Journey to work
- Thread starter Bing
- Start date
1066 Country
Rather be in a skirt than an Audi 
:wink:
We can try and sort it. Will need to be soon though, as I will need to be getting out to my customers soon. There are 25 of them, and whilst many are not huge and won't be too needy, and about 50% are London based, the rest are spread all around the country - Bournemouth, Crewe, Manchester, Newcastle, Harrogate and everywhere in between
:wink: We can try and sort it. Will need to be soon though, as I will need to be getting out to my customers soon. There are 25 of them, and whilst many are not huge and won't be too needy, and about 50% are London based, the rest are spread all around the country - Bournemouth, Crewe, Manchester, Newcastle, Harrogate and everywhere in between
Good grief you'll be putting the miles on. I hope you've got a company motor or a decent allowance in the offing...
By the seaside...
Bing said:Pick a line and stick to it, make yourself look big, walk slightly quicker than those around you but not too fast, and most importantly never, ever make eye contact. Also, always look behind you before changing direction. Kind of like assertive driving really
My offices are on Great Tower Street near the HDQ so I commute into London Bridge Station and walk across London Bridge virtually every day - I'll have to keep an eye out for a clog-dancing, backpack-wielding, terrorist Dutchman and a Scot that looks like he's about to chant a haka before rushing the bridge :wink:pvr said:I could try the mad Dutch look on my clogs I suppose
I already obtained the mandatory back pack, but obviously don't look enough like a terrorist for people to avoid me I suppose 8)
@Stuart...
The car scheme for my grade is sh1t - business need, no opportunity to spec beyond standard, restricted list of low emmission diesels. The only autos are a Focus or a 118d, which I'd need for Mrs B to drive it. The rest are VWs, Fords etc., no 3ers or A4s etc. There's no car cash alternative but my benefits package is an additional 25% of my base salary - if I don't spend it all on benefits as salary sacrifice (and it would be really hard to) then what's left is added to my take-home. The big win is being classed as a remote worker so I can claim all of my business travel from the moment I leave the house.
I've done the maths (well, some maths) - I'll skip the company car and associated BIK tax - as well as being tied to a rubbish motor for 4 years - and take the train as much as possible, combining meetings in different places over a couple of days where I need to / can. Vehicle plan is to sort Mrs B with a newer car, get a promotion and a decent choice of company cars (plus a shorter list of larger customers), then try and keep whatever Z I have by then for weekends
My problem is going to be finding time to sleep I think - never know, might hate the job and decide to leave
The car scheme for my grade is sh1t - business need, no opportunity to spec beyond standard, restricted list of low emmission diesels. The only autos are a Focus or a 118d, which I'd need for Mrs B to drive it. The rest are VWs, Fords etc., no 3ers or A4s etc. There's no car cash alternative but my benefits package is an additional 25% of my base salary - if I don't spend it all on benefits as salary sacrifice (and it would be really hard to) then what's left is added to my take-home. The big win is being classed as a remote worker so I can claim all of my business travel from the moment I leave the house.
I've done the maths (well, some maths) - I'll skip the company car and associated BIK tax - as well as being tied to a rubbish motor for 4 years - and take the train as much as possible, combining meetings in different places over a couple of days where I need to / can. Vehicle plan is to sort Mrs B with a newer car, get a promotion and a decent choice of company cars (plus a shorter list of larger customers), then try and keep whatever Z I have by then for weekends
My problem is going to be finding time to sleep I think - never know, might hate the job and decide to leave
PerryGunn said:Bing said:Pick a line and stick to it, make yourself look big, walk slightly quicker than those around you but not too fast, and most importantly never, ever make eye contact. Also, always look behind you before changing direction. Kind of like assertive driving reallyMy offices are on Great Tower Street near the HDQ so I commute into London Bridge Station and walk across London Bridge virtually every day - I'll have to keep an eye out for a clog-dancing, backpack-wielding, terrorist Dutchman and a Scot that looks like he's about to chant a haka before rushing the bridge :wink:pvr said:I could try the mad Dutch look on my clogs I suppose
I already obtained the mandatory back pack, but obviously don't look enough like a terrorist for people to avoid me I suppose 8)
We really should try to at least sort lunch for a bunch of us. A boozy evening would be ace, though I need to plan that more so that I am not driving in.
Strange to say, but I'd look at the focus. I believe their auto is a twin clutch, the styling is ok and if it's not a bog basic model then the standard kit is good too. A heated front screen as standard is a godsend!
We have an F20 118d sport auto and the 8-speed box is one of the best autos I've ever driven - the 1 series is also a seriously good chassis and makes an excellent driver's car. Ade and Liz have a manual F21 118d sport and also rate it very highlyStuart Truman said:
118d is only on the list in manual, and Sport spec is only available in manual too 
Auto choices are :
BMW 116d 2.0 Hat ES or SE, F20 or F21
Ford Focus 5DR Hat 2.0TDCi 140 Titanium Pwsft
Ford Focus 5DR Hat 2.0TDCi 140 Zetec Pwsft NW
If I went manual then I could have an A3, 118d sport, Nissan Quashqai, Ford Mondeo, or Vauxhall Insignia - the best available version of the latter would probably come best specc'd of all as standard with a list price of £28k. No engines larger than 2.0, all diesel - which is fine for efficiency and cost, because of the miles I could be doing, but I'd want an auto with cruise etc.
However my real problem is that if I get a company car now it needs to be able to replace the Honda as a family car for Mrs B to drive (so has to be an auto), which neither of the auto choices will manage. I cannot have the final 12 months of payments on the bank loan for my car, plus the tax hit on a company car, plus another deposit & loan to buy Mrs B a replacement for the Honda, all at the same time. It's about timing really.
Best plan seems to be forgo the company car and use the train for longer distances, buy Mrs B a car, pay mine off, possibly buy an M soon after (depending on if/when Stuart wants to sell me IMmie :wink: ), in the meantime work my arse off and earn some proper money / promotion, then get in a decent company car so the Z can be used for short journeys, weekends and holidays. My current Z clicked over 92k miles recently, so I'm not worrying about mileage - instead I will make sure that it is well looked after and maybe spend some pennies on a front end re-spray.
All that said, I will have a look at the standard spec for the 116 and Focus just to make sure I'm not making a stupid mistake. I know how much space we had in my Focus ST - what's the boot space like in a 1 series hatch ? Always looks very small from the outside - and I have been looking lately
Auto choices are :
BMW 116d 2.0 Hat ES or SE, F20 or F21
Ford Focus 5DR Hat 2.0TDCi 140 Titanium Pwsft
Ford Focus 5DR Hat 2.0TDCi 140 Zetec Pwsft NW
If I went manual then I could have an A3, 118d sport, Nissan Quashqai, Ford Mondeo, or Vauxhall Insignia - the best available version of the latter would probably come best specc'd of all as standard with a list price of £28k. No engines larger than 2.0, all diesel - which is fine for efficiency and cost, because of the miles I could be doing, but I'd want an auto with cruise etc.
However my real problem is that if I get a company car now it needs to be able to replace the Honda as a family car for Mrs B to drive (so has to be an auto), which neither of the auto choices will manage. I cannot have the final 12 months of payments on the bank loan for my car, plus the tax hit on a company car, plus another deposit & loan to buy Mrs B a replacement for the Honda, all at the same time. It's about timing really.
Best plan seems to be forgo the company car and use the train for longer distances, buy Mrs B a car, pay mine off, possibly buy an M soon after (depending on if/when Stuart wants to sell me IMmie :wink: ), in the meantime work my arse off and earn some proper money / promotion, then get in a decent company car so the Z can be used for short journeys, weekends and holidays. My current Z clicked over 92k miles recently, so I'm not worrying about mileage - instead I will make sure that it is well looked after and maybe spend some pennies on a front end re-spray.
All that said, I will have a look at the standard spec for the 116 and Focus just to make sure I'm not making a stupid mistake. I know how much space we had in my Focus ST - what's the boot space like in a 1 series hatch ? Always looks very small from the outside - and I have been looking lately
The 1er was reviewed as having terrible bootspace but I thought it was OK. The 116 is a dog. Avoid, Lovett lend me one as a courtesy car.
The focus Titanium has a good standard kit list and I think I'm right that the Powershift system is twin clutch. Prepared to be proved wrong though.
I assume with no car and no allowance, you can claim the full personal mileage rate on your own car?
The focus Titanium has a good standard kit list and I think I'm right that the Powershift system is twin clutch. Prepared to be proved wrong though.
I assume with no car and no allowance, you can claim the full personal mileage rate on your own car?
Yep, 45ppm. I have no idea how much mine costs per mile, but as long as I keep the mileage as low as I can I'll be quids-in.
I'll have a look at the Focus, but I don't think it will cut it as a replacement for the Honda. It will be better spec'd as standard than the 1 series.
I'll have a look at the Focus, but I don't think it will cut it as a replacement for the Honda. It will be better spec'd as standard than the 1 series.
Bing, not sure of what you're paying for your train ticket, but I've started driving to Chelsfield station - FREE PARKING - so I can use an Oyster card which E/W is £4... Off-peak, £6.40 peak straight into Cannon Street in 35 min if u get the right train.
Locally, a day return is £29.40, robbers & Chelsfield is just an engine warming 23 min away...
Locally, a day return is £29.40, robbers & Chelsfield is just an engine warming 23 min away...
