I can't choose - help me

Good question .... I am not entirely sure. I will get back to you on that.

You may have to add accessories to get the carrying capacity under 1000kg before they'll let you have it...

Couple of things to be carefull of here. ALL novated leases have a residual value attached to them at the end of the lease. This is set by the ATO, and is critical to the true value of novation. Also if fuel was included on the novated lease it is also critical as it is added to the total cost to run the vehicle so greatly affects the lease payments.
Thirdly - it makes no difference to a novation as to whether the vehicle is used for business or not. The FBT is calculated on the total kms per annum.
I would fully agree - talk to your accountant - Novation is not for all - depends mainly on the kms/annum, and salary, and with tax levels dropping is becoming less of an advantage

salary is top tax bracket .... so there are some tax benefits in it.

It will likely be on a 4yr, 100,000km lease (25k per year) with all running costs built into the lease.

I will be in a position to pay residual at the end of the lease....

i dunno if this means much, but i will certainly check with the beancounter...

A couple more things to consider with novated lease.

Different lease companies have different policies/options that apply in case you lose your job or resign. Some better than others.

If you use for any business purposes you do not get any extra tax deductions. Better if used 100% private.

Insurance is included generally in the cost however they don't always use the most friendly insurance companies and excesses are often high. Check this out.

If you take out a 25,000km per annum lease make sure you can achieve it during a specific calender year (April to March comes to mind). If you are too far under you can be slugged with additional FBT.

A $55,000 vehicle will reduce your taxable income by approx $20,000 -$22,000 (guess) per annum. Take this off your salary.....are you still in the highest tax bracket? Take all your other expected deductions/negative geared investments off as well....are you still in the highest tax bracket? Look at the ATO website for future tax thresholds?

Is your novated lease portable? If you move to another employer is the lease able to move with you?

Back to your original question. My tip...Buy the vehicle with the best re-sale potential.

Hope I haven't bored you with information you already know.

Good luck.

One thing to watch with the Prado TD is that its about to be superceded with the TD from the Hilux. If you do go a Prado TD, either wait for the new motor or make sure you get a big discount as its re-sale value will be affected. May not worry you now, but will certainly make a difference come trade-in time when you get your next vehicle.

I had a similair choice 2 years ago and went the 3.0TD Patrol after weighing up all the different choices (including the Cruiser 4.2TD). Very happy with my decision, but will be interesting to see which way I go in 10 months time. Am eagerly awaiting the news of the H3 Hummer being bought in as Holdens contender with the Patrol/Landcruiser!!!

Cheers

Captain

Cheers

Captain

I agree with Captain. As you may have read in other posts I have just hopped into a new Prado TDI(two weeks ago) I went in with the argument that it was on the way out(which of course they denied), but I ended up getting 17K off the list price (slippery figures I know). Believe me, now is the time to argue with Toyota over price on the Prado. Also, couldn't be happier with the car.

I'll vouch for the Terracan. Mine is 18 months old and Petrol. I've driven the diesel and it's a pretty impressive bit of kit. Just over $40 OTR. Leaves plenty for dual battery, suspension, tyres, fridge, _Affordable_Storage_Drawers.aspx, etc etc which you get put in prior to delivery so that it's all included in the lease.

Cheers,

Jim.

You wouldn't say that if you'd ever read some of the stuff published on other forums by the owners of Rodeos. Basically, look elsewhere.

Rodeos up until the beginning of 2003 were brilliant for reliability. However in my travels I have heard a lot of bad stories from owners about dead diffs and gearboxes with the RA (post 2003) model.

RA is made in Thailand whereas the earlier ones were made in Japan.

I have had 4 rodeo dual cabs and one xtra cab. two were diesels and the others were V6. They are very good. I was in a V6 last week, drove 900km to Broken hill on the monday, another 300km north and back on the tuesday, and home 900km on the Wednesday. It went like a dream.

Lol .... thanks for the info on my new 4by ... but good to see a welcoming crowd all the same ... It sure is going to be a change from the suicidal traffic of Sydney cbd every day.

Not to mention the warm weather ..... have mercy ....

hmmmm ... plenty of places to 4wd in Townsville??? We'd like to know where. We've been to 3 clubs and been here a year and no one seems to know anywhere to go for day trips. Weekend trips also seem to be few and far between. Most land seems to be privately owned, most national parks the tracks are closed to traffic, everything is miles & miles away. One guy we know travelled 3 hrs just to get to the start of the track to do a recce for a club, only to find it was unsuitable anyway because of track closures/land closures. So any savings you make in fuel, all of about $6/tank, is used getting to anywhere. Lots of sand driving, but how boring does that get when it's all flat????? Camp by a river ... yeah nice, if you like dry rivers and mozzies, not to mention when there is water, the occasional croc.

No mud .... just dust, flies, mozzies, sand flies and HEAT. Not just nice & sunny 34, STINKING BLOODY HOT, MUGGY, FILTHY, SWEATING, BLISTERING HEAT. I'd take Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Tassie, in fact, ANYWHERE ..... anytime.

fezkez,

You've summed up Townsville pretty well. I had to suffer eight miserable years there. What a manure hole.

There are worse places than Townsville....

Rockhampton springs to mind.