Company Car Or Company Car Allowance – Which Should I Choose
If you have the choice of a Company Car or Company Car Allowance, you should check out how much Company Car Tax (or Benefit In Kind Tax as it is also known) that you would pay if you accept a company vehicle, and then decide whether to go for the Company Car or cash. You could be better off taking the car allowance and leasing a car yourself, even though the allowance is taxable.
The Cash for Car scheme has become increasingly popular with both employers and employees in recent years. Employers save time and money in not having to source, maintain and administer a fleet, although they must always be aware of their Duty of Care and Health & Safety responsibilities. And as an employee, you have more freedom to choose the car you drive, and you could even be better off if you dont spend all of the company car allowance you receive. However, some employers do stipulate the type and age of vehicle that is acceptable, according to the job you are doing.
If you choose to accept a Company Car Allowance, its worth considering Car Leasing vs Buying. Car Leasing (also known as Contract Hire) is simply the hiring of a vehicle for an agreed period of time for a fixed monthly rental. Unlike Short Term Rental or daily rental, a car lease is usually for 2-5 years, after which you can simply hand the car back with no further commitment or, in some case, you may be able to purchase the vehicle if you wish. Car Leasing is a convenient, cost-effective and hassle-free way of financing a new vehicle, and there are many benefits of leasing a car. It enables easy budgeting of your motoring costs, and the fixed monthly payments can even include servicing and maintenance. Also, theres no need to worry about depreciation or disposing of the vehicle at the end of the contract.
Dont forget that if you choose the company car instead of the company car allowance, all your motoring costs (except private fuel) will be taken care of by your employer including insurance, road tax, servicing and repairs. If you choose the company car allowance, you will have to pay for these things yourself.
If you choose a company car allowance and lease a vehicle which you use in the course of your job, youre entitled to claim from your employer a mileage allowance for each business mile travelled. H.M. Revenue & Customs approves certain mileage rates that employees can claim for business travel, and the current rate is 40p per mile. Check the HMRC website for the latest information.
Part way between the company car and a company car allowance is something called Employee Car Ownership. This is where your employer gives you a car allowance, but the company organizes the finance deal and takes care of insurance and running costs. This may also be worth considering if your employer offers such a scheme.
New Car Stereo VS Old Car Stereo
People usually like to spend their leisure time in accordance with their choices. One of the most common pass times is listening to music. Thanks to the advancement in technology, one can now listen to his or her favorite music while driving the car. The car stereo system has made this dream come true.
A car stereo is a sound system that is fixed inside an automobile. Nowadays we do not have to buy and install a car stereo; most of the time it is pre-built inside a car. It includes a number of equipment like amplifiers, speakers, and CD or cassette player. The features include specially designed in built items to go with the design and components of the car.
The demand for car stereos is rising so much that manufacturers of home audio system are investing in this field. This resulted in tough competition that compelled the makers to update the technology and provide similar features at a much cheaper rate.
Before buying the audio system, one should consider some points. It is important to see whether the car stereo fits in the car or not. Car stereos are bought for great sounds, so checking the sound quality before buying is also a good idea.
People used to put their battery operated music system inside the car for the listening experience; however, it was before the invention of car stereo. The drawback was the inability to cope with the high temperature and the shake inside the car. The first car stereo speaker that came to the market was a radio fitted in the dashboard with two speakers in the front door.
Motorola was the first to bring this kind of car stereo to market. The battery of the old car stereo was not of superior quality and could not be played for longer hours. It could only play audiocassettes. Moreover, the sound quality was not up to the mark. The longevity of this old car stereo was poor too. Compared to new car stereo the old car stereo was quite big in size.
Other than the looks of the car stereo, the products are always valued for sound quality. The new car stereo has a DVD player and pop up display LCD screens. The LCD screens can be either slide out or folded, though that depends on the head unit. Nowadays, new car stereos can fit in traffic signal messages and has a memory card with huge space. Some of the new car stereos include MP3 players, CD system, etc.
An MP3 car stereo is a kind of stereo that can play audio CDs, MP3 files, etc. and that too for longer hours. One of the distinguishing features of this stereo is programmable track memory. The memory also comes with digital anti skip facility and digital standard headphones. In addition, they are endowed with AM/FM tuners where one can store FM and AM stations.
Loud car stereos are quite a craze among the young generation and can play music above 140 decibels. However, this kind of stereos can cause hearing problems. In fact, loud music inside the car can make one unaware of the surroundings that may cause severe accidents.
CD car stereos have become an essential car necessity. This new kind of car stereo is provided with radio. It is helpful in many ways because it allows the user to access or go through the latest updated news, information regarding travel, etc. They can also play MP3.
Presently, car stereos are not only entertainment equipment but, to some extent, they have become a status symbol also.
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