[Martyn86]

Currently driving an f31 xdrive 335d, had it for 4years and now have 84k on the clock. My work mileage has went up and I expect to do roughly 25k - 30k miles a year. I’ve got the itch for a change and have therefore been looking at a few options.

1) Company car route:
By sacrificing my car allowance (approx £300 a month after tax) and then paying an additional BIK tax (£200 per month) I can get a g21 330e. Spec would be Brooklyn Grey, full leather and tinted windows.

Car is fully maintained, taxed and insured by the company.

This option comes with the benefit of being able to sell my f31 and take the funds for other projects / savings etc. Think I could easily get £17k for my car

Or

2) M340d:
PX my f31 and buy a g21 M340d, been looking at 21plates around 43k. I could have the balance paid off in 4years. The issue with this option is that by the end of the 4year period the car would have approx 100 - 120k miles on the clock and am unsure what it would be worth? Ultimately I’d be happy as long as I got my original investment back out (ie the value of my px).

With this option I would be responsible for insurance, maintenance, road tax etc. However as my 335d has proven these cars are great at effortlessly and cost effectively eating up the mileage.

My head is pulling me towards option 1, heart is option 2

Thoughts please

[tturedraider]

Wow!! That is a tough call!! I honestly don’t know. I would have a very hard time making that decision. I will say this for the 330e. I have driven one several times and I enjoyed driving it and to me it never felt underpowered. Having said that, I guess you’re referring to an LCI model and I could not stomach that. To say I HATE the stuck on iPad instrument panel and total lack of an actual dashboard is more than an understatement.

[Martyn86]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

Wow!! That is a tough call!! I honestly don’t know. I would have a very hard time making that decision. I will say this for the 330e. I have driven one several times and I enjoyed driving it and to me it never felt underpowered. Having said that, I guess you’re referring to an LCI model and I could not stomach that. To say I HATE the stuck on iPad instrument panel and total lack of an actual dashboard is more than an understatement.

Yeah the 330e would be a brand new LCI model with the new screen. I know what you mean about the look of it but it doesn’t really bother me, what does is the standard 18” alloys and non painted brake callipers tho. Unfortunately I cannot get the msport pro pack through the company car scheme.

[tyranniux]

Definitely option 1. A 330e fully maintained for an outlay if only £200 per month is a no brainer.

[xenon]

Originally Posted by tyranniux

Definitely option 1. A 330e fully maintained for an outlay if only £200 per month is a no brainer.

£300 car allowance lost and £200 BIK makes £500 by my maths.

[Martyn86]

Originally Posted by xenon

£300 car allowance lost and £200 BIK makes £500 by my maths.

Yeah that’s correct, even still though try getting a car for that these days without needing to put down a large deposit.

In the case of the 340d i would be putting my 335d in as a px and would be looking at getting over 17k. Remaining deficit would be taken care of through a car loan at roughly £575 per month. On top of this I would also budget about 2k a year for insurance, road tax and maintenance

[xenon]

I'm the same as you, head would say the 330e but I'd always be wishing I had the 340d. I don't know why they fit the little brakes on the 330e, given its weight, where the 330i and 340i/d got the Brembos as standard.

[Martyn86]

Originally Posted by xenon

I'm the same as you, head would say the 330e but I'd always be wishing I had the 340d. I don't know why they fit the little brakes on the 330e, given its weight, where the 330i and 340i/d got them as standard.

If it had come with the brakes and better wheels then the decision would have been easy.

I even asked if could pay for the msport pro pack myself, but was told No!

Also if my mileage had been 20k a year I would have jumped straight into the M340d

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Martyn86

If it had come with the brakes and better wheels then the decision would have been easy.

I even asked if could pay for the msport pro pack myself, but was told No!

Also if my mileage had been 20k a year I would have jumped straight into the M340d

I suspect the smaller brakes are balanced against getting the best regeneration as a standard package. (Brakes getting lighter use).

Are you going to be charging the battery every day to get some benefit for carrying all that extra weight around?

In my mind, 25 - 30k miles a year in a PHEV, makes the diesel more attractive.

[tyranniux]

Originally Posted by xenon

£300 car allowance lost and £200 BIK makes £500 by my maths.

Not really.. a 300 allowance presumably isn't out of his pocket, thus only the BIK is paid. I understand that you may currently be pocketing the allowance but its not really out of your pocket.

[xenon]

Originally Posted by tyranniux

I understand that you may currently be pocketing the allowance but its not really out of your pocket.

Huh? It's exactly that. He currently gets a £300 allowance which he would no longer get, plus a new £200 BIK charge, means the net cost is £500

[B6WAF]

One missing piece of information is whether your company pays you a business mileage allowance which exceeds the cost of fuel, and if so is it generous ? If that was the case you could be better off financially running your own car for those mileages, otherwise I would suggest not.

[xenon]

Originally Posted by B6WAF

One missing piece of information is whether your company pays you a business mileage allowance which exceeds the cost of fuel, and if so is it generous ? If that was the case you could be better off financially running your own car for those mileages, otherwise I would suggest not.

Good point.

[Martyn86]

Originally Posted by B6WAF

One missing piece of information is whether your company pays you a business mileage allowance which exceeds the cost of fuel, and if so is it generous ? If that was the case you could be better off financially running your own car for those mileages, otherwise I would suggest not.

Good point… I get paid 20p per mile which at the current fuel prices more or less covers my costs in fuel each month. I then claim the tax on the difference between this and the HMRC fuel rates.

For the 330e fuel would be reimbursed at 17p per mile, but there wouldn’t be any additional tax that I could claim back

[B6WAF]

Ok, understood. So running your own car on company business you cover the fuel price plus you claim a bit of tax back (that's 25p per mile on the first 10,000 miles multiplied by your rate of tax = £500 at basic rate, £1,000 at higher rate), there's no real contribution to your fixed running costs, these are deemed to be covered by the £300 per month they pay you (net of tax) for your car allowance. Dream on.

I would say with your high mileages, that's too much risk to take for too little compensation, you could be significantly out of pocket after 4 years (sorry, not what you want to hear). A puncture on an M340D could cost you not just one new tyre, but 2 or even 4 if they are all well worn (because it's Xdrive, or so I understand, I may be wrong on that one).

I would go with the company car if I were you, after all it could be a lot worse, it's still a nice car.

FYI I went through exactly the same decision making process a few years ago and I opted to buy my own, but my business mileage is negligible and my total mileage is no more than 8,000 p.a. so for me it made sense to pay a bit more (even on those mileages) and buy what I really wanted. That's still an option for you of course, but the risks are higher. After all, we are all petrolheads.

[Herr Gross Byte]

Get the M340d because life is short and you will enjoy every minute of driving it.

[a.summers86]

I had a 330e loaner last summer for two weeks. I'm not sure it would be suited to the mileage you are talking about. I was forever filling it up once the 20-24miles of electric range was depleted. Even in hybrid mode its not really suited to those sorts of milles.

That's only my opinion in the 2 weeks c.1300miles I did.

[xenon]

Be careful you don't upset our 330e evangelist...

[Martyn86]

Originally Posted by a.summers86

I had a 330e loaner last summer for two weeks. I'm not sure it would be suited to the mileage you are talking about. I was forever filling it up once the 20-24miles of electric range was depleted. Even in hybrid mode its not really suited to those sorts of milles.

That's only my opinion in the 2 weeks c.1300miles I did.

What sort of mpg were you getting? There’s guys in my work with them get an average of 45mpg and they don’t charge much. I work in construction and we’re putting chargers in at our sites and our main office also has chargers so will be charging wherever possible.

[xenon]

I think if you have charging facilities then coupled with the complete ease and stress-free situation of a fully-expensed car then I'd go with the 330e. If you're driving around construction sites a puncture can really spoil your day, cost-wise.
Let's face it, a brand-new 330e is hardly a hardship...

[Martyn86]

Originally Posted by xenon

I think if you have charging facilities then coupled with the complete ease and stress-free situation of a fully-expensed car then I'd go with the 330e. If you're driving around construction sites a puncture can really spoil your day, cost-wise.
Let's face it, a brand-new 330e is hardly a hardship...

I know and also have the benefit of getting the funds I have in the current car back out… so maybe best taking the company car then buying a weekend car for the garage 😎

[RichardM]

At that millage a year take the company car and let them worry about maintenance, tyres etc