260 km commute

dubrov

frozenfrozen wrote: »

hope that's not the case can you explain more, I am a sole trader not an employee so I won't be claiming mileage rates etc I'm imagining it'll be a percentage of the costs (relating to how many miles are for work vs leisure) being counted as a cost of doing business and that can be taken off my income for tax. But I really am not sure on this

it might sound further than it is, it's 1 hour 40 mins depending on traffic, plenty of people spending that length of time in a car commuting to dublin, just I'll be on a motorway for a good portion of it so really racking up the miles. I am not against the idea of breaking up the week with 1 day in a b&b or something like that.

I guess 1hr40 is doable depending on your finish time. I'd say 5:30 or ealier would make it work. It will be more expensive to commute though when you factor in fuel and depreciation costs vs rental.

In relation to expenses, I think the key phrase is "travel to a place that is not their normal place of work".
https://www.revenue.ie/en/employing-people/employee-expenses/travel-and-subsistence/business-journeys.aspx

I think this is probably open to interpretation by revenue but I'd guess that anywhere you travel to ore than 50% of your work time would be classified as your regular place of work. You can still expense travel to other sites, you just wouldn't be able to claim the commute.

frozenfrozen

Heading to bed now and won't have a chance to look at this till tomorrow evening but that page looks like it's for employees I won't be an employee. I'll have to look at renting but Im 22 so probably won't be able to rent


Not sure where I stand with the whole thing if I can't have any relief for travelling seems the opposite of everything I've heard so far

dubrov

I don't think it matters of you are self employed.

I really depends on the nature of the work. Working on a building site might qualify as not your normal place of work. . It might be worth asking some work colleagues to see what they are doing

Mooooo

Your accountant will or should know either way

Shefwedfan

If you want something that is cheap and will run on fumes then a Toyota Corrolla 1.4 diesel. My parents had one, the thing ran on fumes. Not the greatest looking thing but was extremely economical. They are solid as a rock as well in terms of engine

ba_barabus

Shefwedfan wrote: »

If you want something that is cheap and will run on fumes then a Toyota Corrolla 1.4 diesel. My parents had one, the thing ran on fumes. Not the greatest looking thing but was extremely economical. They are solid as a rock as well in terms of engine

They wouldn't be comfortable if covering that kind of mileage.

The Davestator

Buy a caravan and park it up close to work!

Shefwedfan

ba_barabus wrote: »

They wouldn't be comfortable if covering that kind of mileage.

I didnt say it was comfortable, I said it was cheap

if you want comfort someone has already mentioned the A6, lovely car and great at high mileage

Lantus

Shefwedfan wrote:

if you want comfort someone has already mentioned the A6, lovely car and great at high mileage

I'd second that. Drove one across the UK and it was amazing, if quite awkward to get in and out of as it's so low.

frozenfrozen

I'm currently doing the drive in a c6 A6 it's lovely but it's a 2.4 petrol so the cost is high. Managed to do 7.3 up and 7.1L/100km on the drive home today so that's about 25 euro in petrol -- not too bad but that's doing ~100km max on the motorway. Would be nice to do 120km/h in a diesel and still get 50+ mpg

So a very quick call that I was supposed to follow up with an email but I will do it tomorrow with the accountant man.. the gist is I can put 25% of a car purchase against my tax, it has to be below co2 band C / 155g co2 and I am to keep all receipts at all related to anything to do with the car and a proportion of it can be taken off my tax. if I sell it after eg 3 years with lots of miles and it has depreciated there's an allowance per year to get that loss off the tax I would owe, I don't really get this bit yet.

basically it works out that I'll still be paying a lot and it's just the very pointy end is being shaved off by lowering my tax bill, which could just as easily be done by buying equipment etc... so instead of having a big tax bill I'll have a humongous motoring expense

I got a quote for a new car leasing which seems pretty fairly priced but it's over a 3 year term which I am hopefully not going to be doing this huge commute for that long. The accountant didn't mention leasing at all so it may not suit me but I'll mention it to him.

Someone at work was telling me to go down the route of a van, everyone else agrees I should just get something with 4 wheels after I threw my bike down the road at the end of last week

I'm still not really any closer to knowing exactly what I should spend, there doesn't seem to be any magic thing where all the costs can disappear as an expense (not that I was expecting that) but I just think it might be a case of buying something I kinda like for 8-9k and selling it for 3k in 3 years or something? Just pulling those numbers out of the air but that's what the whole thing seems like. If I'm losing around 150 per month on depreciation, 300 on fuel, 100 for servicing/tyres/SHTF, 1500 p/a insurance, that's near enough to what I'd be spending at the moment on just petrol for the A6..

Might be a bit naive to think I'd be able to sell a car with an extra load of miles on it but if I only do the huge miles for a year it would even out after 3 years or whatever and it could still be a bit sellable. And if I kept the long commute up then that's for future me to worry about..

accountant man also said about borrowing half the money as the interest on the loan can be a bit of an expense but this was from the angle that I could put the balance of the money somewhere it would also gain interest.. so something an accountant would do that I probably won't be arsed doing

BillyBobBS

Don't know what car to advice on but jesus reading some of these commute stories makes me realize how lucky i am.

frozenfrozen

Thoughts on this? https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/skoda-octavia-1-9-tdi-laurin-amp-klement-high-spec/17946511


Came across this kind of thing too https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201712011735928 seems like it would be around 13k after vrt. But since it already has 90k miles after a couple years it would be nearly worthless, and 4/5k per year is a lot on depreciation..
xenons, cruise, heated seats, dimming rear view and side mirrors, auto, seems like all the creature comforts you'd want for long driving. I have had dimming rear and side mirrors and it is a very nice feature. But it's a lot of money to lose each month on depreciation

Most things I look at just don't work out after doing a bit of quick maths, so maybe an already totally depreciated L&K octavia with nearly 300k miles is the answer.


I took on your advice and I've sorted out a place to stay a night or two during the week. It's 2 miles away from work..

commited

Do the L&Ks come with cruise control? That'd be my only must have for a commute like that as well as the most comfortable seats I can find.

To be honest, I note a lot of people recommend auto's for people doing long commutes but to be honest I find a manual grand on long journeys, it's short commutes at peak times that really warrant an auto!

Considering the mileage you'll be doing you can probably justify bigger tax:
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volvo-s60-2002-diesel-2-4-l/17978741
Possibly not the best example but it's hard to beat an S60 D5 for a comfy, insulated economical commute.

CIP4

Both cars are very different. The Octavia fair enough next to no depreciation capable of doing decent MPG. But let’s face it it’s a model that was designed in the 90s so is getting on big time high mileage not saying it wouldn’t do the same again. But tbh it will be a big step back from your a6 and not something you would want to spend a hell of a lot of hours in each week.

Passat looks nice and very well specced. It would be a nice car to commute in that is what they were designed for still fairly modern. It’s costing 13k let’s say you keep it 5 years at 9 years old would be worth 3k. 2k a year in depreciation is next to nothing and to me would be well worth it to be in a much nicer car. To me it just wouldn’t be worth it to save the couple of bob in depreciation, get a decent car around that price bracket that has the worst of its depreciating done but is still fresh. Just my opinion though. Also tax and insurance will be a lot less on the Passat.

nice_guy80

2.0L mondeo. 2010 - 2011
would get you 750 miles to a tank
comfortable to drive
cheap enough tax €280

frozenfrozen

commited wrote: »

Do the L&Ks come with cruise control? That'd be my only must have for a commute like that as well as the most comfortable seats I can find.

To be honest, I note a lot of people recommend auto's for people doing long commutes but to be honest I find a manual grand on long journeys, it's short commutes at peak times that really warrant an auto!

Considering the mileage you'll be doing you can probably justify bigger tax:
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volvo-s60-2002-diesel-2-4-l/17978741
Possibly not the best example but it's hard to beat an S60 D5 for a comfy, insulated economical commute.

I think the insurance would stop this idea, would be a nice place to do motorway miles though you are right there. I wonder does the octavia have cruise, it wouldn't be a deal breaker but it would be really nice to have.

CIP4 wrote: »

Both cars are very different. The Octavia fair enough next to no depreciation capable of doing decent MPG. But let’s face it it’s a model that was designed in the 90s so is getting on big time high mileage not saying it wouldn’t do the same again. But tbh it will be a big step back from your a6 and not something you would want to spend a hell of a lot of hours in each week.

Passat looks nice and very well specced. It would be a nice car to commute in that is what they were designed for still fairly modern. It’s costing 13k let’s say you keep it 5 years at 9 years old would be worth 3k. 2k a year in depreciation is next to nothing and to me would be well worth it to be in a much nicer car. To me it just wouldn’t be worth it to save the couple of bob in depreciation, get a decent car around that price bracket that has the worst of its depreciating done but is still fresh. Just my opinion though. Also tax and insurance will be a lot less on the Passat.

You make a lot of sense. 5 years is a long time for me to be thinking ahead but would I be able to count on getting that long out of the likes of that passat, relatively trouble free while doing so many miles? I can't see myself doing such huge commutes in 5 years time so it could be a year or two of high miles and end up actually not being too madly high in 5 years time if I was to hold onto it.
If the octavia didn't get through the next NCT I could cut my losses, but a costly repair on a more expensive car I'd have to just pay out or lose a good chunk of money.

The high spec would be nice and it would no doubt be less tiring to drive than the octavia but just at the risk of it costing 5k per year if I have to move it on sooner than 5 years. Funnily the passat doesn't look to be too amazing on fuel, reports on fuelly saying 5.5-7L/100km, that's no fuggin good, sure it's a bit cheaper than the a6 but compare that to the likes of a volvo V40s I was looking at, they go from 4 to 6L/100, big enough difference per month at my mileages to pay attention to. And a few other things I've come across have been claiming 75 odd mpg so >4L.. that would free up a lot of money per month for depreciation and saving a bit of the difference

I wonder if high mileage in a dsg is a bad idea too. Not sure if they are soft or not but I'd probably be better off in a manual.. but then imagine trying to find a manual car with lots of extras that make it comfy

Swings and roundabouts really. On the one hand if I looked at it on a longer scale a more expensive car would average down to being a negligible difference

but on the other hand it's a lot more money than the 500 euro which would probably buy that octavia, which is only out in clonmel so I could have it at the weekend. I wouldn't even get over and back to buy the passat for that money!

I wonder should I just buy the octavia and drive it till I get sick of it or it explodes?

nice_guy80 wrote: »

2.0L mondeo. 2010 - 2011
would get you 750 miles to a tank
comfortable to drive
cheap enough tax €280

they are comfortable and good spec in titanium but they are strong enough money around 10k and in a couple years of my use it would be 10 years old and 200k miles so expensive enough per year if I didn't hold onto it longer term

---

is it worth me even considering any kind of hybrid with the bit of galway traffic and the few odd short journeys I'd do where a diesel would be not warmed up at all. Or would the long journeys 3-4 times per week totally cancel it out.
The likes of a lexus ct200 (which is basically a prius underneath?) seems to get very high motorway mpg and good town mpg. All reviews say horribly uncomfortable but would anything along those lines suit me at all?



Thanks for all the help so far to everyone I think I'm fairly close to actually getting something now anyway

frozenfrozen

commited wrote: »

Do the L&Ks come with cruise control? That'd be my only must have for a commute like that as well as the most comfortable seats I can find.

To be honest, I note a lot of people recommend auto's for people doing long commutes but to be honest I find a manual grand on long journeys, it's short commutes at peak times that really warrant an auto!

Considering the mileage you'll be doing you can probably justify bigger tax:
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volvo-s60-2002-diesel-2-4-l/17978741
Possibly not the best example but it's hard to beat an S60 D5 for a comfy, insulated economical commute.

I think the insurance would stop this idea, would be a nice place to do motorway miles though you are right there. I wonder does the octavia have cruise, it wouldn't be a deal breaker but it would be really nice to have.

CIP4 wrote: »

Both cars are very different. The Octavia fair enough next to no depreciation capable of doing decent MPG. But let’s face it it’s a model that was designed in the 90s so is getting on big time high mileage not saying it wouldn’t do the same again. But tbh it will be a big step back from your a6 and not something you would want to spend a hell of a lot of hours in each week.

Passat looks nice and very well specced. It would be a nice car to commute in that is what they were designed for still fairly modern. It’s costing 13k let’s say you keep it 5 years at 9 years old would be worth 3k. 2k a year in depreciation is next to nothing and to me would be well worth it to be in a much nicer car. To me it just wouldn’t be worth it to save the couple of bob in depreciation, get a decent car around that price bracket that has the worst of its depreciating done but is still fresh. Just my opinion though. Also tax and insurance will be a lot less on the Passat.

You make a lot of sense. 5 years is a long time for me to be thinking ahead but would I be able to count on getting that long out of the likes of that passat, relatively trouble free while doing so many miles? I can't see myself doing such huge commutes in 5 years time so it could be a year or two of high miles and end up actually not being too madly high in 5 years time if I was to hold onto it.
If the octavia didn't get through the next NCT I could cut my losses, but a costly repair on a more expensive car I'd have to just pay out or lose a good chunk of money.

The high spec would be nice and it would no doubt be less tiring to drive than the octavia but just at the risk of it costing 5k per year if I have to move it on sooner than 5 years. Funnily the passat doesn't look to be too amazing on fuel, reports on fuelly saying 5.5-7L/100km, that's no fuggin good, sure it's a bit cheaper than the a6 but compare that to the likes of a volvo V40s I was looking at, they go from 4 to 6L/100, big enough difference per month at my mileages to pay attention to. And a few other things I've come across have been claiming 75 odd mpg so >4L.. that would free up a lot of money per month for depreciation and saving a bit of the difference

I wonder if high mileage in a dsg is a bad idea too. Not sure if they are soft or not but I'd probably be better off in a manual.. but then imagine trying to find a manual car with lots of extras that make it comfy

Swings and roundabouts really. On the one hand if I looked at it on a longer scale a more expensive car would average down to being a negligible difference

but on the other hand it's a lot more money than the 500 euro which would probably buy that octavia, which is only out in clonmel so I could have it at the weekend. I wouldn't even get over and back to buy the passat for that money!

I wonder should I just buy the octavia and drive it till I get sick of it or it explodes?

nice_guy80 wrote: »

2.0L mondeo. 2010 - 2011
would get you 750 miles to a tank
comfortable to drive
cheap enough tax €280

they are comfortable and good spec in titanium but they are strong enough money around 10k and in a couple years of my use it would be 10 years old and 200k miles so expensive enough per year if I didn't hold onto it longer term

---

is it worth me even considering any kind of hybrid with the bit of galway traffic and the few odd short journeys I'd do where a diesel would be not warmed up at all. Or would the long journeys 3-4 times per week totally cancel it out.
The likes of a lexus ct200 (which is basically a prius underneath?) seems to get very high motorway mpg and good town mpg. All reviews say horribly uncomfortable but would anything along those lines suit me at all?



Thanks for all the help so far to everyone I think I'm fairly close to actually getting something now anyway

Tindog76

Fair play to you on getting a place to stay a few days a week. It will help you.

I would tend to agree with Commited's comments about an automatic car too. I think cruise control would be of more benefit to you. That is what I didn't have previously until I got the Insignia and it is a must.

On the Octavia, I would refrain. Great car and some spec too, but the mileage would suggest that it has had a long hard life.

A family member has a similar issue to you too. They're looking at the following cars around the €5k/6k mark. A6/ Mercedes C220/E220/ BMW 520, all diesel variants. Car years from 2003- 2007/2008. They are particularly focusing on good service history, valid NCTs, mileage and general feel of the car (ie. comfort) and how it test drives, and automatic, which I personally disagree with, but tis them driving it, not me.

They're putting 30k+ miles on the car and getting a car around that price range will be fairly worthless in 2/3 years time.

Just some extra thoughts on what you're thinking of looking for.

JJJJNR

get the most powerful car you can afford, diesel is the only way to go, a saloon, not a hatchback as road noise is loud enough and its a huge issue, get excellent tyres and a second set (of wheels) for winter, and keep them in very good condition. Avoid 18in wheels if you can, 16/17s the best.

commited

Some other suggestions:
Mk4.5 Mondeo:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201801303250106
Becoming the taxi mans favourite, plenty out there that are doing mega mileages and parts don't get much cheaper!

Exeo:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201711020899160
Basically a previous gen A4 but with the more up to date CR engine and loads of spec.

M47 engined 320d and 520d, 2007 and earlier, are worth a shout too.

Also, on insurance I wouldn't make any assumptions, my 3.0 BMW is one of the cheapest cars I've had quotes on.

Bigus

Drop into this lad or lady and flash them 1000 cash or maybe go up to 1500 and drive it til it stops , it's 09 and will do 4l/km at 100 kmh
It it's a 6 speed it's 110bhp

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/09-renault-megane/17951726

Idbatterim

What car are you driving at the moment op?

nice_guy80

frozenfrozen wrote: »

I think the insurance would stop this idea, would be a nice place to do motorway miles though you are right there. I wonder does the octavia have cruise, it wouldn't be a deal breaker but it would be really nice to have.



You make a lot of sense. 5 years is a long time for me to be thinking ahead but would I be able to count on getting that long out of the likes of that passat, relatively trouble free while doing so many miles? I can't see myself doing such huge commutes in 5 years time so it could be a year or two of high miles and end up actually not being too madly high in 5 years time if I was to hold onto it.
If the octavia didn't get through the next NCT I could cut my losses, but a costly repair on a more expensive car I'd have to just pay out or lose a good chunk of money.

The high spec would be nice and it would no doubt be less tiring to drive than the octavia but just at the risk of it costing 5k per year if I have to move it on sooner than 5 years. Funnily the passat doesn't look to be too amazing on fuel, reports on fuelly saying 5.5-7L/100km, that's no fuggin good, sure it's a bit cheaper than the a6 but compare that to the likes of a volvo V40s I was looking at, they go from 4 to 6L/100, big enough difference per month at my mileages to pay attention to. And a few other things I've come across have been claiming 75 odd mpg so >4L.. that would free up a lot of money per month for depreciation and saving a bit of the difference

I wonder if high mileage in a dsg is a bad idea too. Not sure if they are soft or not but I'd probably be better off in a manual.. but then imagine trying to find a manual car with lots of extras that make it comfy

Swings and roundabouts really. On the one hand if I looked at it on a longer scale a more expensive car would average down to being a negligible difference

but on the other hand it's a lot more money than the 500 euro which would probably buy that octavia, which is only out in clonmel so I could have it at the weekend. I wouldn't even get over and back to buy the passat for that money!

I wonder should I just buy the octavia and drive it till I get sick of it or it explodes?


they are comfortable and good spec in titanium but they are strong enough money around 10k and in a couple years of my use it would be 10 years old and 200k miles so expensive enough per year if I didn't hold onto it longer term

---

is it worth me even considering any kind of hybrid with the bit of galway traffic and the few odd short journeys I'd do where a diesel would be not warmed up at all. Or would the long journeys 3-4 times per week totally cancel it out.
The likes of a lexus ct200 (which is basically a prius underneath?) seems to get very high motorway mpg and good town mpg. All reviews say horribly uncomfortable but would anything along those lines suit me at all?



Thanks for all the help so far to everyone I think I'm fairly close to actually getting something now anyway

you'd get a 2.0L 2010 or 11 mondeo for 5000-6000 if you do a good search online

I only sold my own one two weeks ago

frozenfrozen

Idbatterim wrote: »

What car are you driving at the moment op?

06 Audi a6 2.4 petrol it's costing 30 ish euro a day in petrol

nice_guy80 wrote: »

you'd get a 2.0L 2010 or 11 mondeo for 5000-6000 if you do a good search online

I only sold my own one two weeks ago

Interesting thanks

JJJJNR

Is Lpg an option for you, that's a peach of a car/engine shame to move to a 4 cylinder diesel from that.

Moving to lpg would only cost about 1500 euros

frozenfrozen

JJJJNR wrote: »

Is Lpg an option for you, that's a peach of a car/engine shame to move to a 4 cylinder diesel from that.

Moving to lpg would only cost about 1500 euros

Interesting thought to just get some petrol that would do around 35/40mpg and lpg it but the a6 can't stay 288000km on now and I'd only run it into the ground it has to go back to my mother!

Idbatterim

thats the reason I asked what car it was, I would consider lpg it... only worth doing it ,if you get another 2-3 years out of it though...

JJJJNR

There's a 03 accord on the bangernomics thread it's an auto 2.0 that would eat road on lpg, just get the biggest lpg tank possible . car plus lpg install would be about 2500.

selectamatic

OP if you're serious about saving money then a reliable cheap tax diesel or bangernomics diesel would be the only way to go plain and simple. If you buy right you'll be grand.





https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2008-skoda-superb-elegance-1-9-tdi-115hp-nct-10-19/17816015

Something like this might suit ya. It'd be a very comfy place to be for your sorta driving scenario and it should also be reliable and prove easy maintain due to its relative simplicity.

Hasmunch

Full disclosure, this is my car..

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-mondeo-2-0-tdci-140bhp-280-tax/17727758

Comfortable solid car, only standard spec but it has the better 2 litre engine and cheap enough tax.