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Using my personal vehicle for work...
15

Using my personal vehicle for work...

Using my personal vehicle for work...

(OP)
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.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

2
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.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

Are you driving only or hauling stuff as well?

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

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
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 10-27-06)

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

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.

cheers

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

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.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

2
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



RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

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.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

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.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

(OP)
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.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

(OP)
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.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

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

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

(OP)
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.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

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.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

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.

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."   
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

(OP)
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.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

(OP)
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...

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

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.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

(OP)
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.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

2
esloan,

No company cares how badly you beat up or overload YOUR car or truck.  The company definitely makes out on this type of deal.  When you drive on job sites, your costs are much higher than what the government lets the company claim or what the company pays you.  Driving on job sites wrecks your tires, ruins your air filters, kills your motor oil, wears out your brakes and rotors, and eats up your gas because you idle more while doing your paperwork with air conditioning or heat.  Cars and pickup trucks were not meant to be on dirty, dusty construction sites every day.

It's up to you to say enough is enough.  Unfortunately, if you do say enough's enough, you will probably need to find a new job.  The company will not buy every field employee a company vehicle.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

Quote:

pickup trucks were not meant to be on dirty, dusty construction sites every day

According to the advertisements they are!

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

45 cents a mile seems fairly generous to me, here in the UK you get 40 pence a mile, when you look at the cost of fuel in the two countries it is not hard to see who is the winner.

Like mintjulip I did have to chuckle at the comment “ pickup trucks were not meant to be on dirty, dusty construction sites every day.” What exactly are they designed to do then? I do however realise that the op states he has a sudan.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

(OP)
*she* has a sedan

gorgeous

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

Yet another suggestion:
you could do your homework and create a cost justification "business case".  

You say the owners just shrug their shoulders and say that's the way it has always been.  What a cop out by lazy managers, and you fell for it.  You are being required by your employer to use your own vehicle for their needs.  Of course they'd like you to shut up and go away.

If this mileage thing is really bugging you, then you need to sell the company management.  It may/may not be economically viable.  But you'd have to do a rigorous cost/benefit analysis to prove it.  The alternative is to stick with it and take the deductions.  But I certainly would keep track of, and account for, every single penny of expense associated with that car, percentage of company-required usage, tire wear, oil, gas, wear/tear, insurance, batteries, bikini-babe car washes, air-freshener, ground-shaker bass speakers, autostart retrofit,...any and every "IRS-justifiable" expense associated with driving that car for the boss.  Get my drift?

TygerDawg

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

Whoops, sorry esloan.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

A now former employer had the nerve to reimburse us at 32 cents a mile (when the IRS allowed 37), and then turn around and charge our customers $2.00 a mile.

So not only were we providing a wet least at below market rates, they were making a huge profit on the deal, too.

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

I agree with bvanhiel. Besides finding another job, get a beaten truck.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

I won't advise trying to extract anything out of IRS. Anything out of ordinarty only attracts more scrutiny.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

Get the ugliest beater pickup you can find, and spray paint the name of your company on the side.  Then park the truck at your office.  Drive your car to/from home to your office, and use the truck to/from your office to job sites.  That way the only use is for work; keep track of all costs and show them to your management after 6 monts or so.  By that time they may get sick of having a ugly truck parked outside of their office and they might wise up and get you a company vehicle.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

(OP)
SWC that is hilarious!  I don't know if I have the guts to do it, but it is an idea.  *The spray painting part*

If I do get a second vehicle, I will definitely leave it at the office overnight, although will have to look into the building management's policies (we are in an office complex).  The complex is definitely under-utilized and there is plenty of available parking.

I have a few months until construction starts back up.... that's why I have time and access to get online smarty

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

In response to rbulsara, I certainly did not imply doing anything illegal.  That's...um...illegal.

Having worked for myself I have discovered this fact:  the IRS is looking for the blatant cheats and ENRONs, not Joe Sixpack.  The strategy is to work the system.  That means account for everything, stretch the definitions if you've got the guts to do so, but be ready to sit in front of an IRS investigator at any time and justify your claims in writing and back it up with records.  If you can't justify it in good faith, then don't claim it.

Following the various comments in this thread, it seems like it would be a good idea to get the old truck, then claim everything you're entitled to.  Could make out pretty well I would think.

TygerDawg

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

(OP)
Tygerdawg,

selling management on it was my 'big idea' but I can't figure out what to sell them!

I suppose I wanted to present some viable option to them... but I can't figure out what option would pursuade them to either increase compensation or provide vehicles.

It looks like the route I am heading is towards getting a truck on my own and keeping close records (which I am very good at doing).

It may be a long-term strategy as it will take time to accrue the records etc. but at least its better than sitting on my brains and doing nothing but complain about it.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

(OP)
I just took the PE and when I get the results in a couple/few months we are going to look at my salary level etc.  Maybe I could do a little research about how the vehicle costs basically reduces my income.  I am researching salary levels and finding that mine is significantly below local levels.  
Maybe I can present this at that point.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

If you get a company car, read all the rules and strings attached.  I always had one and every year the rules became more stringent.  I now drive a cheap car for work and enjoy the freedom.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

esloan,
You said
"If I do get a second vehicle, I will definitely leave it at the office overnight, although will have to look into the building management's policies (we are in an office complex).  The complex is definitely under-utilized and there is plenty of available parking."
Print off the company name and have it laminated to leave on the dashboard overnight.  I would not worry about leaving the beater truck overnight at the office complex.  If it is an issue with the office complex management company they will go to the owners for that.   When they come to you tell them "That's my work truck what do you expect me to do with it?"

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

esloan
Have a two wheeler scooter and charge the company for a 4 wheeler. This will not cause a hole in your pocket and your commuting is better as you mentioned that you have short runs

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

esloan
My approach to the "Management Selling" and cost justification task would probably be something like this.
(1) do the accounting for all costs.  Be rigorous, and try to quantify intangibles like lost time, opportunity cost, convenience cost, company image, etc.  Personnally I think PERSONAL & COMPANY LIABILITY RISK would be the deciding factor, but the numbers would show this.
(2)  Write a proposal to management to improve operations through getting a few company cars to be kept in a pool.  Be sure to show cost/benefit, and put it in dollars.  Leave the opinion and editorializing out of it completely.
(3) Get support from the troops.  Query everybody and see if this is the general feeling or is it just you wanting a car for yourself.
(4) Float it front of the management, do it professionally, and keep the tone of the proposal as "a bottom-line improvement" to the company.

Once, after my JerkBoss blew cigarrette smoke at me on purpose, I decided to see what it would take to make my workplace smoke-free.  I called the Lung Association, got materials, queried the troops, and wrote a proposal.  The General Manager hated smoking in the workplace, but didn't have the guts to address it.  My proposal for "Company X Workplace Wellness Initiative" (NOT "anti-smoking") got implemented in a week.  Boss had to smoke outside in the cold, the Jerk.

TygerDawg

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

When I was using my personal car for business the company used this program.

http://www.runzheimer.com/web/bvs/home.aspx

You might send this link to someone in management...

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

(OP)
The scooter/4-wheeler/dirtbike options aren't totally on the radar for me.  Most of my project sites are not adjacent to the office, but require some travel in heavy traffic and I am not comfortable with it.  Secondly, I require transport of files and equipment which would not really fit on the above.

My reimbursement rate is per mile, I cannot think of a way to purchase anything to "charge" to the company.  Any expenses charged to the company above the mileage is looked at with a magnifying glass.  Actually, it has to be pre-appproved or in an emergency, I'd have to go to management directly. We are a very small company.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

(OP)
Thanks TygerDawg!  Your post spells out what my mind was grasping for but couldn't seem to formulate.  Shoot, it definitely looks like a handful.  Maybe not as bad as it sounds.

Believe me, whenever you get ANY of the field personnel together to chat for more than a minute or two this topic comes up about how burned they are.

What makes it worse for us, is the fact that the VP's have leased vehicles and don't really utulize them much for company use.  As mentioned above, most of our clients are local to us, and in reality most of their time (the VP's) are in the office.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

Start requesting, or insisting, that you are given use of one of the leased vehicles for company business. Some companies in the UK have this a policy for business use, and discourage use of personal vehicles for anything but an emergency. At one former employer where this policy was implemented I ended up driving the MD's Merc 'E' Class because all the other cars were already out. He wasn't delighted about giving his pride and joy to someone in their early 20's with a reputation for driving like a hooligan, but he had made the rules and was man enough to stick to them even when they weren't in his favour.

----------------------------------
  Sometimes I only open my mouth to swap feet...

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

I think that some folks forgot to include the additional insurance that you need when you own a second vehicle. There's also the additional amount that you have to pay when the vehicle is used for business.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

Where I work (in the USA) we have folks in the field all over the place and all of them have company trucks suited to their needs in the field.  I don't have a company truck as I don't need one daily, but if I did, one would be provided.

I would say your situation is NOT the norm from my experience.

Sounds like as long as you keep letting the company stick you with the bill, they'll keep sticking you with it.  No way I'd spend my money on something the company I worked for should be providing...move on to a job that appreciates its employess and values their efforts.  You are getting screwed and they know it and don't care.

Brian

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

It appears you really like this job. Just stop using your car, get a bus or a friends ride to go to the office. Wait for a while until they figure out you don't have a car to get to the field. Assumming you didn't sign a contract specifying you will provide your own car, they can't do anything more than provide you a car/truck. Otherwise, they will keep you in the office as you said. If they do this, then they really don't appreciate you (otherwise they will value you and will manage to keep in your current project) Assuming this happens, start hunting for something else and eventually leave.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

Is passive/aggressive an engineering trait?

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

To the OP:

Have you read the really small print on your insurance policy?  Although insurance is compulsary, the providers are nothing more than bookies and will do anything they can to not pay out if possible.  My policy explicitly states that the car may only be used for "Social, Domestic and Pleasure, plus travel to and from a regular place of work."
  Outside of these uses, I would have no insurance and would therefore be driving illegally.  In the event of an accident, I'd probably be taken to the cleaners by the other party and then prosecuted by the police.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

(OP)
SomptinGuy:
I suppose I haven't read the tiniest of prints, but I have the state minimums for liability as well as "at least" the minimums required by the financing company that carries my auto loan for comprehensive, ie no matter what happens my finance company is guaranteed that replacement value is covered.  They don't care about liability, that is the state law, which I do follow.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

(OP)
With this issue, the salary issue (in another thread) and a steep increase in health premiums and co-pays I have decided to just "look around" at other companies to see what they have to offer.  It kind of pains me because I really love what I do and sometimes it's hard to find the right "fit" with companies.

I swear, I am just going to look around.

noevil

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

yep, look around! Seems the chances for getting a job car/truck are far less than you getting a new job with a better company.
Regards, (don't worry, you are not doing anything wrong)

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

I drive a company car. It is a good benifit. I would lok at the miles you and ssome of the other engineers drive. I drive about 35-45 a year, but that is some what over the average. Say gas is 2.25 per gal at 15 mph. That's $0.15 per mile, leaving $0.30 for the vehicle. Lets say you are invoicing 15k miles per year - that's 1,250 miles per month, times $0.30 is 375 pr month. Your company should be able to lease and insure a decent pre owned vehicle for that, especially if they lease a few at te same time. I amsure that you are not the only one in this postion. Hertz and Ford both have good fleet programs. Many fleet dealers can also get preowned fleet vehicles. Do a little research, talk to some of the other people in your postion, and go as a group to dics this with the powers to be. The IRS will only allow your employer to deduct $0.45 per mile regardless of what they pay you. however, the entire cost of ownership of the car is deductable as an expense, so the net cost of ownership vs. reimbursement may actually be better than $0.45 per mile.
Its one thing to occasionally use your car for work, it is another to devote to work permenatly loaded whith tools.
Good Luck with the PE

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

That $.34 a mile thing is crap.  There is no way a few cents per mile can compensate for the wear and tear on a vehicle placed into extreme duty: visiting construction sites on a daily basis.  That's like saying come to work for use and we'll destroy a major investment of yours.

I have a company truck and I figure it is worth at least $600 a month.  Frankly, if the truck were go away I would go away.  But that is function of experience and education and depends greatly on your negotiating skills.

Initial Investment
Monthly gas bill
Monthly Insurance
Regular Maintenance

Even when the truck is finally paid off the gas, insurance, and maintenance bills continue.

If I were you I'd try to negotiate a flat fee per month with your employer.  Shoot for $650/month and work your down if need to not less than $550/month.  As part of the deal you agree to take care of everything: no more mileage reimbursement paperwork so less administrative expense etc., and a fairer deal for for both parties.  If it goes well buy a used truck that is not more than 3 years old and every 3 years trade it in.  Heck you can get a brand new Ford F150 model work truck with extended cab for $20K.

 




  



 

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

That probably won't fly as the IRS will not recognize it as an expense, so the cost will not be deductible. Therefore it will cost the employer about an additional 50% in lost tax credit. If the company owns or leases the vehicle, it can deduct the actual cost of purchase and ownership. Note that if the vehicle is a truck for work related purposes, it can be provided free of charge, but if it is a car, it is seen as a taxible benifit and the user must pay about $10-20/ month personal tax.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

How about telling your management that you have sold your car off.Get your wife or somebody to drop you off or take public transport.The company would need to pay you taxi fare to get to site and back.That will really pinch them hard.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

I doubt that she has a wife.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

I dunno davidbeach, takes all kinds these days smile

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

lewtam, I suppose, but the odds are way against it.  Nothing said about being in Massachusetts, the only state that recognizes same-sex marriages, and even then the odds of any random poster at Eng-Tip being in a same-sex marriage is so small that my doubts were, I'm sure, well founded.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

(OP)
to clear this up.... I am hetero-sexual.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

What has that to do with the car issue?

Going back to the thread, I can tell you that I never had a personal vehicle myself. an if it depends from me, I will never have.
In both companies that I worked for, they always provided me a car. I an not in US, so I don't know the current practice there. I can also tell you that I recently refused a work offer being one of the main reasons not having a company car.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

MedicinEng, go back up to SAK9's post, making reference to the OP's wife.  OP had earlier corrected someone who referred to said OP as a "he".  So I made a crack about it not being likely that the OP (esloan) had a wife.  She then put the nail in it.  All a tangent, but any thread this long is likely to have several tangents.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

Actually now I think about it, I remember the whole concept of company cars being alien in America when I worked there (well, the places I worked anyway).  There was the occasional pool car, but I don't recall anyone actually using a company-owned car as their own.  On the other hand, it is perfectly normal for management grades in the UK to expect a company car, even if it just sits in the car park all day.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

I don't know where you worked SomptingGuy, but I can assure you, in the Southeastern United States in industrial/commercial construction and industrial contracting and fabrication, company provided trucks are the norm for those who are in the field doing the work or supervising the work, not the management back at the office putting butt prints in their chairs all day.  I work at a large industrical & mechanical contractor and we have dozens, if not hundreds of company provided trucks for folks in the field.  Then again, you won't find many personal "cars" in the parking lot either. :)

Brian

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

Auto business, so Mid-West.  No real call for having "folks in the field".  Now I work back in the UK in the auto business still and our car park is littered with company cars the owners of which are making bum prints in their chairs.  Any field work we do generally involves a taxi to the airport, or if you are a manager, parking your company car in the airport car park.  More of a perk and status symbol than a requirement.

RE: Using my personal vehicle for work...

What is meant by local?
Anything outside the city/town that your office is located in is not local.  A company vehicle should be provided for jobs such as this.  A company vehicle should be provided for all the jobs (in my opinion), but this may be too big a step.  Ask your business manager to look into risk and liability of an employee using a personal vehicle for business related travel (i.e. consider if the employee gets into an injury accident with another person).  Also do some research on the government allowed amount and what this really covers.  My guess is that this wasn't intended for off road driving.

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