using an E30 as a company car any suggestions

[alane]

im new to bmw but loving my recent purchase -

Been pondering this -

My company give me a mondeo as a company car (boring) but have recently offered me option to take the money instead .As anyone with a company car knows the tax implications are very bad costs a lot .

For me this allowance works out at 450£ a month after tax ,this allowance would have to cover everything insurance tyres tax etc i would do the servicing myself .
i suppose the question is how well would an e30 325i 2 or 4 door in reasonable condition with say less than 100k on the clock and a decent history stand up to 30k a year mainly motorway ?
Anyone tried this ?

[adam3442]

Mines used three times a week to go from Heathrow to Northampton an loves eating the miles.. I think BMW's are built to cruise and as with any car as long as they're serviced regularly etc they are good as gold... well mine is anyway

[Morat]

It'll cost you in fuel, but they're reliable beasts. Don't forget that a six pot E30 only reaches old age at 250k plus as long as it has been serviced properly and isn't rotten.

Consider asking Ant about fitting megasquirt on a nice economical map, he should be able to save you some MPG which will soon pay for itself - and you can turn up the wick at weekends

[Bob_S]

or there is the lpg route to save you some bucks

[alane]

Fuel isnt an issue as i have a company fuel card which is taxable ,i would probably want and 325i with a zone chip ,have to make all those miles interesting .

[ItalianM3]

I have used my 320is (s14 engine) everyday since I bought it back in 2003-4. In that time I have covered about 35,000 miles, this has been motorway and London traffic use, and since its a motorsport engine you have to rev it quite alot

I dont see any problem in using one as an everyday car, just depends if you buy a decent one or not!

[Morat]

Fuel isnt an issue as i have a company fuel card which is taxable ,i would probably want and 325i with a zone chip ,have to make all those miles interesting .

Well, Ant does the zone chips too so you can chat to him about it

[stranter]

Mine does 1200 miles a month without a problem, one of the nicest all round cars I've ever driven. Mine's an 87 E 318i with a genuine 90k and fsh and is mint and original. It's not once gone wrong in the last 5 months.

Stewart

[e30bmlover]

at the end of the day mate, the e30 is built to last. it shouldnt be too bad on fuel anyway as u are going to be useing it on a motorway, service it ontime, change the oil every 6000 miles and she will last a very very long time.

[Cotty]

Wernt they built for this sort of treatment.

I cant see any problems and the allowance they give you should cover consumables no prob

[Simon13]

go for it just get crusie control on it, will save u dollar.

I use a £300 325i auto i bought for parts but ended up using it. I'm doing 400 miles a week in it, have done since jan!

only had one prob with the autobox last week. I service and try and do most of it myself which will help with costs

A 325i can do 30mpg on the m-way no prob and more with cruise control. This is a must for long haul journeys, make it more stress free too imo

[dobbie82]

I think huge mileage is better than tiny milage sometimes, I've just bought a daily driver because my 4dr was getting extremely p*ssed at me for doing 4/5 mile runs to the shops etc

[thesaint]

i do about 20,000 miles a year in mine which was £216 of ebay. Take her across europe a bit too, never failed to proceed yet.

[miniblob]

I also think high mileage is better than low (as long as it's looked after!!).

I do very high mileage - did stupid amount of m'way miles in a 320 when i was younger and didn't event service it for about 30k!!!!!!
Had a crap 318 which was given to me free and that did silly miles with no probs whatsoever!!!

My current 325 touring also does a lot of miles (1.5k ish per month - often more!) and i drive it very hard!! Only had it for a few months but has shown no unexpected problems yet and i don't expect any!!

And i look after my cars now!!!

If i had the option of money or company car - I would defo take the money!!

[alane]

thanks for all the advice ,i will give it serious condsideration nearer october when the co car goes back ,i have used the 325i convertable a few times last week on work trips to wales from birmingham and i must admit it brought a smile to my face on an otherwise boring trip .

[rat]

thanks for all the advice ,i will give it serious condsideration nearer october when the co car goes back ,i have used the 325i convertable a few times last week on work trips to wales from birmingham and i must admit it brought a smile to my face on an otherwise boring trip .

I dumped my compamy repturd last year.

I get paid 4k allowance plus 21p per mile

Ditch the fuel card - you are paying tax on 3K benefit - if you go mileage payment, anything the company pays under statutory is reclaimable from the tax man - this year I'm due £1100 tax rebate.

Your company may set rules for a private car but, believe, me an E30 will more than satisfy them

Insurance - speak to your provider about limited business miles

HTH

[alane]

Unfortunately we have to take the fuel card ,the only stipulations about the car are no convertables must have 4 seats and if over 6yrs old a yearly RAC or AA report .