Dino Saga 070603 _ Company Car

Dino Saga 070603 _ Company Car

Nothing wrong with having a Ferrari as a Company Car. Don’t know how many folks do it but why not? The point was brought home very clearly when one of my International Students bought a new Mercedes S550 with more than the permissible options. Had to run around Southern California to find a dealer who would do it. Dealer talked to the factory and talked some more. Finally got the OK and the guy popped for a $120,000 custom car. 3 months later it finally hit the Port of Los Angeles. Two weeks later it was in Calabasas. Candi took him down to pick it up. Just what he ordered including the massaging backrests. Metallic black looked great in the sun. Deal was that his father wanted a new company car. Couldn’t even order the one he wanted from a Korean dealer. Korean law had a provision that a used car with so many miles could be imported into Korea at a low tax rate. My student had the job of buying the car in SoCal and making it used! Has been working at full speed to make it very nicely used. Including washing and waxing every Saturday. Tax collectors around the world are always looking for an angle and folks around the world are always trying to work around them.

I have consulted for high end attorneys and many of their hi-tech clients. I marvel at some of their company cars. Starting with a very subdued Lincoln Town Car up to custom limousines built on Cadillac, Expedition, or even Hummer chassis. If the client considers price no object, they ferry you to and from the airport in grand style. And the tax man considers it a perfectly rational business expense.

My Dino has been my Company Car ever since I bought it. So far, so good. It earns its keep on a daily basis. Yesterday was a prime example. I haul pool chemicals, water softener salt, fertilizer and grass seed. Even a few cement blocks on occasion but trunk load capacity is too low for more than a very few. Car makes a credible Jeep too and blows people away in the process. Back in the 90s I consulted a lot and regularly commuted to Simi Valley and Manhattan Beach. Driving the Dino makes commuting tolerable. Still fondly remember accelerating up the hill to 95+ going over the Canejo grade. Those slowpokes in the “hot cars” were struggling to hold 80 and slowing things down. Still go over to Palmdale every now and then to look into some special aircraft electronics. Of course the annual trips to Las Vegas for various Electronic Shows add to the purely business mileage. Then there are the Country Club and Golf shows around the Southland. And you can get there in so many ways, freeways, mountains, deserts, paved, once paved and yet to be paved. The Dino takes them all with aplomb.

My tax lady says that all I have to do is run a real business, keep records and file my tax returns on time. The IRS and the State of California don’t care whether you have a Ford Fiesta or an Enzo. As long as the average upkeep of the car is something less than your gross income, no one calls you. Since I do almost all of the work myself, my typical costs are gas, oil and an occasional part. When a disaster strikes, or when the engine finally seems tired, tax guys appear to recognize a special case and all is OK. Later!

John
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