Using my personal vehicle for work... 15

[esloan]

I am working for a small consulting firm (civil). I really love working here, however one downside is that they do not have company vehicles.

I have no problem using my personal vehicle for transportation and keeping track of mileage for the measly 45 cents per mile etc.

The only REAL problem is that we are expected to use our personal vehicle for construction work with no additional compensation. This is the only company that I personally know about that works in this manner.

I'd say that the mileage I put on my vehicle nowhere near compensates me for the use. I am not talking about home to office etc, I am talking about office to jobsite, on the site and back. Strictly business use. I am typically out in construction full-time from April to November with heavy usage mid-May to mid-September. The work I do involves large developments and heavy-highway construction, so there is a lot of off-roading. If I don't drive my vehicle off-road, then the walk would be ridiculously long (a waste of productive time). I couldn't justify it.

I have actually brought this up to my supervisors, but they kinda shrug their shoulders and say that this is how it has always been. They say that they see no advantage for them to get any vehicles or compensate for usage above the government mileage rate. The VP's all have company leased vehicles, which is considered a perk because they really only use them for home to office driving. Only one out of the three actually uses it for billable projects and that is because he has one main client and spends a lot of time at their location. The others use for transportation to/from meetings with clients, not necessarily directly billable, but "getting/retaining" projects.

Anybody else have experience with this, or perhaps some productive way of dealing with it? I am looking at options I could offer up to management vs just complaining about it. Yes, I have received advice to just move to another company etc, but I really think the company would look into ideas if presented.

 

[eric1037]

Yeah. Why would they invest company capital in something that is being provided for a measly 45 cents per mile. They sure couldn't get a lease for that price.

If I were in your situation, I would buy a rusted out piece of junk, beat up pickup that costs about $200. Then you can beat on it all you want. When it dies, just leave it.

See how your company likes being represented with something like that.

 

[UcfSE]

Are you driving only or hauling stuff as well?

 

[ctopher]

Who pays for the insurance? If you are in an accident, you probably will pay and it will go on your job report.
The company needs to give you a lease truck to use.

Chris
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[CorBlimeyLimey]

Does your auto' insurance cover the use of your vehicle for work related tasks? If not, you could be left liable if you are involved in an accident.

 

[rbulsara]

Unfortunately, this is a norm in the USA ( I presume you are in the USA). You live and learn. Key is to negotiate this type of stuff before joining a firm, if you are in a position to do so.

Even there all you can do is anticipate cost of such vehiccle use, and make sure you get it in your base salary/overall compensation. Meaning, if you think such use in going to cost you $10K every year, you take that into account when accepting an offer.

If you are not able to negotiate, you take your lumps and say to yourself that you have a lesser paying job.

It is no different than accepting a job that invovlves longer commute. You use up your vehicle much faster than folks with shorter commute to work. You have to do your own math.

Speaking off not taking it off road, and walking, you decide what is more important to you. I would generally will not ruin my vehicle, just because the client is going to get charged for few more hours. Why should you pay? let them pay as they are the ones benefiting from use of your vehicle.

 

[MintJulep]

Could you rent?

For example, 100 mile day:

Drive your own for mileage rate: $0.45 x 100 = $45

Rent: $35 + 15% taxes and fees + 5 gallons @ $2/gallon = $50.25

 

[COEngineeer]

I would leave my car at friends and call work and say you dont have a truck for the next few days. You got mechanical problems.

 

[EddyC]

My current employer makes us take our own vehicles to job sites. This occurs about once a week on average. The problem is that most of our projects are in ghettos. At least 2 of our staff have had their cars vandalized. Others have gotten into car accidents. The main beef that I have is that they sometimes send us alone to these places and many times we are left alone on site with no one around to witness any potential dangers. I have a difficult time making fellow engineers believe that an ENR 100 rated employer behaves in this manner.

 

[esloan]

To clarify some points:

The jobsites are typically fairly local. Meaning a roundtrip office-site-office is 20 miles or less. This is why I say the mileage alone wouldn't compensate for the usage.

I wind up using my vehicle as a "field office" in a sense. I keep the project files/information with me, and I tend to be on more than one project throughout the week, so multiple plan sets/job boxes etc, at one time.

I also carry misc equipment, but no real "hauling", more like a level/legs/rod for elevation shots, bundle of lathe, measuring wheel, manhole (lid) pick. I keep a rubbermaid box in the trunk with small various things like marking (spray) paint, measure tapes, hammer, ribbon.

A lot of this stuff isn't really "mobile" meaning I leave it in the car unless I need it, which is often, although depends on the project and what "hat" I am wearing that day.

I do have a sinking feeling that I will need to just purchase an old truck to beat up separate from my car. I just never thought that it would be a job requirement for me to supply my company a vehicle. Was hoping there would be some other options available.

 

[esloan]

I have comprehensive insurance on my car, but I have never "notified" the insurance company that I use it for work.

If I had an old beater, I wouldn't worry *too* much, but I don't. I drive long distances on most weekends to see my kids, so I have a new-ish reliable sedan. Comfort and gas mileage and all that.

 

[bvanhiel]

There's always one other option available: find another job.

If your worried about the wear and tear on your primary vehicle, then I think you will find owning a beater a liberating experience. Just be sure to get something that looks pretty crappy from a distance. You'll find that people give you wide berth on the highway. You can also park in the worst areas of town and the tightest parking spaces with no fear.

-b

 

[esloan]

COEngineeer:
If you get two or more field personnel together, this is exactly where the conversation heads. Nobody ever does it though. I prefer construction/outdoor and if I insist I don't have a vehicle to get me there, am afraid will re-assign me to design/office full-time.



Again, I really enjoy this company and know that everybody can't be made happy all of the time... but was hoping there would be some possible options I could present to management.

 

[BelspringKen]

I got stuck doing that from time to time in my first job out of school. We had 2 or 3 company vehicles, but generally one of them was in the garage for maintenance.
There were a lot of times that I had to use my car.

 

[MintJulep]

You should read this.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf

 

[Ashereng]

The insurance issue is important. My insurance coverage does not include use of my personal vehicle for business use. If I get in an accident, I am not covered.

When I travel on business, I rent a vehicle. If I am going to a client's office, I rent a car - Grand Am. If I am going to a job site, with off-road, I rent a F-150. If I am carrying something, a F-350 or F-250HD.

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[esloan]

Thanks for the link. I skimmed it, will read in depth later. Basically can use real expenses (subtract the 45 cents pr mile I got as reimbursement) as deductions for taxes. Problems I see with this are:

1. They look at mileage for personal vs work
2. There are a lot of limitations on itemizing


What "real" expenses do I claim?

I keep records of my mileage for work already, no big deal. But every gas purchase I could only find using my bank statements.

*sigh*

maybe looking into a beater truck that is 100% work use is the more viable option here.

 

[esloan]

At this point in my life I am financially unable to rent or lease a vehicle for several months out of the year with no compensation and hope that I *may* be able to use as an itemized deduction.

The irs publication mentions that companies have several different options available for reimbursing employees for expenses, like an allowance or per diem, above and beyond the 45 cents per mile. I wonder if this can presented as an option, or a lease+gas reimbursement for the months of construction use. hmm...

 

[JStephen]

If I recall, un-reimbursed employee expenses have to be over a certain percentage of income before they are deductible. Even then, it's not like the government pays that expense- just it's not taxed.

As a bargaining tool, I would try to keep track of the actual expenses for a while, do some math, and see what it actually is costing you per year or day or whatever. If you can show the company that use of your personal vehicle is costing 5 times what they are paying, that should be an eye-opener for them.

Rental doesn't sound like a good option, as the actual vehicle expense would be higher per mile, plus you'd get charged for damage to a vehicle, for too many miles, etc.

I would say that this is definitely a case where you'd want to consider if you needed the latest $30,000 diesel pickup or the econo-import, especially if you're not towing or hauling large things.

Maybe get an off-road motorcycle for the offroad part?

You might also check into how the mileages are figured per IRS. For example, I think if you go from work to jobsite to home, that whole trip is chargeable, not just the work-to-jobsite part.

 

[esloan]

JStephen, this is exactly why I say that "There are a lot of limitations on itemizing"

If I had a separate vehicle for work and for my major personal travelling then I could keep track of my costs better. If I only used a truck for my work, then I could show them all my gas, maintenance, insurance etc expenses. As it is, I drive about 500 miles in a weekend vs half that during the week for work. The whole root of the problem for me lies in the mileage (not enough to charge for my expenses- too much personal in comparison).

I live only a couple miles from my office so the mileage from home to site comes out to be pretty much the same as office to site.