epsilonGreedy Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 I base this allegation on the vehicles of building trade bods who have visited my site over the last 7 months. Swanky BMW 4x4 = Electric grid DNO job estimator. Top of range BMW saloon 7 series I think = Heritage brick salesman who was extremely unreliable. Local planning office application inspector = £50k Merc SUV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Not sure about the others, but planning officers don't seem to get paid very well. I investigated (via an FOI request) the high cost of making a phone call to the planning officer before submitting an application (they wanted to charge me £90 for a ten minute phone call). The LA sent me a spreadsheet with the salary range for planning officers as a part of their response (this was in 2012, so 7 years out of date, but we've had a pay cap on the public sector for most of that time). IIRC, a senior planning officer was on about £30k, which isn't much, given the hassle they have to deal with every day, not to mention being used as scapegoats by councillors who make planning decisions that are not based on planning policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Neil Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 For the bricks i guess it's probably a supply and demand issue. People want them enough so they can whack a decent markup and drive a decent car. The other guys there i suspect they are either contractors in which case they might not be overpaid as such simply that they have decent pay because of that, or they are company cars and people are paying through the nose for them as a result. For those 4X4 drivers though i suspect it's more of an indication that the industries in which they work, which are essential to the trade, are grossly mismanaged in financial and moral terms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Neil Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Mind you - they could have just saved for ages and really want those cars. Just a bloody awful choice of cars IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan52 Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Anyone can easily get a nice looking car on pcp or hp. And its all about appearances, nice car and a well dressed sales rep gives a good first impression. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottishjohn Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 fur coat and no knickers as they used to say 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 18 minutes ago, JSHarris said: Not sure about the others, but planning officers don't seem to get paid very well. That is what I thought hence my surprise when a lady planning officer turned up in a vehicle I normally associate with argi business farmers of 3000 acres of wheat. Purhaps she is married to the brick salesman. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hecateh Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 (edited) The lads that built mine all had posh cars - lived at home with Mum and Dad (or just mum) so have proportionately large disposable income. Edited February 22, 2019 by Hecateh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Neil Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 It's anecdotal i suppose as he wasn't in the building trade, but my dad bought a brand new Elise 111R back in 2004, and that was a hard saved for treat so lets give them the benefit of the doubt and just say they all saved hard xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 10 minutes ago, Big Neil said: Mind you - they could have just saved for ages and really want those cars. Just a bloody awful choice of cars IMO Like me around 28 years ago. I'd wanted an XJ-S for years, so saved all my flying pay for several years and managed to buy a 2 year old one, which, as I transferred my (free) personalised plate to it, could have been mistaken for being newer than it was. Suddenly people started treating me as if I was loaded, and refused to accept my explanation that I'd saved up for around 6 or 7 years to buy the car. The car turned out to be a heap of garbage, anyway. It was one of the Jaguars made shortly after Ford took over, so things went wrong with it all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Neil Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 1 minute ago, Hecateh said: The lads that built mine all had posh cars - lied at home with Mum and Dad (or just mum) so have proportionately large disposable income. there we have it then. I saw a documentary some years ago about a guy with an original 427 cobra. 200 grands worth of car at the time, he was 42, single and effectively lived at home with his mum who was in her 80s. Horses for courses innit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Neil Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Just now, JSHarris said: It was one of the Jaguars made shortly after Ford took over so you had sub standard fuses and un-insulated electrical connections all over? Did your (left i think) rear lights fill up with water all the time? A friend of mine had one - never droive it but but just kept it in his lockups to jump other cars from and run occasionally, just so he could say he owned a V12. Beautiful looking car by the way. Would you have an electric converted one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 A lot of the new cars are perk cars - the lease deals on them are ridiculous, we see regular offers on 5 series BMW for £259 pcm on a 24 month lease. This means you do see people with cars that seem “out of place” with roles - nothing more than good finance management ..! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 37 minutes ago, JSHarris said: Not sure about the others, but planning officers don't seem to get paid very well. I investigated (via an FOI request) the high cost of making a phone call to the planning officer before submitting an application (they wanted to charge me £90 for a ten minute phone call). The LA sent me a spreadsheet with the salary range for planning officers as a part of their response (this was in 2012, so 7 years out of date, but we've had a pay cap on the public sector for most of that time). IIRC, a senior planning officer was on about £30k, which isn't much, given the hassle they have to deal with every day, not to mention being used as scapegoats by councillors who make planning decisions that are not based on planning policy. I make that about 32k now, taking into account pay caps etc, which is 10-15% above the national Average salary for full time employees. Not unreasonable, depending on the definition of Senior. Ferdinand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 3 minutes ago, Big Neil said: so you had sub standard fuses and un-insulated electrical connections all over? Did your (left i think) rear lights fill up with water all the time? A friend of mine had one - never droive it but but just kept it in his lockups to jump other cars from and run occasionally, just so he could say he owned a V12. Beautiful looking car by the way. Would you have an electric converted one? Mine had a plethora of problems. The electrics played up all the time (contact cleaner and much wiggling of connectors needed to clear computer-indicated faults). The boot always leaked, trim would randomly fall off, the limited slip diff bearings failed at around 15,000 miles (a non-warranty repair that was damned expensive), plus numerous other niggles, including the built-in phone choosing to work or not work randomly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 13 minutes ago, Ferdinand said: I make that about 32k now, taking into account pay caps etc, which is 10-15% above the national Average salary for full time employees. Not unreasonable, depending on the definition of Senior. Ferdinand Senior was the highest pay band for planning officers on the spreadsheet, so I assumed it probably applied to the planning officer running the department. Didn't seem to me to be a lot of money, given the stress related to the job. Having sat in a few planning committee meetings it seemed to me that being a planning officer was being between a rock a and a hard place. Applicants put pressure on them from one side, politicians put pressure on them from the other side. Not a job I'd have done for £32k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhome Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Largely depends what people want to spend their income on I guess. I’m not that interested in cars beyond having one that I feel comfortable driving. The car I have now ticks that box so I will keep it until it starts becoming unreliable (it’s 4 years old now) and then replace it with another ‘keeper’. People I work with have to have a new car every couple of years and there are many people (being genderist, mostly men) who seem to covet flashy cars. As @PeterW says there are many 24 month lease deals available that tempt people but they will never actually own a car that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 5 minutes ago, JSHarris said: Mine had a plethora of problems. Which reminds me of the day I took my Liverpool made Jag to an independent specialist for a 4 wheel alignment. Before looking at my car the proprietor said 3/4 of the job will be taken up with drilling out the rear axle adjustment clamp because they did not bother to grease the bolt at the factory and they all rust inside the rubber bush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recoveringbuilder Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 I think with the younger generation, thirty somethings, it’s all about status, IMO that’s why there are so many working mothers these days because they have to have the house, the car and the fancy holidays. I stayed at home with my children until they went to school and we had a council house, an old banger and holidayed in a caravan! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Neil Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 14 minutes ago, PeterW said: This means you do see people with cars that seem “out of place” with roles - nothing more than good finance management Even so, certainly in respect of maybe the planning officer at least, don't you think it sends the wrong message a lot of the time? That planning officer - again assuming the car is a job perk - could just as easily be a diesel focus, a Nissan Leaf etc, which i can't believe wouldn't be cheaper than a Beemer even on a great deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 1 minute ago, Christine Walker said: I think with the younger generation, thirty somethings, it’s all about status Not in my sample of three. Two were plus 50 and the lady planning officer erm about 40. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 (edited) 14 minutes ago, JSHarris said: Senior was the highest pay band for planning officers on the spreadsheet, so I assumed it probably applied to the planning officer running the department. Didn't seem to me to be a lot of money, given the stress related to the job. Having sat in a few planning committee meetings it seemed to me that being a planning officers was being between a rock a and a hard place. Applicants put pressure on them from one side, politicians put pressure on them from the other side. Not a job I'd have done for £32k. I guess it also depends on what whether it is a max, a min, or an average in that department. This is from prospects.ac.uk: Starting salaries for graduate or assistant planners are typically in the range of £18,000 to £25,000. With experience, in roles such as principal planner and team leader, salaries can reach £30,000 to £45,000. Chief planning officers, heads of departments and directors can earn salaries of more than £55,000. So I make that roughly 28k after 2 years, 30-37 after 3-10, and some more with Team Leader or Extensive Experience. I would call Senior Planner as an experienced individual who is not running a team, with 5-10 years experience. F Edited February 22, 2019 by Ferdinand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 7 minutes ago, Big Neil said: Even so, certainly in respect of maybe the planning officer at least, don't you think it sends the wrong message a lot of the time? That planning officer - again assuming the car is a job perk - could just as easily be a diesel focus, a Nissan Leaf etc, which i can't believe wouldn't be cheaper than a Beemer even on a great deal. Actually it’s a bit odd... A lot of the lease cars are higher end as the depreciation values are better from an accounting perspective for the lease companies. They also look at TCV and lifetime values - my current list has no full electrics for example and the hybrids are more than the diesels. Discounting in the car industry is huge for volume vehicles hence why you see so many BMW and Merc repmobiles against the newer hybrids that are still recovering their R&D costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Neil Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 13 minutes ago, PeterW said: A lot of the lease cars are higher end as the depreciation values are better from an accounting perspective for the lease companies. They also look at TCV and lifetime values - my current list has no full electrics for example and the hybrids are more than the diesels. Discounting in the car industry is huge for volume vehicles hence why you see so many BMW and Merc repmobiles against the newer hybrids that are still recovering their R&D costs. Interesting. I stupidly hadn't considered the depreciation and lease car end of things, was just thinking from the bill payers public perception stand point, and the book price of machines like those I mentioned. So even though it would make financial sense IF you were outright buying at the Ford/Nissan end of the market, it doens'nt work to buy outright ... Is running cost or ancillary benefits a consideration, so in the case of a fully electric car, it simply costs less per mile to run and likely to insure, than say a Merc 4x4 to go back to one of the original examples. Is offset of purchase price against VAT consideration simply too insignificant to bother looking at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EverHopefull Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Strangely I drive an i3 (non extender) and my lease expires in May. I have a fairly healthy budget from my company that would let me drive a lot of very upmarket cars. My personal aim is to make my BIK payment as low as possible. At renewal last time whilst driving a Bluemotion Golf the i3 was being offered and made my BIK liability less, so that's the way I went. Free installed £2500 BMW wall charger Plus. This time around the lease guys have no glut of e vehicles so I am going in to direct opposite now and chosen a NIssan Navara 2.3 Diesel of all things!! Cutting my BIK by almost 4/5's Crazy world eh. Like others have said what people drive these days is often nothing to do with wealth or desire of the car itself. Mine is a method of pretending I have had a pay rise as I have not actually had one for more than 7 years. The Navara will also come in very handy for the project ahead too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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