Car Subscription Services Are Coming North

As with many other industries in 2019, traditional car leasing is getting disrupted. Lately, car subscription services are taking the UK by storm.

The business model works like this: Instead of signing a lease contract that locks you into one car for multiple years, you pay a monthly subscription and can use any car you choose for one month or more.

There are a lot of advantages to a system that offers a lot of flexibility. It has taken the South by storm and is now becoming available in the North.

In this article, we will go over how this system works so you can decide if it is right for you.

How it works

The beauty of car subscription services is that the entire process is done online. Registration takes place on the company website. In most cases, all that is needed is a valid driver’s license, proof of address and a photo. Some may need to access a credit report and driving record.

Cars are parked in designated spots around the city. Online, you’ll reserve the car you want in the area you want for the times that you want. When you’ve reached your car in the designated spot it is opened and started by using an app on your smartphone. In fact, you never get a set of keys.

Cars can also be delivered to your home or office, but this will usually result in a fee.

Savings

The initial cost per month may seem high. That is until you account for the fact that many expenses are rolled into that price.

When you use a car subscription service, you will not be paying for:

● Insurance – You don’t have to have your own policy when using a subscription car. They buy insurance for their fleet so you will be on their policy.
● Maintenance – Even if you choose to use the car for months or more, the company is responsible for maintaining the car and paying for repairs. Alternatively, you can be swapping out your car every month and drive a new one if you so choose.
● Taxes – All taxes due are paid by the company, as well.
● Depreciation – You never have to worry about the car losing value as you don’t own it. And, as already mentioned, you needn’t always use the same car anyway.
● MOT – Again, the car is not yours so there is no MOT to worry about.
● Congestion Charges – If you need to commute into cities like London that charge congestion fees to keep their centres less trafficked, then you will love not needing to pay for that as it is included in the monthly price.

What you will need to pay for are tolls and petrol. Unless you use Evezy since their fleet of cars is all-electric vehicles, so you won’t even need to pay for petrol there. You get all the benefits of driving an electric car plus the additional benefits of using a subscription.

The disadvantages

Nothing is perfect, so of course, there are some drawbacks to using a car subscription service.

The choice of cars is a bit limited when you compare leasing and buying options. You can only pick from cars that are in the company fleet. Chances are good that you’ll find a car you like. You may even end up with a car that you were not enthused about that ends up being much nicer than you had previously thought.

There may also be limits to how many miles you are allowed to drive in a month period. If you plan to use the car a lot or want to do some road trips, you’ll need to make sure you understand your mileage needs and what is offered.

Cancelling a subscription may have you incur a fee. And it always has to be done before a certain amount of time before the term ends. Otherwise, you will be looking at paying for the next month or months depending on your contract. Make sure you understand the terms and how to cancel before getting started to avoid any hidden costs.

Who is a car subscription good for?

If you need to sell your car but have a short period in which you still need to drive then this is the ideal scenario. Likewise, if you leased a car and the contract is over. You may have a gap in which you still need a car but not for the usual minimum required to lease long term.

It is also a good deal for somebody who needs different types of vehicles. For example, you want a compact commuter car during the week, but need an SUV once in a while for extra space.