No More German...Hello Japanese!

[Kimbers]

Hi guys,

As some have sent me a few personal messages wishing me luck, just wanted you to know that I am leaving Mercedes and my C220 behind for the warmer climes of Honda.

As I have ambitions to follow after daddy dearest I have accepted a position of Corporate sales Manager in East Anglia and hope soon to be General Sales Manager of Group Lotus ...............yeah right.

On an aside, I can sell throughout the Uk so anyone looking for a Honda has just got to call me......now don't be nasty! the new Civic type RR is going to be a beast....albeit a refined one...

Edited February 20, 2006 by Kimbers

[mayevora]

Back in my old Financial Service's days, I used to have a new Honda every 12 months. The Sales Manager in Exeter used to love me. It's only after you don't have a company car anymore that you really apprechiate them!

[Kimbers]

Back in my old Financial Service's days, I used to have a new Honda every 12 months. The Sales Manager in Exeter used to love me. It's only after you don't have a company car anymore  that you really apprechiate them!

Agreed, we always moan about the tax tariffs imposed by the UK government, especially as it's not a perk...we genuinely need our cars to do our job. No car no job, no sales, no government cut..higher taxes! Am just doing my bit for the economy.

However i currently pay

[gghc87]

Owned 2 Honda Accords ( sedan ) in the mid 80's . Lovely cars the second one had a really plush interior being the exec. version, my wife always said she first when out with me because of the car The air con was one of the best i've ever know.

Also as result of ownership both my best mate and my Dad bought one and he had owned a string of Mercs

Enjoy the new job.

Edited February 21, 2006 by gghc87

[WayneB]

Good luck with the new job Tony

Sorry, I have as much interest in Honda as I have in MB (none)

Shocked that you didnt apply for starter job as teaboy/general dogsbody at Lotus(with massive pay cut and no job security)

[slade]

honda just quit making the last interesting car they ever built- though it was the only supercar that really ever had the ability to fade into a crowd (aside form Porsches ) and from what I hear it was similarly forgetable to drive, though not that it wasn't capable...

Last of the traditional supercars IMO

though they still make this

Good luck at least Honda isn't quite as boring as Mercedes IMO... The new civic looks kind of cool. But what's up with them barely making anything rear wheel drive?

slade

Edited February 21, 2006 by slade

[esprit350]

Good Luck in your new job, hope you can get good discounts?

[jimmybondi]

Best wishes from Germany!

[sbarc]

Good luck Tony!!! I'm starting to appreciate the NSX more each day. After reading this forum for a little while now......I'm starting to ponder which is better....driving an NSX or fixing an Esprit?

BTW tony....got an secret photos of the new NSX replacement? B)

[Toua]

alright Kimbers, nice going on your new job. First off, is the new Honda Hatchback going to look something like the new civics? Is there going to be an SI hatcbback like the coupe?

Do you know what engine is in the new civics si?

[CNH]

However i currently pay

[cbclotus]

Good luck with the new job tony from the Brewer clan

[MKE40]

Excuse my ignorance, why do you have to pay 220 per month in taxes?

Don't you just pay sales tax or VAT or whatever you call it just on the purchase price?

Why do you have to pay that every month?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Mis -management of public funds by our beloved rulers..

Simply put, Screw the motorist , thats a captive audience ,you know he cant go elsewhere !

Mike

[gghc87]

Excuse my ignorance, why do you have to pay 220 per month in taxes?

Don't you just pay sales tax or VAT or whatever you call it just on the purchase price?

Why do you have to pay that every month?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Income tax for the so called benefit of having a company car. You pay a tax based on the new car value plus any extras added. The theory is that you are benefiting from not having to use taxed income to buy a car. yea right. This would be fine if the tax was based on the true value of the car year on year. but it is based on the full retail value as new, not what you pay and this value is then held with a small reduction if the car was built before 1997!!!

out of interest can anyone suggest a list of cars that are worth the same as the retail value plus extras after one year let alone 10 years!!

Example

Esprit 4 pot or V8 built on or before 1997 .

Say a full retail value of

Edited February 22, 2006 by gghc87

[Feffman]

Tony:

Good luck with the gang at Honda. Can't imagine they'll be harder to work for then the Mercedes crowd. Today Honda, tomorrow....

Feff

[CNH]

Cliff,

That clears things up.

When I had a company vehicle I did not pay anything out of pocket, the company did pay 6.5% sales tax. As the vehicle was used strictly for business use and I had others cars for potential personal use I was not required to pay taxes for personal use or benefit. Just a straight standard business deduction for the company and no taxes for to/from work and during work use.

I will never get used to hearing of all the taxes that one has to pay as a resident of the UK. I don't know how all of you get ahead, it must mean that the UK residents must make quite a bit more than the average USA worker to compensate for the costs of living in the UK to even things out.

[gghc87]

Cliff,

That clears things up.

When I had a company vehicle I did not pay anything out of pocket, the company did pay 6.5% sales tax. As the vehicle was used strictly for business use   and I had others cars for potential personal use I was not required to pay taxes for personal use or benefit. Just a straight standard business deduction for the company and no taxes for to/from work and during work use.

I will never get used to hearing of all the taxes that one has to pay as a resident of the UK. I don't know how all of you get ahead, it must mean that the UK residents must make quite a bit more than the average USA worker to compensate for the costs of living in the UK to even things out.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Glad it makes sense.

Cliff

[CNH]

Glad it makes sense.

Cliff

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Uhhh......I wouldn't go that far as to say it makes sense....but let's say I understand the situation a little better.

[Kimbers]

Good Luck in your new job, hope you can get good discounts?

Very good, as Corperate don't have to make a profit, we're paid on total numbers.....try me next month if you want to try one.

[Kimbers]

it must mean that the UK residents must make quite a bit more than the average USA worker to compensate for the costs of living in the UK to even things out.

Mercedes averaged at about $65,000 p.a.

Honda offer is $85,000 uncapped potential...now let me think, merc or Honda.....

By the way, our taxes will eventually overtake our earnings with our current socialist government. Our Council tax (thats a tax for living in a house, by the way...yes we get taxed on that too) in this area has risen by 33% in 3 years (18% in just one), our gas bills have risen 20% just this month, Water (yes we have to pay to stay alive too) 15% in 2 years, company car tax 10%, new car tax (thats a tax you have to pay to register a new car....how sad are we accepting these taxes) a massive 50% in one year and now we're told that fuel bills will go up 20% next month and council tax another 5%

Now take into account that inflation is 2% per annum and most of us get a rate of inflation rise on our salary and you'll see why this bunch of nobbers called a Government have to go!!

[Kimbers]

alright Kimbers, nice going on your new job.  First off, is the new Honda Hatchback going to look something like the new civics?  Is there going to be an SI hatcbback like the coupe? 

Do you know what engine is in the new civics si?

Over here we call it a Civic type R (for Racing..I assume) however this little hot hatch/Coupe will get a big brother this year with a type RR which will have nearly twice as much HP. However am not sure of specs yet as not starting till next month. Can say though, it will have a 0-60mph in excess of 6 secs......If you look at the new Civic it is pretty groundbreaking and so much so that supply in the UK is limited and nearly 4 months of stock have been sold in 1 month!

[CNH]

Kimbers,

You have done very well for yourself. Good move on the employment.

I think no matter where one lives the concerns are about the same.

In our town the average pay is about $45K. With both the wife and husband working most can make $100K.

We too have had to pay increases in our local taxes after 9/11 as federal goverment cutbacks forces us to subsidize our schools and other services.

We have property tax that have gone up at the same rate (33%). We used to pay $2K/yr. but now pay over $3K/yr. about 1.3% of est. value.

We pay for water, $70 quarterly. I also pay a small penalty during the summer months for high water usage for lawn irrigation as the sprinklers causes a spike in water usage. Water conservation fee as it is called.

Trash removal fee $50/month.

6.5% sales tax on everything except food, medicine, clothing, and school supplies.

New car registration is capped at I think $400. desending every year till the 5th year then it's about $50/yr.

25% of the cost of our fuel is tax. It used to be a fraction of that amount before. When I was a teenager we used to all chip and in buy $2 of gas (8 gal.) go cruising for the night.

It is the same all over. While it might seem we have it good, it is all the matter of perspective. If one is not used to paying that much in the first place an increase is just as much as a shock to us as it is for you. I suppose that is why the democrats are not very popular now, the economy is back to pre 9/11 levels but we still must recover or make up ground that we have lost. I suppose our goverment is doing what is required to keep things on track as we shoulder more of the burden locally.

While the UK goverment supplies the needs of the population via taxes, we shoulder more of the burden via charitable contributions. I suppose the main advantage is when the home budget gets tight we can diminsh our contributions at will or choose where the money goes. I like it this way rather than the democratic party solution similar to the way the UK operates.

We also have these things called referendums. We have many of these and can be for any purpose the town board puts forth. The last one was for new roofs for our schools. It is put forth as a town citizen vote for a one time assesment and the money raised to be used for this one purpose or refunded.

I agree that the UK needs some tax reform and goverment spending reforms. I don't know if that is possible as the system is so bloated that many peoples goverment jobs are at stake that support all the services.

While our taxes are not quite so high as yours it did increase locally. In the past I did not mind paying more taxes as that meant I was making more money. I like that way of paying more taxes. I prefer less goverment and more personal control of my finances. I like the idea of my own retirement and medical funding rather than funding a bloated system that spends a good portion of the collected funds in adminstrative costs and waste. I like it when I am the customer and have choice of service.

[Toua]

CNH -

do you live in california?

[Kimbers]

Kimbers,

In our town the average pay is about $45K. With both the wife and husband working most can make $100K.

We pay for water, $70 quarterly.

6.5% sales tax on everything except food, medicine, clothing, and school supplies.

25% of the cost of our fuel is tax. It used to be a fraction of that amount before. When I was a teenager we used to all chip and in buy $2 of gas (8 gal.) go cruising for the night.

We pay 17.5% VAT (your sales tax) on everything except fuel which is made up of a massive 78% tax....Our cost is

[Toua]

Wow when you actually look at it we live in a total rip off society!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

off course we do, they are ripping our dollars out of our hands!