My private / commute mileage has increased significantly in the last 12 months and is likely to stay that way for some time to about 18K per year.

Does anyone have a tried and tested model for working out the point at which a fully expensed company car becomes viable? My napkin calculations show the advantages to be marginal over 4 years compared to a private vehicle costing about £40K.

Rest assured, the RRS will stay in the family and I can get rid of the soulless BMW my Wife has. Maybe that's the only real benefit.

Thanks in advance.

Joka,
I've tried just about every way there is to run a car at the lowest personnal cost over the past 10 years and 2 years ago decided to run my RRS as a fully expensed company car,I've just had my tax bill and it was condiderably less than I was expecting and still cheaper than the alternative I was using for my previous 2 MB E class estates when taking tax,running costs and the huge depreciation into account.
My total annual mileage is about 30k and the MB's were running at about £1/mile excluding depreciation so the tax bill for overpayments was huge,both were bought as ex-demos for about £36K to finance.
On the 1st E320 which cost me about £46K in finance costs over 5 years I traded it in and got about £4.5K part-ex because it had 180k miles on the clock so the depreciation costs you need to factor are enormous if racking up a high annual mileage.
Hope this helps. MY2011 HSE Santorini/Ivory/Piano Black/Privacy Glass/TV .Sadly gone.
Audi A5 Sportback Black Edition 3.0 tdi quattro S Line

Thanks ChrisP. If I could select an RRS then decision made but 4x4's (except a Q5) are off limits as are Land Rover's.

When I made my calculations I used my current car for reference as I know roughly what I spent on servicing, fuel, insurance etc. and can make a reasonable stab at the depreciation which is the killer. To make the comparison true I compared the company vehicle and replacement private vehicle of similar values (a used RRS TdV8 as it happens).

If as I think the cost difference is marginal, it will come down to how I feel about the cars I test drive. Every time I get into the Sport its an event; not sure if I will get the same from an 3.0 A4 Quattro. We'll see as I'll have to live with it for four years.

Joka, just wondering why 4x4s (and I note Land Rover is also stated) are off limits? Referring to one of Tim's posts, we have some of the greenest 4x4s ever produced on the roads at present.

I work in QHSE and I agree with Tim, in the referred to post, that the so called "greener" cars are produced in factories kicking out far greater levels of pollution and depleting carbon at horrific levels to produce "green" cars.

LR have a carbon offset scheme and the FL2 has an innovative stop/start that has been recognised and is subsidised in taxation by the governement and I do beleive is exempt from the LCC (our cockney members may confirm).

It seems a business case is being ignored for a "Green Knee Jerk" PR policy. Working in Oil & Gas I have no knowlege of 4x4s being off limits up here and although I am on a car allowance scheme there is no directives to follow other than engine size must be over 1.6L

I just wish my professional colleagues would provide more solutions than blocks!! Now - MY11 RRS Autobiography TDV6, Orkney gray, tints, steps, daylight running lamps and allllll the toys!!!
Ex- RRS HSE TDV6 07 Java Black, bi xenon, corner lights, side steps, tints, cool box, smoke side repeats, chrome "sport" boot sill
Ex - Audi A4 Cab 3.0TDi Quattro
Ex - Freelander2 SE TD4
Ex - CRV Auto

The demise of 4x4's from the list is probably a mixture of reasons such as public image, cost of ownership + depreciation but mainly because the list of manufacturers to choose from has been trimmed significantly. LR's were available upto two years ago as there were a couple of Discovery's being used by the boat owners. I could get a Q5 or Touareg but the lease price vs cost price for these is much higher than an equivalently priced estate. This must be down to the cost to the lease company.