Conference 7.286::digital

        set flame /gasoline_fed 

        I haven't heard this yet, but it is long overdue. When I started
        with Digital 7 years ago, the plan B rate was $165/month. In the
        first six months I was here it was raised twice to $180/month. The
        last increase in the plan B reimbursement rate, to the current
        $180/month, occured in September of 1980! Tell me it doesn't cost
        any more to buy, fuel, maintain, and insure a car today than it
        did in 1980 :-( 
        
        For those folks who chose plan A, my cost center pays out almost
        twice the $180, even after you consider the drivers contribution.
        They do not pay tax on their "benefit", those of us on plan B do
        (the IRS considers thys as part of my salary regardless of
        Digitals thoughts on the matter). I have also seen plenty of high
        level managers who are not entitled to plan A cars who
        unofficially have them, and I doubt they even pay the $24/month
        since technically the cars are floaters. 

        In our office, new hires are now forced onto plan B. I don't think
        I would be allowed to switch to plan A at this point even thou
        I've been here for 7 years. Those folks on plan A don't expect to
        get any more new cars after the current round of orders are done.
        for our group, the car is definitely a benefit, not a business
        need, but that is not true elsewhere. Most of our travel is thru
        O'Hare, not by our car. 
        
        The cars offered on plan A  are usually pretty scuzzy. We have a
        lot full of Tempo/Topaz/Taurus pre-scrap waiting to be hauled
        away, but meanwhile being driven around. I constantly hear
        complaints from plan A drivers about GELCO, who seem to refuse
        maintenance necessary to keep our cars in safe operationg
        conditions in order to save a dollar or two. I have heard of them
        trying to replace one tire on a car with a bias belted tire when
        the rest are radials, refusing to repair serious safety defects
        (steering, suspension, etc.) because the car is close to trade-in,
        and other such nightmares. 
        
        Anyone travelling lots of mileage should be careful before going
        on plan B. At over 15K miles/year, you actually get a larger
        reimbursement by taking no plan, and collecting the full mileage
        reimbursement form Digital. Considering the tax paid on the
        $180/month the break even point may drop as low as 10K miles/year.
        Also note that plan B requires that your car be less than 4 years
        old, but if you are in a low business mileage job like I am, that
        forces you to replace your car more often than necessary, with no
        way to write off any of the extra expenses. 

    re .-1
    
    I've only been out of the field for a year, but don't you mean $24
    per WEEK, not $24 per month for Plan A??
    
    Jon

    You're correct it is $24 per WEEK not per month.  .-2 brought up
    another good point, or should I say bad.  The cars that we buy for
    plan B must be 4 years old or newer.  Granted a DECmobile after
    four years and six owners is in pretty sorry shape, but as for a
    personal car that is four years old, is another story.  If they
    don't want to increase the $180 p/m, the least they can do is allow
    us to have a car five, six maybe even seven years old.  Instead
    of making it an age make it the condition the car is in.  What is
    stopping me from buying a 1987 car that has been hail damaged? 
    If digital is worried about it's image, it should be more concerned
    about the condition rather than the age. :^(
    
    Rob,
    

    As I understand it from people on plan B that I work with,
    the car must be under 4 years old when it is enrolled in 
    plan B. However, nobody seems to check that it remains
    under 4 years old while enrolled... which is to say that
    there doesn't seem to be any "expiration date" in practice.
    
    The official policy may differ from this, but my feeling is that
    if you don't say anything about the car being now 5 years old,
    they won't either.
    
    Anybody have any direct experience with this?
    
    Kevin

   >     As I understand it from people on plan B that I work with,
   > the car must be under 4 years old when it is enrolled in 
   > plan B. However, nobody seems to check that it remains
   > under 4 years old while enrolled... which is to say that
   > there doesn't seem to be any "expiration date" in practice.
    

   I am new to SWS, but I was told from someon else in the group who
    is on Plan B, that the Fleet Administration notifies you two months
    in advance of when your car reaches over the 4 yr limit that you
    will be taken off Plan B because your car is too old. They do this
    in advance so that you will have enough time to replace your car
    to continue being on Plan B.
    
    
    My biggest problem was that there is no Intro to the Field document
    out here. I was also not given any orientation to this job. So
    everytime someone (usually my manager) notices I didn't turn in
    a form or fill it in properly, etc. I get the a mini-intro to this
    form and that form.
    
    

    
    PS. what is the $.08/per mile for? I thought the $180/month covered
    it all. Has anyone analyzed this Plan thoroughly for what it's worth.
    I'm not on it yet as I have to register my car in this state still.
    I also found out that I have to upgrade my insurance quite a bit.
    So far my business travel is to the other facility ocassionally
    which is 10 miles away. So I'm trying to decide if this plan is
    worth the hassel of reporting taxes, increasing my insurance, etc.
    when I have a simpler life without it.
    
    

RE .0
	
	This rumor has been going around since I first came to DEC in 1983.

re .6:

	When I was in the field, I had a Plan A car for a while then switched
to Plan B.  I did so because I was only putting 18 miles/day on the car and
$24/week was a lot to pay for that.  If, however, you commute a long way to
work, Plan A might be better.  At one time I wrote a program which compared
the costs/benefits of the 2 plans -- inputs included things like insurance 
& registration costs, gas price, MPG of cars under consideration, etc.  I'll
look around and see if I still have the program.

Frank

        Hi Jon. I guess my brain couldn't get thru to my burning fingers.
        It is $24/week, not per month. VMS V5 wishlist SET TERM /NOTYPO! 
        
        Fleet administration doesn't seem to do anything about cars being
        over 4 years old. They never did anything about mine, even thou
        they kept asking for insurance certificates, and that clearly
        indicated how old my car was. I finally bought a new car, but was
        well over the 4 years until last month. I was once told that it
        was up to our cost center managers to inspect both plan A and B
        cars at something like monthly intervals to insure compliance with
        all fleet rules. Until recently that cost center manager was the
        same one who had a "floater" car. I've never seen nor heard of
        this being done anywhere. I'd be the first to agree that the four
        year limit alone serves no purpose, the criteria should be that
        the car provide safe reliable transportation. 
        
        BTW, as far as insurance goes, listing the car as "business" with
        Digital as an additional insured costs me nothing. I carry the
        $100K/300K liability anyway. The agent asked me what my daily
        commute miles to/from work are (under 5 miles, thus cheapest
        class), and what my typical weekly additional business mileage was
        (honest, documentable answer: zero), thus there was no additional
        charge. 
        
        The plan B reimbursement is $180/month to cover fixed costs plus
        $.08/mile variable costs. The difference between the $.08 and
        whatever the IRS allows for business mileage is deductable as a
        business expense, and will offset some of the $180/month that they
        report as income, depending on your mileage. 
        
        What I am trying to figure out now is how I can write off the rest
        of the $180/month since "policy" did require me to buy a new car
        that I otherwise wouldn't have bought at this time. Anyone got any
        ideas on how to do that? Can I do this only the year I bought the
        car, or will this cover the next several years worth of payments
        as well? 

    I too would like to get some information on the tax procedures
    regarding Plan B cars.  I know that the $180/month shows up
    on the W2, and I'm reasonably sure that one can deduct $.13/business
    mile (.21 - .08).  But can a Plan B car be depreciated??  The major
    point seems to be whether Digital requires us to own a car.  Though
    I haven't seen it in writing, I can't imagine how as a software
    specialist one could meet with customers etc. without one.
    
    Does anyone have any facts on this issue?
    
    Kevin @STO

    I have been able to depreciate my Plan B car the last three years.
    Of course you can only deduct the business percent of the depreciation,
    but it helps.  I have never been able to deduct .13/mile, though.
    My accountant ADDS the .08/mile*business_miles to my income.
    
    Perry

    Your can deduct 13� a mile (which includes things like depreciation)
    *or* you can deduct the business percentage of the actual costs
    (which includes things like depreciation).  The bottom line is you
    can't do both.  You either deduct actual expenses or the standard
    milage rate.

    In regard to the notification on cars 4 years old:
    
    I know of at least two instances (in different districts) where
    cost center managers received some kind of notification of cars
    that were approaching the limit.  What the nature of the notifications
    were, and the actions forced, I don't know.

    
    Big brother IS somehow aware.      
    

    Dave

    Since you're all on rumors...I heard that there may be an improvement
    on B compensation. Uplift of currenct $200/Mo. Also heard on news
    that the mileage reimbursment was going to $.24/Mi. The 2nd part
    was on radio, while the 1st was "normal" rumor.
    
    Any comments?
    

    I love rumors!!!!  They have the crazy tendency to come true!  The
    more outrageous they are the more likely they are to be true.  For
    example, I heard today that if you are not eligible for the "A"
    plan, and ARE eligible for the "B" plan but choose not to do it,
    then you get 8 cents a mile for business mile anyway.  How about
    that?????