Company Car/Credit card

Submitted by AthearCaex t3_11efzo2 in personalfinance

So a couple questions one on advice the second is on credit reports and such.

As of yesterday my company has provided me a new company car on lease and a credit card to pay for car expenses.

I am married with 2 cars currently.

My wife owns a sedan that's 8 years old and like 50k miles on it but it doesn't have four wheel drive, she doesn't work much and occasionally uses it for gig work and visiting friends and family. While she doesn't strictly need four wheel drive it is almost necessary for days in the north east with heavy snow and such.

My wife has told me her Kelly blue book value of her car is 10k

I have a new 2022 Ford escape with 14k miles on it due to high mileage driving for work. On average my bi-weekly mileage check was 300-500$. I still owe 30k on this car and pay 650$ a month for a loan. I was expecting mileage checks for several years which would pay off the car on its own.

At this point I probably I can't really turn down the company vehicle after it's all bought and such. I'm curious what's the best option here. Should I sell the car I just bought or should I sell my wife's car and give her mine and put the sale of the car towards the loan of the car. Or do neither and have 3 cars? I don't have some savings but I'd like to be putting money towards a house if possible.

Secondarily since my company just give me a credit card in my name the CEO manages the account but they asked for my SSN and everything so I assume this affects my credit? How will that work?

Thanks again.

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alexm2816 t1_jadrvav wrote

Sell the new car and ride the less expensive option in terms of depreciation and insurance. Clearly your wife isn't driving much and holding on to a $30k plus car to drive 500 miles a month seems foolish. If you're worried about winter conditions get snow tires. I'd take good snow tires on a FWD over an AWD with all seasons every day of the week.

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93195 t1_jadsyu1 wrote

This partly depends on the rules for the company car and how stable you are in the job. Can you also use it for personal reasons, or is it company business only? Do you anticipate staying in this job long term, or possibly getting a new job within the next year or two?

If it’s company business only, can you get by being a one car family (for personal use)? If not, question answered. Do you anticipate being in this job a while? If not, question answered.

As to which car to get rid of assuming it makes sense to get rid of one, that’s tough. My gut says keep the paid off one with only 50K miles (get snow tires), but you’re almost certainly underwater on your Escape, meaning you’ll have to come up with some cash to get rid of it.

So coming up with cash now or continuing monthly payments? Which is less worse for you?

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sephiroth3650 t1_jadt95x wrote

What are the rules for personal driving with the company car? Are you free to drive it anytime you want, or only for work travel? That will make a difference on whether or not it makes any sense to sell anything.

Assuming you're free to sell one of the cars, I'd look to sell the escape. I get that she would like AWD, but $650 is a pretty large payment to carry for somebody who only occasionally drives. Or, if you're committed to her having AWD, I'd sell both the cars, and turn around and buy something less expensive. That will help you in your goal to save some money for a future home purchase.

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AthearCaex OP t1_jaduq1f wrote

Replying to sephiroth3650 (#2,117,548)

The company has an understanding there might be some personal use but I can't like go on trips and it would get messy if I got into an accident off work hours. It'll be covered and my boss understands but who knows up the chain would be understanding. Also I believe the car could be taken back at any time though unlikely for my work the CEO could ask for it back and I would need to drop it off. I could do most of my work through rental or ride shares but it wouldn't be great.

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AthearCaex OP t1_jadwcpk wrote

Replying to 93195 (#2,117,451)

I've been working at this company for a year now and I've been told by higher ups my jobs security is extremely high. I've been told it could be a lifetime position if I wanted it so that's not much of a concern but it would be if I up and left the company that would be awkward for a bit.

In terms of getting by with 1 car it depends. Occasionally my wife and I are at different locations in the evening. I could probably use the company vehicle for some personal driving but occasionally I'll drive 50 miles away from home and if I got into an accident off work hours it might cause issues.

I can come up with cash but it depends on how much it costs like I would hope my car would mostly hold it's value as it has a bunch of extra features on the car that brought up the cost a lot. I'm still pretty sad as I got the car with the anticipation of driving it long hours for work.

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AthearCaex OP t1_jae3zc0 wrote

Replying to 93195 (#2,120,895)

It's just a kelly blue book quote. I'd imagine their own company would offer close to what their quote was, of course they could just claim X damage on the car but I don't expect any damage as I have no accidents, I bought car covers and I bought the special plastic floor thats easily cleaned.

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