NOTHING is cheaper than having a company car -so i dont know how you get "taxed to the hilt"