Choosing The Ultimate Company Car: 7 Factors To Consider

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Choosing a company car is different to choosing a personal vehicle. While it’s still important to choose a vehicle that you enjoy driving, it needs to be affordable and practical for your business needs. Here are some of the factors that are important to weigh up.

Cost to Buy/ Lease
You should start by considering your budget. If you can’t buy a car outright, you will likely need to buy a car on finance or lease a car. Compare monthly rates on different vehicles to find a car that you can reasonably afford. Consider looking into dealerships that offer used vehicles from top brands such as this Audi A3 car dealership. 

Fuel Efficiency
You don’t want to be spending too much money on fuel. By choosing a smaller or newer vehicle, you can guarantee better fuel economy. A growing number of businesses are choosing electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles - being able to electronically charge your vehicle could greatly save you money and be good for your business’s carbon footprint. Just make sure to consider the driving range.

Reliability
Constantly having to fix your vehicle could get expensive and it could result in downtime that could affect your efficiency and reputation. This is why it’s important to choose a reliable vehicle as your company car. Looking for something newish from a reliable brand. You can compare the reliability of different car models online. 

Insurance Fees
It’s also important to consider how much insurance fees will cost you. Some cars are very expensive to insure - especially if you have a job title that is considered high risk. Lower value and smaller cars tend to cost less to insure and could be a good choice if you want to keep insurance rates low. 

Tax Benefits
Driving costs may be deductible from your company tax bill. It depends on the vehicle as to how much of your expenses you can deduct from your tax. Hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles have some great perks such as a 100% year one deduction. This could be worth taking advantage of as a business owner. 

Aesthetics
Your car needs to be in good condition and it needs to look professional. Consider a relatively new saloon car in black or white (other colours could be worth considering if you want to reflect your brand colours). It’s best to avoid anything too sporty or luxurious unless you’re serving high-end clients - an expensive-looking vehicle may suggest that you charge overly high rates. 

Business Needs
What are you going to use your business vehicle for? Assessing your needs will help you to choose the most appropriate vehicle. A pickup truck may be necessary if you’re having to carry large equipment or materials. If you’re likely to be picking up clients, you may need a comfortable interior and plenty of seating. For travelling around a city and easy parking, a smaller vehicle may be better suited for your work. If you need to tow a trailer, a larger vehicle with a tow bar could be a good option.