Car clubs

amstel2

Hello

I have just had to let my 20 year old car go as it was getting more & more un-reliable & the latest repairs would cost far more than the car was worth.

I live in an urban area so public transport provision is good. I always take the bus to work (approx. 30 mins each way) & have an annual pass. I only tended to use the car at weekends.

I am not in a financial position at the moment to replace the car (won’t be for approx. 3 years). Therefore I was thinking of occasionally hiring a car when needed & was looking at the Car Club thing where you can hire per hour or day. From what I can tell the only one in my locality is operated by Enterprise. Was wondering if anyone has used these or other Car Clubs in general.

As I mentioned earlier this is just to get me through the next 3 years when I can then buy another car without taking on debt.

Thanks

elverson

There are two different types of car club.

Enterprise / Zipcar - the car club own the vehicles and hire them out through the website. They only operate in certain cities and the vehicles usually have a dedicated parking space where you pick up the car.

EasyCarClub / HiyaCar - these are 'peer to peer' services similar to Airbnb. People rent out their own vehicles on the website when they are not using them.

Also if you're taking a bus for 30 mins each way, have you thought about cycling? Your journey time will probably be the same or even a bit faster.

amstel2

elverson wrote: »

There are two different types of car club.

Enterprise / Zipcar - the car club own the vehicles and hire them out through the website. They only operate in certain cities and the vehicles usually have a dedicated parking space where you pick up the car.

EasyCarClub / HiyaCar - these are 'peer to peer' services similar to Airbnb. People rent out their own vehicles on the website when they are not using them.

Also if you're taking a bus for 30 mins each way, have you thought about cycling? Your journey time will probably be the same or even a bit faster.

Cycling not really an option as part of my journey is through a cross river tunnel.

I forgot to ask. I have a full comp insurance with a full no claims bonus (protected). I haven’t claimed for over 20 years.

Will this still be valid after a break in driving of 3 years.

Thanks

daveyjp

I use an Enterprise car occasionally - really easy to book vehicles and use the system.

The downsides are you need to have a good idea of how long you are going to be. Hires can be extended in 15 minute periods, but there may be a back-back hire so you need to ensure the car is returned by the expiry time for the next user. You also have to return it to where you picked it up.

Your insurance NCB may only be valid for 2 years. You need to check with your insurer.

GunJack

or.....

get yourself a £2-300 car, and make sure you keep the NCD.... you may be surprised what you can do car-wise with a couple of hundred quid

Jackmydad

GunJack wrote: »

or.....

get yourself a £2-300 car, and make sure you keep the NCD.... you may be surprised what you can do car-wise with a couple of hundred quid

Mate of mine does this all the time. So do some of his family. They seem to have few problems really, and get at least two or three years out of them.

Carrot007

amstel2 wrote: »

I forgot to ask. I have a full comp insurance with a full no claims bonus (protected). I haven’t claimed for over 20 years.

Will this still be valid after a break in driving of 3 years.

I think 2 years is the most any insurance company will consider for a gap, and most are 1.

amstel2

Thanks for all the info. I am thinking now of getting a cheap car to see me through the next 3 years when i can then afford something nice.

I can afford about a grand. The garage i have used for years reckon with their contacts they can get a decent one for that & they will check it over for me first.

GunJack

amstel2 wrote: »

Thanks for all the info. I am thinking now of getting a cheap car to see me through the next 3 years when i can then afford something nice.

I can afford about a grand. The garage i have used for years reckon with their contacts they can get a decent one for that & they will check it over for me first.

wouldn't spend the majority of the grand on the car, allow for tax & insurance and the odd minor service bit within your overall budget

amstel2

An update re NCD. I contacted my current insurer LV & they confirmed my NCD (currently worth 90%) is only valid for 2 years. If i don't insure another car before then it's back to square one.

I think this is very unfair. They would not tell me if this is an industry wide policy so i am going to contact the ABI for clarification.

As i've posted previously i will probably have a car before this time limit expires but just want to make sure.

Lomast

2 years is pretty standard for insurance I think there may be one or two that offer a bit more than 2 but not many