Should I keep my Alfa if I'm getting a company van?

12-06-2021 8:57pm #1

Hey lads. So I landed myself a job and I'm starting on Monday week. Dream job and I couldn't be happier. But anyway, I'm getting a company van with the job. I can use the van for personal use as long as I top it up with diesel when I do.
I bought an Alfa Romeo GT back in May. I fixed all the mechanical issues, NCTd it and taxed it. I absolutely love the car and it puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. If I'm getting the van should I sell the Alfa? It'll be parked up most of the time. Still trying to decide what to do with it..

12-06-2021 8:59pm

On a day off, do you want to drive an Alfa GT or your work van?

Keep the car.

punisher5112 · 12-06-2021 9:02pm

No claims will be lost after 2 years too, you won't be able to carry commercial no claims back in future...

I'd honestly keep it.

Larbre34 · 12-06-2021 9:04pm

Absolutely. Keep it, keep your insurance ticking over, you'll be thankful down the line.

elperello · 12-06-2021 9:04pm

The Alfa sounds like a keeper to me.

Though bear in mind if you don't have a garage it will deteriorate.

colm_mcm · 12-06-2021 9:04pm

I’m gonna go the other way and suggest you’ll not bother with the GT and it’s not worth keeping for the odd time you do

punisher5112 · 12-06-2021 9:10pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

I’m gonna go the other way and suggest you’ll not bother with the GT and it’s not worth keeping for the odd time you do

Buy a Toyota;-)

hellyeah · 12-06-2021 10:47pm

Keep your car. After driving van all week, come weekend you will be glad of car. I had company van for 13 years and always kept my car. Also when taking holidays you may have to give it back for 2 weeks.

Del2005 · 12-06-2021 11:37pm

Sell the car and then hire a fancy car if you want to go somewhere. The only reason to keep the car would be if you think you'll be out of a job in a few years otherwise you're spending several hundred Euro a year to keep an NCB. While you can't transfer NCDs from commercial to private a a lot of companies will give mirror then.

touts · 12-06-2021 11:45pm

Sell the GT. You said you have fixed all the technical issues with it. I"ve lost count of the number of Alpha owners who I've heard say that only to have the car break down a few weeks later. If you're driving it a lot and love it then maybe it is worth the hassle. But if you leave it idle most of the time then in a few weeks when that expensive hunk of metal won't start on your driveway you'll grow to hate it. Sell it before the hatred sets in. Get a smaller more reliable car.

PsychoPete · 13-06-2021 12:32am

touts wrote: »

Sell the GT. You said you have fixed all the technical issues with it. I"ve lost count of the number of Alpha owners who I've heard say that only to have the car break down a few weeks later. If you're driving it a lot and love it then maybe it is worth the hassle. But if you leave it idle most of the time then in a few weeks when that expensive hunk of metal won't start on your driveway you'll grow to hate it. Sell it before the hatred sets in. Get a smaller more reliable car.

That is just awful advice

Wibbs · 13-06-2021 9:43am

PsychoPete wrote: »

That is just awful advice

I reckon much of this depends on where advisors are coming from. If someone sees a car as more a transportation device, a white good like a fridge or washing machine, that's pretty good advice, if someone is more of a petrolhead it's not, or a lot less so. Can depend on the age of the advisor too, or how people percieve value.

Darc19 · 13-06-2021 9:52am

Del2005 wrote: »

Sell the car and then hire a fancy car if you want to go somewhere. The only reason to keep the car would be if you think you'll be out of a job in a few years otherwise you're spending several hundred Euro a year to keep an NCB. While you can't transfer NCDs from commercial to private a a lot of companies will give mirror then.

Of course you can transfer NCD from commercial policy to private as long as the commercial policy was in your name.

The op is probably on a company policy for the van, so needs to keep the personal NCD alive, so if they do sell the Alfa they will need to remember to take a new private policy within two years.

For me it would be down to cost and whether it's value to me.

Depreciation + insurance + tax + NCT = ?

And is ? Worth it for how much I'll use it.

xhomelezz · 13-06-2021 11:24am

Jacksie66. wrote: »

Hey lads. So I landed myself a job and I'm starting on Monday week. Dream job and I couldn't be happier. But anyway, I'm getting a company van with the job. I can use the van for personal use as long as I top it up with diesel when I do.
I bought an Alfa Romeo GT back in May. I fixed all the mechanical issues, NCTd it and taxed it. I absolutely love the car and it puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. If I'm getting the van should I sell the Alfa? It'll be parked up most of the time. Still trying to decide what to do with it..

You might sell the Alfa to me? I'd probably be happy to get one, in good state.

But yeah I get you. If it was me, I would keep her and drive her as much as possible at the weekends, or whenever, to keep the smile on.

But I have to say, I'm not practical person, when it comes to cars.

omeara1113 · 13-06-2021 11:28am

Was in the same boat myself a few years back keep my own Jeep after two doe,s realised I was only putting 3000km a year on it and got rid

xhomelezz · 13-06-2021 11:32am

touts wrote: »

Sell the GT. You said you have fixed all the technical issues with it. I"ve lost count of the number of Alpha owners who I've heard say that only to have the car break down a few weeks later. If you're driving it a lot and love it then maybe it is worth the hassle. But if you leave it idle most of the time then in a few weeks when that expensive hunk of metal won't start on your driveway you'll grow to hate it. Sell it before the hatred sets in. Get a smaller more reliable car.

Harsh to Alfa. If you properly look after them, they reward you with great driving experience.

Buddy Bubs · 13-06-2021 11:35am

I'm only recently in the 2 vehicle category and wondered would I just think it's a waste having having second one parked up most of the time. In my case I've a sensible car and a not so sensible car. The weekender is pretty useless for anything except going for a spin by myself. Can take the GF but not the dog.

So you might see yourself in this situation, you need to carry more people than the van requires, or just want the comfort of a car for a spin.

athlone573 · 13-06-2021 11:39am

I was going to say, do you see yourself rocking up to a wedding /stag weekend or whatever in the van?

Whatever about the revenue/legal rules about personal use of a van. If you can afford to keep it (servicing tax and insurance will cost you what say 2k a year) and it puts a smile on your face then why not keep it.

You could always buy a hyundai or hire a gocar when you need it but where's the craic in that.

v240gltse · 13-06-2021 11:56am

100% keep the Alfa as I drive a van all week and cant wait till saturday/sunday comes around to drive mine.

DONT be MAD keep the Alfa

hellyeah wrote: »

Keep your car. After driving van all week, come weekend you will be glad of car. I had company van for 13 years and always kept my car. Also when taking holidays you may have to give it back for 2 weeks.

Sky King · 13-06-2021 12:00pm

Nice car. Keep it if you enjoy it.

When you're on your deathbed you're not going to look back fondly on that time you made a prudent financial decision!

By the way, you're not going to get prudent, impartial advice in a motoring forum full of car enthusiasts !!

athlone573 · 13-06-2021 12:10pm

Also

If you're not going to be making personal use of the van
Make sure your employer and payroll know that so you're not taxed on it.

ec_pc · 13-06-2021 8:00pm

As an out and out Alfa fan, I always maintain you buy an Alfa for a reason not just because you want a car. I bought my recent GT as a weekend car while I used my Focus during the week for the commute to Dublin. Since covid came, Focus was just sitting there, my 18 year old uses it full time so I am using GT full time.

Yes, there are costs associated with running all cars, I can honestly say in my experience (4 Alfa's) they are no more expensive to own so long as you look after it. The biggest bugbear for me is road tax for 2006 model but I just live with that.

As another poster said, can you live with using the van at the weekend, if so then perhaps consider letting the Alfa go. Or you could keep it on / off the road for winter / summer which is what I did for a few years. Apart from the odd sneaky trip during the winter of course.

13-06-2021 8:02pm

Get rid. I know you like the car and driving and all but that will soon fade when the realisation sets in of never spending a penny on motoring, not caring a tyre is worn, not shopping around for insurance, no worries about that new noise from the suspension. Use the free one all the time, it’s bliss.

ec_pc · 13-06-2021 8:36pm

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Get rid. I know you like the car and driving and all but that will soon fade when the realisation sets in of never spending a penny on motoring, not caring a tyre is worn, not shopping around for insurance, no worries about that new noise from the suspension. Use the free one all the time, it’s bliss.

I wonder if the employer would share the point of view if there is significant private usage? Besides, if a car enthusiast it's accepted there will be costs with running your own car.

13-06-2021 8:54pm

Cheers for all the advice lads. I'm still undecided, swinging more towards keeping it. I'm a single fella with no out goings really. I don't drink or smoke and I feel like the Alfa is my hobby. What's the point of working if you haven't got something to show for it. I've had lots and lots of cars. I can fix pretty much everything myself so repair costs if something goes wrong isn't too much of an issue. Yes it's on the old tax at €636 a year but that's only €13 a week. The price of a dinner you could say or a couple of pints..

14-06-2021 8:23am

ec_pc wrote: »

I wonder if the employer would share the point of view if there is significant private usage? Besides, if a car enthusiast it's accepted there will be costs with running your own car.

It was part of the deal when I joined, absolutely no limits on private use. I know there's costs associated with being an enthusiast but that's precisely the question one needs to ask; how enthusiastic are you really, especially in the face of removing the costs altogether. If you are then keep it.

iwillhtfu · 14-06-2021 8:31am

I was in a similar position and kept the personal car and to be honest I seldom used it. It sat for long periods which for some cars isn't an issue and others might be an issue but for an Alfa I'd imagine it will almost certainly be an issue.

Sell the car buy a motorbike

, the no no claims loss was always a concern but surprised how little in ended up affecting my quote as they allow for this with some companies. Although insurance is really pick a number you think you can get away with and age related.

aFlabbyPanda · 14-06-2021 8:32am

I've done this a few times in the past and have always regretted it, expescially if you like the car.

Also consider keeping the car to keep your insurance and no claims discount active. I think from memory it expires after 2 years. This happened to me and even in my thirties it cost a fortune to start insurance again in my own name. Yes the named driving experience on the company car helped but not as much as keeping my own policy & NCD active.

fancy pigeon · 14-06-2021 11:12am

Well, I spend my working week in a company van. Lots of time spent in said van in traffic, tipping between client sites etc. Costs are kept down, I do the maintenance on it. Far worse vans out there

Friday evening comes along, time to jump into my S60 and go for a blast. It's old, it's uneconomical, it's costly to run (only ever gets the circle K expensive petrol). And I couldn't give a sh*te what other small minded people think, I enjoy the car. It's an absolute hoot compared to the van!

My main problem now is what car do I use at the weekends when the Z32 is fixed up properly, I'll still run both either way

Should I keep my Alfa if I'm getting a company van?

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