cycle to work.......... i dont get it!

[jaynana]

yes that sounds like option 1. with option 1 or 2 u don't ever have to give it back.

i'd have recommended you to go for option 2 though. cos you pay overall less that way.

although i can understand you not wanting to have a bond on something to do with your X any longer than you have to..


j

 

[okeydokey79]

our c2w has just started again and on a £1000 voucher i would have to pay 13payments of £52 then a final payment 18% (£180) so total of £856.there is a 3rd option but the guy who deals with it is on holiday so will have wait c b4 signing!!!! the 1st year i had a bike i had to only pay 5% of the c2w voucher

 

[rvw]

One other thing - make sure you insure the bike properly. If it gets nicked or damaged, you still have to pay all 12 installments.

 

[BSRU]

Worked out cheaper for me, at the end of the year I was given the opportunity to take ownership for 25% of the price of the bike or pay a one of 7% fee to hire it for a further three years then take ownership for 0%.
So basically you have three options
1) give it back, paying shipping costs yourself.
2) pay 25% of the price of the bike to take immediate ownership.
3) pay 7% of the price of the bike to take ownership three years later.

I chose option 3

 

[mcshroom]

Just to point out that this is a specific C2W scheme (Cyclescheme) that has the 7% loan arrangement. It may not be available everywhere

 

[Crankarm]

C2W scheme is poor value. Far better to negotiate a great price for your bike etc then make use of an interest free loan for 12 months which is what I did a few years ago which was when th C2W scheme first started and the terms were even more generous than they are now. I wouldn't bother with the scheme now.

 

[2Loose]

The scheme's value really does depend on how your company deals with the final transfer of ownership payment.
Mine in effect asks for a 13th months payment and any tax shortfall as a benefit in kind...which has resulted in over 20 percent savings each time I have used the scheme.

 

[PedalCat]

For a new bike, buying the previous year's model is surely the best deal.
For best value overall, second-hand blows everything out of the water. I have a spare Dawes hybrid (just in case) that i got through Ebay for £36! It might need £30 spending on it at my LBS, it might need £90, but it's a tremendous bargain whatever.

 

[park1]

I got my bike on the cycle scheme about four years ago, and did manage to save a good few hundred quid and effectively get 12months intrest free credit. It is worth getting insurance though. You have to remember that if the bike gets nicked or you have a bad crash (touch wood) you will still be saddled with paying out.

 

[EasyCrank]

I'd never heard of this before! I may have to talk to my work about this and see if I can get them involved!

 

[pshore]

Also worth mentioning is that until the final value fee is paid you DO NOT own your bike, you are renting it. If you extend the rental to 4 years, that's a long time to not own your bike.

In theory - and this might be something to consider if your company is not in great financial shape or you are going to quit - they could just take the bike back regardless of how much you have paid. My employer let CycleScheme administer for them, and they gave the bike to CycleScheme for the rental period, then you buy it off CycleScheme. If CycleScheme were to go under ....

This is all scaremongering and not very likely, but folks need to be fully aware when looking a gift horse in the mouth.

 

[Crankarm]

Scheme is still poor value. Cyclescheme want their cut as do the suppliers of your bike who will want the RRP and will not allow you a sale price 50% off and still allow you to do C2W.

 

[lejogger]

Scheme is still poor value. Cyclescheme want their cut as do the suppliers of your bike who will want the RRP and will not allow you a sale price 50% off and still allow you to do C2W.

This is true some of the time but not all of the time. Cyclesheme are not a good choice of C2W supplier. Their company exists for no actual purpose except to take administration away from your HR dept, and it's the scheme members who pay for it out of the tax savings that they're entitled to.

The best way is to get your company to implement it themselves. It's not a hard thing to do.

If you do this, or use a scheme like the Halfords one (you don't have to get a halfords bike) then the savings are excellent.

For example, the way my company runs the scheme - which is fully endorsed by HMRC, the minimum saving for a standard rate tax payer is 27%. For a higher rate tax payer it's 42%.

 

[lejogger]

The scheme's value really does depend on how your company deals with the final transfer of ownership payment.

This

 

[marinyork]

so basically its like buying a bike on finance but you pay less not more?

what a result that is! now i just have to wait untill my employer starts the c2w scheme again (aparently only do it a few times a year)

It's extremely refreshing to see someone not moaning about the scheme and seeing the positives on spread monthly payments rather than one huge unaffordable lump sum .

Not a fan of the cyclescheme variant like other people though.