Car sharing - what is it and could it work for you?
Car sharing companies allow you to rent a car quickly and easily for short periods. This sounds ideal for inner-city dwellers and tourists, so we find out how well it works...
To find out if car sharing is a more affordable alternative to traditional car hire or car ownership, we examined the cost of hiring a hatchback for a weekend from eight car sharing services and two hire companies. For each booking, we tried to get a family-sized hatchback and booked the car from 6pm on a Friday to 6pm on a Sunday.
Company name: Co-wheels
Type of hirer: company
Car booked: 2018 Toyota Yaris Hybrid
Joining fee / monthly fee: £25 / £5 (refunded against the cost of renting)
Deposit: na
Distance to car: 4.8 miles
Admin fee: na
Fuel / mileage cost: 18p per mile
Mileage limit / excess mileage fee: na / na
Weekend cost: £138
Company name: Drivy
Type of hirer: peer to peer
Car booked: 2015 Ford Focus 1.6 diesel
Joining fee / monthly fee: na/ na
Deposit: £250
Distance to car: 5.1 miles
Admin fee: na
Fuel / mileage cost: Tank must be topped up to original level
Mileage limit / excess mileage fee: 100 miles / 18p per mile
Weekend cost: £135
Company name: E-Car Club
Type of hirer: company
Car booked: 2018 Nissan Leaf
Joining fee / monthly fee: £50/ na
Deposit: na
Distance to car: 16.2 miles
Admin fee: na
Fuel / mileage cost: na
Mileage limit / excess mileage fee: 100 miles / 34p per mile
Weekend cost: £159
Company name: Enterprise Car Club
Type of hirer: company
Car booked: 2017 Toyota Auris Hybrid
Joining fee / monthly fee: na/ na
Deposit: na
Distance to car: 1.5 miles
Admin fee: £3.48
Fuel / mileage cost: 21p per mile
Mileage limit / excess mileage fee: na / na
Weekend cost: £125
Company name: Hiyacar
Type of hirer: peer to peer
Car booked: 2015 Vauxhall Astra 1.6 petrol
Joining fee / monthly fee: na/ na
Deposit: na
Distance to car: 5.1 miles
Admin fee: £21.50
Fuel / mileage cost: Tank must be topped up to original level
Mileage limit / excess mileage fee: na / na
Weekend cost: £160
Company name: Turo
Type of hirer: peer to peer
Car booked: 2017 Volkswagen Golf 1.4 petrol
Joining fee / monthly fee: na/ na
Deposit: na
Distance to car: 6.4 miles
Admin fee: £15.82
Fuel / mileage cost: Tank must be topped up to original level
Mileage limit / excess mileage fee: na / na
Weekend cost: £136
Company name: Zipcar
Type of hirer: company
Car booked: 2018 Volkswagen Golf 1.0 petrol
Joining fee / monthly fee: na/ na
Deposit: na
Distance to car: 0.7 miles
Admin fee: na
Fuel / mileage cost: na
Mileage limit / excess mileage fee: 60 miles / 24p per mile
Weekend cost: £146
Company name: Forest Row Car Club
Type of hirer: community club
Car booked: 2017 Toyota Yaris Hybrid
Joining fee / monthly fee: £11.75 / £5.88
Deposit: na
Distance to car: 50.2 miles
Admin fee: na
Fuel / mileage cost: 29p per mile
Mileage limit / excess mileage fee: na / na
Weekend cost: £118
Company name: Europcar
Type of hirer: company
Car booked: 2018 Vauxhall Astra
Joining fee / monthly fee: na / na
Deposit: £250
Distance to car: 3.5 miles
Admin fee: na
Fuel / mileage cost: Tank must be filled before return
Mileage limit / excess mileage fee: na / na
Weekend cost: £173
Company name: Avis
Type of hirer: company
Car booked: 2018 Ford Focus
Joining fee / monthly fee: na / na
Deposit: £200
Distance to car: 4.8 miles
Admin fee: na
Fuel / mileage cost: Tank must be filled before return
Mileage limit / excess mileage fee: na / na
Weekend cost: £117
What Car? says…
Car sharing is great for those who live in a city and need a car only occasionally. It’s especially useful for when you are going on a weekend away, are travelling to and from an airport or need to transport large items.
But if you need a car for your daily commute, owning or leasing are still by far the best options.
The situation is changing, though. The growth of community car clubs and other car sharing platforms, along with the mindset of younger people who aren’t as wedded to the idea of ownership, will increase the use of car sharing and other mobility solutions.
Car sharing doesn’t look like great value compared with leasing, though. The cost of leasing a Volkswagen Golf 1.0 TSI 115 Match for two years (including road tax) is £8685, or £362 per month, although that price doesn’t take into account other incidental costs, which could add a big chunk of cash to the overall cost. That same monthly amount gives you only five or six days’ worth of car sharing, or a higher number of short periods.
Annoyingly, not all car sharing services make it easy for users to find out the total price of renting. You have to sign up and book a car with peer-to-peer platforms to see the entire cost, including any administration fees, and that still won’t include the cost of fuel. Also, many car owners won’t lend you their car for less than four hours.
So, community car clubs and big car sharing companies are better value for short loans. But you need to make sure you work out the total cost of a car sharing service to ensure it still isn’t pricier than traditional hiring or using a ride hailing service such as Uber.
Indeed, most services are more expensive than traditional car hire companies if you want a car for a weekend, but they are much more likely to provide cars that are significantly closer to you.
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