Anybody run the Runzheimer Vehicle Program with their F150 for work?? New job uses this instead of company car...2 year old 2010 F150 4x4 Screw...had the 72 month finance plan and am in no place to pay off truck right now in full.

A. Keep the truck and continue as is through the runzheimer program

B. Sell truck..pay it off...buy eco car?



I love the truck! I do hunt, have a 60 lb retriever and will be driving through the sierra mountains during winter months to Reno....

Thoughts????

 

I've never even heard of the program. Care to elaborate on it?

 

Runzheimer is an ok service if you drive enough miles to keep your taxable income low. For example I have to drive my truck 3,500 miles a month to break even on taxes at the end of the year. Problem is that I only get 2,500. So I will end up having more taxable income due to being over the IRS's stipulated mileage rate.

 

My company uses this program. When I got hired I had a vehicle that didn't meet the guidelines,a nd drove it for a few months. I never got dinged on the reimbursements. So, I'd keep the truck.

 

I'm thinking truck will be ok. As long as I don't end up out of pocket. Can't go from an Screw to a civic, plus the pain of selling it.

 

you WILL end up out of pocket, unless you don't drive much.

Example, I get 590 a month plus about 25 cents a mile, tax free. My 48 month payment is 1027/month. I drive about 4-5K a month and get 1000-1250 in gas reimbursement, but only getting 18mpg, my monthly gas costs about 825.

So, costs = 825+1027 = 1852
reimbursements = 590+1000 = 1590. So I'm out of pocket 262 per month. Plus tires, registration (800 per year) oil changes, brakes, etc.

People ask me why I run 48 month payments. The answer is that at 4K miles a month, or 48K per year, my truck depreciates really fast and if I don't make bigger monthly payments, then I get upside down on the value real quick.

On the flip side I drove an econobox for the last year and pocketed over 500/month. I kept it in an account and I'm now using that money to offset my out of pocket expenses each month.


FYI, runzheimer is a good deal for our employers and it's a decent deal if you don't drive much. If your territory is like mine and you drive a lot you loose with runzheimer. In fact I'm going to look at reporting my runzheimer as income this year and just writing off all my true expenses on my taxes. I'll come out a few thousand dollars ahead if I do this.

 

I never made money on Runzheimer, I was generally out of pocket for fuel costs only. I am driving a 5.7 tundra crewmax, and the in town mileage is pretty poor. I do ~25k miles per year and was able to cover insurance and my payment. I was out maintainence cost and fuel.

What is the reference vehicle they are using (ours was current year Toyota Camry V6). Every company specifies the reference vehicle, and the better the vehicle, the better the reimbursement. Runzheimer is based on first year depreciation/12 for the fixed monthly payment + mileage calculated based on maintenance, fuel, tires and insurance costs per mile for the reference vehicle adjusted regionally for your area (to reflect regional fuel and insurance cost differences) for the variable monthly payment. It is 100% tax free money, but it also means you can't claim your vehicle for business use on your taxes, as you are already getting reimbursed.

 

I was able to make money buy purchasing a new vehicle that costed the same as the "fleet standard" selected for my fleet, but my car got 20 mpg better than the fleet standard. Coupled with 4000 miles a month I came out well ahead. I then used that extra cash to pad the account for the purchase of the truck.

 

Details on my program


.27 per mile
$700 fixed rate monthly

Territory I run is about 2500/3k monthly

Paying 320.00 car note...

Reference vehicle used is a 2011 Chevy Impala

Looked to sell truck but owe 60 months on financing and have a 65lb retrieve that I hunt with...decisions.... might cost money to sell and then re finance on used Eco car..no room for dog either

 

My company uses Runzheimer.

If I didn't trade in my F250 & Montego, it wouldn't touch the payment. I use an F 150 because an Impala wouldn't get to some tower sites in PA & WV too well.