Ford Grunt

im an accountant but its not registered for business use. I told them everything as I wanted the car covered for replacement in an accident. They dont mind how many mods you have just as long as they are street legal. If you want them insured you need to tell them about them all. My mods are listed in a thread I started here: http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=17275 Cheers good luck with it.

Hey mate try AAMI insurance they will insure ya. They would insure mine and mine is a modified ute. Im 25 turning 26, got a quote for about $1,200 that's less than my 'ol EL XR8. However, after all that had to go with Just Car Insurance because I wanted to include my wife on the policy and she is under 25 which AAMI wont insure otherwise I would have signed up. My insurance with Just Car Insurance is vertually identical to yours at $2,500 expensive but hey ill be paying it for a couple of years. Cheers, Ford Grunt (Ben)

Looks hot mate. I agree see how it settles in but yeah it would look the goods a little lower at the back. (on the topic that's the next thing my ute needs a lowering job) Cheers.

Heres some pics of my current rides. Firstly my modded BA XR6T Ute (thread = http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=17275) which is my daily driver and secondly my favourite never to sell Fairmont Ghia 351 which I used in my own wedding last year. Cheers, Ford Grunt (Ben)

No rattles here but the annoying ar$e end squeek is pissing me off to(along with the squealing brakes!!) Chris <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ive got farking both

I too have got an annoying centre consol rattle which is farking pissing me off. Mines been rattling since the dealer removed the centre consol to rewire the stereo (which had been clipped due to religious reasons). Warranty as far as I know does not cover repairing squeeks, but this dealer created. Bloody fix one and fark another

Hey mate nice going. Bet your itching for the 10s now I wouldn't mind even getting the mid 11s you are getting in street trim. Im running about the same rwkw (without the fuel additive) but in a ute. spose a trip to the drag strip with reveal all. Cheer, Ford Grunt (Ben)

Maybe you need an "associate lease" then. They are probably lesser known about then about exempt vehicles explained above.

There are a limited number of vehicles which are classified as "exempt" from FBT these are taxis, panel vans and utes. To get the exemption from FBT there are 2 parts. Firstly the vehicle must be exempt from FBT and two the vehicle must only be used for work-related travel. Part 1, in my case I have bought a single cab ute, this is exempt from FBT. Some people think that they have to be a 1 tonner, this is actually incorrect. In fact you would prefer the ute to be less than 1 tonne because if you fail point 2 (explained below) then the ute is treated a "car fringe benefit" (which is concessionally taxed) and not as a "residual benefit" which is FULLY taxed with no concession. For duel cab vehicles, some will be eligible for the exemption while others wont, it depends on the payload vs passenger carry capacity. A Miscellaneous Tax Ruling MT 2024 and MT 2024A (A stands for Addendum) explains what duel cabs are eligible for exemption and which ones are not. Part 2, is that the vehicle must be use for "work-related travel". Work-related travel is defined as: travel between: a) (I) place of residence and ii) place of employment or b) travel that is incidental to travel in course of performing duties of employment (ie business trips) AND Private use of the vehicle must be limited to: "minor, infrequent or irregular" travel. This is not clearly defined by the ATO, but it is clear that the ATO would be harsh in its application. For example the ATO have deemed that if a say the kids are take to the football every weekend, then this would classify as frequent (while may be minor) and therefore the FBT exemption would be lost. The different classification for "work-related travel" allows someone who would otherwise have no "work-related travel" in a car essentially have the opposite in a ute! Let me explain: It is a long standing view by the ATO that travel from home to work is private travel (unless special circumstances apply eg. itinerate workers) when using a car to travel to work. However, when a exempt vehicle is provided as a fringe benefit to an employee this travel is re-categorised as "work-related travel". This means a employee can get a ute and as along as the above two 2 points are satisfied the above provision of a ute will be classified as exempt. Some people will say: "but you don’t use the tray for anything, you don’t carry anything". The point is there is no requirement to carry anything as you can see from what I said above. My ute does and will only ever carry air! This means that people can salary package a ute and can purchase it GST-free, package all the running costs also GST-free and can save income tax via the salary sacrifice. And at the end after all the FBT, GST and income tax saving you can pay out the residual of the lease and then own it and do what you want with it! My suggestion to anyone who is thinking about doing this is to firstly consider whether you will be able to limit you private use to "minor, infrequent and irregular", in my opinion this cannot be done if the ute is your ONLY vehicle ie you don’t have a second car or you don’t have a spouse who you can share a car. Take this to your accountant and see what they say it took me a while to convince some fellow accountants that it can be done for non-trademans style employees. Ive read, been to FBT seminars and discussed with the ATO on a number of occasions. Usually if it sounds too good to be true it usually is, when it comes to Australian income tax. If your accountant doesn't believe me, then tell them to get hold of the "NTAA FBT 2004" seminar notes and turn to page 137-139! The example describes about a "tax manager" doing exactly what I have explained above. Hope this answers you Panda!

that's easy fixed! buy one that's already modified like I did and novate lease it. That way any replacement of parts are treated as "repairs" instead of "capital" (which your employer doesn't want), because the replacement of parts is getting back to its previous state "Capital expenses" are expenses which improve something better than it originally was. If you wondered why an employer generally doesn't want to incur "capital" expenses, this is because "capital" items need to be depreciated on the books of the employer over a number of years (for a car this is 8 years) instead of getting a straight 100% write off as in the case of repairs. The employer is happy to pay for your repairs as they are a 100% write off in the same year, just like your salary is

Just wondering whether you work pays any of the running costs of your vehicle or whether you simply claim a tax deduction for the expenses? from what you said it sounds like you claim a tax deduction (due to ITWV and no FBT). Why I raise this as a point is because if you had work pay for the running costs of the vehicle then the payment of these costs doesnot consitute a "car fringe benefit" for FBT purposes instead would be treated as an "expense payment" and you would relie on the "otherwise deductable rule" to escape some of the FBT payable. In this case if you job activities changed substaintually (eg you became an office worker and had no business use anymore) then your logbook could not be relied upon anymore and the costs would be FULLY subject to FBT, with no consessions that you get if the car is treated as a "car benefit". To be treated as a "car benefit" (instead of a "expense benefit") for FBT purposes the car has to either be owned, leased or CHP by the EMPLOYER or Novated leased by the EMPLOYEE. CHP taken out by the EMPLOYEE just doesn't cut it (due to the legal principals I descriped in the post above). In your case if you have a logbook with high business klms (im assuming high klms) then the above may not concern you either way because by packaging the car you save some GST and pay some FBT, unpackaged you dont save any GST but dont pay any FBT but get a tax deduction anyway for the costs including GST. In which case you are banking on the FBT savings to be higher than the GST saving, because the car is tax deductable to you anyway If sykes (or anyone else) has a car than has no or little business use than a CHP is not the way to go for salary packaging, because where there is no business use and the employer paid for the expenses (including the CHP payments) then this would not constitute a "car fringe benefit" and would be as described above FULLY taxed (ie FBT @ 48.5%) without concession a situation you dont want to be in. If the car can be treated as a "car fringe benefit" for FBT purposes such as be way of a novated lease agreement, then business use (as a percentage) is not relevant when the "statutory method" is used to calculate FBT. This method only considers the cost of the car (slightly differently valued for FBT purposes than income tax purposes) x by a statutory percentage which is based on the annual (or annualised) klms travelled by the vehicle. Is this situtuation, the employee is can effectively get a tax deduction (via salary packaging) and also GST-free for a car that they may have not been able to claim a single dollar in tax deductions for the cost of some FBT. If the FBT cost outweighs the income tax & GST savings then the car should not be packaged. Ps. in my experience the cost of insurance is also not higher, however it is required to be noted on your insurance policy just like a normal car loan would. Cheers, Ford Grunt.

Turbofalke is on the money, however but as said earlier you dont need a residual (actually called a 'balloon payment' for CHPs), you can spread the payments evenly over the period. Essentially there is a difference in law and therefore tax treatment and again therefore effects what you can and cannot salary sacrifice. I'll explain the differences: With a lease the lease payments can be deductable while the final residual payment can never in itself be deductable. On the other hand, hire purchase payments are never deductable but the depreciation and interest on the vehicle cost can be deductable. This is essentially because of ownership of the vehicle. Under a lease the vehicle is deemed to be owned by the lease company (even though the rego may be in your name) you become the owner essential when the residual is paid. Under a hire purchase or loan you own the car from the start of the agreement. This is also an important consideration for businesses registered for GST. If a business is registered for GST on an accrual basis (like most are) the GST on the purchase price can be claimed upfront vs only on each payment when payments under a lease. This can stear some employers to use a HP over a lease due to the GST advantage. However, the other consideration is that most employers who salary package don't want to purchase a vehicle on HP (or a lease without a novation agreement) because the employer doesn't want your car on their books (and probably neither do you) so they insist that you only obtain a novated lease. The novation agreement of a novated lease, is an agreement that employer signs to agree to pay your lease payments. This makes it salary sacrifice effective, and means that the car becomes a car benefit. The other advantage with a novated lease is the agreement can be cancelled with your current employer and can be moved to another employer. Cheers.

Im an accountant. Interests are in tax. (Not with my own business thou, just a pleb for someone elses)

Hey sykes, I can help you with any enquire you may have in relation to this topic as I am a accountant (speciality is tax). I quite ofter do calculations for other people at work, ive got salary sacrifice calculation software at work too. I can do a calculation for you if you want. I wont try to charge you When considering salary packaging the following factors need to be taken into account:- - Salary (including any other income or tax deductions which affect your assessable income for your income tax return) - Fringe Benefits Tax, related to this calculation is the cost of the vehicle, the annual Klms or total running costs & business percentage (as proven in a vehicle log book) - Whether you can claim a tax deduction for the car anyway (ie. if you have a logbook this will be the case) - Lease term (as this will affect the monthly repayments & residual value) - Also need to take into account affect on child care payments and Centerlink payments if applicable. An important assumption with salary packaging is that you are going to buy the car anyway, as this is the comparison basis for the calculation, for example you are not simply buying the car to save some tax & get expenses GST-free. I am salary packing under a novated lease for my BAXR6T ute and is FBT-free due to some lesser know exemptions (and is therefore subject to certain restrictions on usuage). So after-tax cost to me is very cheap. Any questions please feel free to ask. Im very knowledgeable on the subject. Cheers, Ford Grunt (Ben).

What is different in fitment mate? Just interested I will after a factory hardcover soon. Cheers.

Dont know about you guys but the squeeking is so loud in mine that you can hear it with the windows up and the stereo going at a decent level. Its fustrastrating being a fairly tough looking ute, squeeking and sounding like a piece of sh*t from the street.

Thanks for that I checked it out.

Hey people, Sounds like the problem Im experiencing descriped here: http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/index.ph...=0entry251151 Thanks. /me thinks I will print it and take to the dealer to fix.

Nice pics Rob. Enjoyed the shots of the two cars with the wharf in the background (particularly attachment 12992). Bloody nice rims you have there too Rob. Cheers.

Got this annoying squeak in rear near hand brake cable. Not sures if only utes are affected. Local Ford dealer said it was a drum(?) where hand brake cable it, fills with brake dust (etc) then starts to squeak, to fix brake assembly needs to be pulled apart to clean and replace but was told it will develop again over time. WTF? They also said a fix was comming but didn't know when. The squeak is now getting farking loud, stops when braking. I can wait another 9k till next service im going to have to get it fixed. Anyone else had annoying problem or know about a fix or one comming? Cheers, Ford Grunt (Ben)

Awesome ride. you wont have any trouble enjoying it

Hey did I miss the hype? I never seem to find anyone in there except me maybe im going there at the wrong times thought 10pm EST would be few right?

my 'ol Series1 ELXR8 powered by its 128rwkw V8... boring.

Friday 5th to Sunday 7th August 2005, buddy.

Hey, Just wanted to know who's going? Im thinking about going & taking my BAXR6T ute along. If I go I'll be having a go at the Off Street Racing and maybe the Dyno comp. Haven't really tested the ute against also LS1 or ricers, it would be nice to toast a few before being beat my some big mutha BB S/C machine or whatever. Website is here: http://www.powercruise.net/ (ps. would have posted in NSW events, seems I don't have authority thou) Cheers Ford Grunt (Ben).