New Company Car Advice

hamsterboy

Hi All
Friend boyfriend is getting a company car and at the moment he's stuck between:
07 Audi TT
07 BMW 3 series Coupe
07 Alfa Romeo Brera

Any advice would be great, I'm dead jealous and reckon I'd have the Alfa.
He was set on a TT at first but for some reason all his mates told him it was a girls car.....now maybe the old TT but DEFO not the new one.

Cheers

Edit: 5 series coupe??????? What was I thinking, cheers rebel.ranter

daedalus2097

Some job! I'd probably go with teh Alfa myself, but I happen to like the new TT - improves on the old one IMHO!

rebel.ranter

The 5 series coupe would be a rare car indeed, where's he getting one of those?
I am a BMW fan but as it's someone else's money I'd be spending I would have gone with the TT too.

Anan1

What engine sizes/specs are on offer?

hamsterboy

Not sure but I'd say

3.2 Quatro TT
320is 3 Series
2.2 Brera

rebel.ranter

I would have thought the TT would have been the 2.0TFSI version seeing as the other options are in the 2-2.2 litre class & around the €50k mark.
If it's the 3.2L TT then there's no question which is the one to go for!! Even the 2.0L stil does it for me though.
BIK will be a killer on a €50k car though. Especially if he doesn't really do a lot of business miles i.e. in excess of 48,271km a year.
See details below:
http://www.revenue.ie/leaflets/it20a.pdf

So if your friend is doing less than 24,000km a year he has to fork out €15,000 in BIK, that's the worst case scenario, if he is doing over 48271km per year it's going to cost €3000 in BIK, that's the best case scenario.
It's something to bear in mind when considering a company car versus allowance.
A lot of companies were pushing people towards the allowance to avoid the hassles associated with running companiy cars, but new H&S legislation changed that as employers became somehow liable for employees who use their own cars. so the empahsis has switched, or so I have read anyway.

OKenora

I'd say the Alfa, won't be a common car either and if he hasn't the servicing bills and headaches it has to be the best way to drive an alfa.

prospect

No major issues with Brera yet, but the 2.2 is not a great engine in such a heavy car.

I'd still say the Brera though.

bazz26

I reckon the Brera will be alot less common than the other two. Should have more kudos in the company car park anyway.

The major bonus of the Brera is that the company take the hit on depreciation and service costs.

unkel

hamsterboy wrote:

3.2 Quatro TT
320is 3 Series
2.2 Brera

Strange list of choices as the Audi is considerably more expensive to buy, and even more so, to run!

rebel.ranter wrote:

If it's the 3.2L TT then there's no question which is the one to go for!!

Agreed!

prospect

unkel wrote:

Agreed!

Also agreed,

Why can't he get the 3.2L Q4 brera?

Green_Martian

I would personally go for the BMW, think the TT is ok but not a big fan of it and don't really like the Alfa

R.O.R

Must be straight purchase if they are even considering the Alfa, on Lease the base model Brera is coming out exactly €300 a month more expensive than a 320i SE Coupe. TT 2.0TFsi is about €1.50 a month more than the BMW - all based on 20k miles per year over 3 years.

New TT looks a lot more "Manly" than the old, but I think I'd still follow the crowds and go for the 3 series coupe - you can actually sit in the back seats of the new one, even if you are over 3ft tall.

Anan1

Would a 3 series saloon be an option? The coupe is less practical, has a worse image, and the back end of it looks like a 1979 Volvo 264.

Henry Ford III

Skoda Octavia. Huge boot. Planet crushing torque from ancient diesels. Popular used with strong demand from taximen;)

Gary ITR

Henry Ford III wrote:

Skoda Octavia. Huge boot. Planet crushing torque from ancient diesels. Popular used with strong demand from taximen;)

Every thread??;)

colm_mcm

Onkle wrote:

Every thread??;)

not every thread, only where appropriate.

Hotwheels

My choice would be the Alfa Romeo Brera, but with the 2.4 JTDm diesel engine better engine than the 2.2...

Or wait for the GTA, the rumor mill has it a Maserati derived engine will power it, and the 159 GTA...Mmmmmmm

colm_mcm

I'd say the Alfa, it's the best looking, and if it breaks it's not the drivers problem (except they'll probably get a Punto on loan...)

Gary ITR

I'd be taking the alfa myself, seeing that the driver doesn't have to cover maintenance costs

unkel

I'm guessing the 3.2 TT is a typo. If so, and if it's between a 2.0TT, a 2.0 3-series coupe and a 2.2 Brera, so:

Onkle wrote:

I'd be taking the alfa myself, seeing that the driver doesn't have to cover maintenance costs

Oh yeah! Get the Alfa and drive it hard. As someone else said the other day - drive it like you've stolen it

No worries about the consequences, hehe