Vehicle Allowances

[txwhitetail]

Let’s hear some pluses/minuses on taking the vehicle allowance option or the company vehicle route. Taxes, income, etc I guess figure in.

[CabezaBlanca]

We had company trucks up until a year ago. They took them away and gave us an allowance. I like it much better. It is a better than average allowance though.

[IowaHunter]

Company vehicle. End of discussion.

[TxAg]

Company vehicle. End of discussion.

Yep.

They're never gona give you enough allowance to make up for payments, insurance, maintenance, tires, etc. Plus, it's taxable. Plus, usually there are requirements to upgrade the vehicle every 4-5 years.

[CabezaBlanca]

And a big factor to me is what is it used for if it’s more than just transportation. I wouldn’t want to beat me personal truck up hauling company tools, trailers, etc out in the field.

[Chadhender]

I prefer company truck but with a decent allowance you can usually get a nicer vehicle than the company supplied one. I’m now using runzheimer so it’s a non taxed allowance. If you do it right you can break even.

[mzurovec]

If it's a decent company vehicle, I'd go that route.

I've done both with two different companies. Both offered $750/mo, the first paid $.37/mile and the other just pays for fuel. I ended up going the personal vehicle on the first time around, and the company route currently. I drive quite a bit, and the allowance + gas wasn't cutting it. In my situation, another reason I went with company vehicle is that they allow personal use of the company truck (2018 F150 XLT) within the state of Texas. That pretty much made the decision for me.

[txwhitetail]

Nah just to and from the office. Our offer includes company fuel cards and we can use auxilery fuel tanks for personal use trips. That is really the intriguing part for me. Basically it’s 1200 a month plus fuel card or company vehicle. Of course company vehicle is supposed to be used for company purposes only.

[30-30]

And a big factor to me is what is it used for if it’s more than just transportation. I wouldn’t want to beat me personal truck up hauling company tools, trailers, etc out in the field.

This, big time. Unless you’re simply stacking miles and parking on pavement, you will notice every little new ding, scratch, and squeak. Plus you’ll have a muddy, dusty truck to take your wife out to dinner in on Friday night.

Company truck; all the way.

[TX03RUBI]

$1200 a month is pretty good. I’d consider it for that much. The normal seems to be $500-750 depending on responsibilities. I was offered either choice. I’m in a 2018 company GMC Sierra.

[Rubi513]

I prefer the allowance, but I also don’t have to haul anything or drive a lot. I may leave the office once a week to go look at a job. I average 15k miles a year for work and personal use.

[bowaddict40]

Dang $1200 seems like the deal to go with. We get $600 and a gas card and still have to come out of pocket for maintenance and other things.

[Sleepy]

I’ve got two theories on it.

All of our company trucks for field guys are F-250 XL’s and larger which are generally ran until the wheels fall off.

Upper management gets a truck from here:

https://www.barcorentatruck.com

I currently have a 2017 Ram 2500 Laramie, but am trading it in for a 2018 GMC 2500 SLT here in a couple of weeks. That being said, my company vehicle is a very nice one, I get to use it for personal use, and fuel is paid for regardless work or personal. (I do fill the tank up every once in a while during deer season). I work out of our office, so it basically just gets me to and from work (20 miles round trip) and the occasional field visit. Total expenses I’d say are roughly $1,300/mo.


The other way I look at it is my day and age, I don’t NEED that nice of a truck. I could take a $1,300/mo pay raise, buy myself an A to B truck and ultimately put more money in my pocket. I would still have my fuel paid for even if it was a personal truck.


I feel as though I’m the minority in this scenario, but either way I’m grateful.

[160class]

Like others said it depends. Currently I’m in the allowance department, I haul trailers from time to time, but mostly I am driving a lot of miles and going down rough lease roads. Personally I’d rather have a company truck, I get a very good allowance with all my fuel covered. But the places I drive will tear a truck apart and the payment of the truck takes pretty much all of the allowance. Another bad thing is how upside down you get on the truck, I’ve driven 26,000 miles for work alone since January 18th

[Mudslinger]

Company vehicle for the wife over an allowance. 2017 Ford Explorer.