Getting Started

Please ensure you type numeric values into the boxes - non-numeric values won't be accepted.

To view your mileage allowance and compare this to your running costs for the car start by:

1. Choosing the period you expect to keep the car.
2. Select your total annual mileage.
3. Select your annual business mileage.
4. Choose the manufacturer, then model range and derivative you want to see.

Term

If you don't know how long you will keep the car, just select the nearest period that suits you. For example, if you expect to keep the car for 36 months (3 years), select '36 months' from the list.

Mileage

Enter your total annual mileage and your annual business miles; don't worry if this is an estimate, you can reset all the selections with the 'Reset' button.

Manufacturer, Models and Derivatives

Select the manufacturer, model range and derivative (often called the 'trim' level for the car).

If the car you want to look at is not listed, just select the nearest equivalent - you can change the costs to suit your own vehicle very easily.

Please make sure you select a car that is of a similar fuel type to your own vehicle.

For example, if you have a petrol car, select a petrol model, similarly for diesel, hybrids and electric cars.

This helps with fuel costs in the mileage allowance calculations, especially with electric cars.

Running Costs

Once you have selected the car we'll then display the forecast running costs including depreciation, servicing and maintenance plus fuel costs too.

Don't worry if you make a mistake in any of the selections or in adjusting any of the costs, just click on the 'Reset' button to erase the selections and start again.

Changing Running Costs

You can change the costs of the car to suit your own vehicle by clicking on the 'Edit Details' box that appears once running costs have been calculated.

In addition;

• if you have a car that is not listed;
• you have a used car; or
• you want to change any of the costs;

just click on the 'Edit Details' box and enter the revised costs for the car (such as the purchase price, forecast residual value, etc).

Again, make sure you select a car that is of a similar fuel type to your own vehicle.

Here's how to change costs for both new and used cars:

New Cars

For new cars, we'll display the manufacturer's published:

• List Price
• Delivery Charges (if any)
• The initial tax disc ('vehicle excise duty') for the car
• The statutory first registration fee
• The total 'On-The-Road-Price' of the car
• The second year tax disc ('vehicle excise duty')
• The fuel type of the car

You can change:

• the price of the car to whatever you paid;
• the fuel costs;
• the fuel consumption (or range);
• the forecast residual value (or sale price) when you replace the car; and
• the forecast servicing, maintenance and mechanical repair costs ('SMR');
• the annual insurance premium;

for the car.

Used Cars

Select the nearest equivalent car to your own vehicle (makes sure you use the same fuel type), then click on the 'Edit Details' box to change the costs of the car to suit your own vehicle.

You can then change:

• the price of the car to whatever you paid;
• your fuel costs;
• the fuel consumption (or range for electric cars);
• the forecast residual value (or sale price) when expect to replace the car;
• the forecast servicing, maintenance and mechanical repair costs ('SMR'); and
• the annual insurance premium.

What's Included In Depreciation

We'll display the forecast total depreciation cost of the car for new cars using the manufacturer's List Price, taking account of the period you expect to keep the car and your total annual mileage.

So you will see:

• The List Price.
• Our forecast of the residual value or 'resale' price of the car the term you choose and the annual mileage.
• The residual value's percentage of the List Price taking account of the term and annual mileage

For used cars you can start with our forecast for depreciation, then adjust it in the 'Your Forecast Residual' box for what you expect the car to be worth after the term and mileage.

What's Included In 'SMR' Costs

Your 'SMR' costs include the following items:

• regular servicing costs for the car
• MOT costs
• mechanical repairs
• the annual tax disc (or vehicle excise duty)

We exclude bodywork repairs as we expect these to be included in your insurance costs, and we also exclude minor costs such as windscreen washer fluid.

With all of the items in the 'Edit Details' section you can change or adjust the costs unless an item is in grey.

For those items in grey, you can't change the costs, but these are mainly the vehicle excise duty and registration fee. However, you can change your vehicle excise duty for used cars simply by changing the figure for 'SMR' costs.

For all the adjustable costs simply type the new amount you want to use into the appropriate 'Edit Details' box and the running costs will be recalculated for you.

For fuel costs, these will be tailored to the type of fuel for the car.

For electric cars you can change the electricity costs that you pay (in pence per kiloWatt Hour) and the range of the car.

For cars with an internal combustion engine (including hybrids) you can change the cost of fuel per litre that you pay and the fuel consumption (or miles per gallon - M.P.G.) of the car.

Your Mileage Allowance

You can see the effect of changes you make to editable boxes in the running costs section for the car, for example the purchase price, residual value or maintenance ('SMR') costs.

Simply change the item (e.g. purchase price and forecast residual) and the running costs will be recalculated for you.

In addition, we'll change the annual and total running costs and also the difference between your costs and the mileage allowance you will receive.

What this means is that you can see how your car costs compare to the mileage allowance you will receive.

Comparing Mileage Allowance With Costs

The difference between your running costs and your mileage allowance may be a positive or negative number, depending on how much you spend on the car and how much you receive in your mileage allowance.

For you to benefit from the mileage allowance your running costs should be less than the mileage allowance you receive.

Gaining Money

The difference between your mileage allowance and your running costs will hopefully be a negative number (one with a '-' in front of the number).

In other words, you get more from your mileage allowance than you incur in running costs.

If your costs compared to your mileage allowance are a negative number then you are exceeding the proportion of your running costs for the number of business miles you travel and, effectively, you are making money from your mileage allownce.

Losing Money

If your costs compared to your mileage allowance are a positive number then you are losing money on your allowance.

This might be because you don't have sufficient business miles (though you may still actually cover your running costs for business miles); you just won't 'profit' from the mileage allowance.