A car owner driving about 2,000 miles a year, or using their car for roughly four hours a week, could save about £1,000 using a Car Club, instead of owning a car.

A study by iCarhireinsurance.com, a leading provider of specialist Car Club and car hire excess insurance, looked at the costs to own a car compared to using a Car Club for four hours a week. It found that a Car Club user would pay £1,364 a year, while a car owner would pay about £2,274 a year.

Membership of a Car Club costs £66 a year with Zip Car or Enterprise Car Club and includes insurance, petrol (up to 60 minutes a day), full MOT and servicing and breakdown cover. Members can then use a mid-sized club car, e.g., a Ford Fiesta, from around £6 per hour.

An additional consideration is Car Club excess insurance to take excess insurance to zero in the event of the car being damaged or stolen. Specialist providers, like iCarhireinsurance.com, sell an annual policy for £49.99, which is usually a lot cheaper and more comprehensive than the policies sold by the Car Clubs. (For instance, Zipcar charges a monthly fee of £9.95 for excess insurance and Enterprise a monthly fee of £10). This makes a yearly cost of using a Car Club £1,364.

To run a car for a year, based on a driver living close to a large city (i.e., Hayes, Middlesex), costs around £900* for comprehensive car insurance (the average cost of three quotes across ages), £235** petrol costs, as well as running costs i.e. MOT (approx. £55), a full service (around £125 from Kwik Fit/Halfords) and breakdown cover (approx. £50 from AA). The calculation also includes purchasing a Ford Focus Zetec car costing £4,500*** and paying £900 per year over five years. This makes a yearly cost of £2,274.

If you don’t use your car much, 2019 might be the year to ditch it for good, and save around £1000 using a Car Club instead, said Ernesto Suarez, founder and CEO of iCarhireinsurance.com. Hiring cars by the hour from approximately £6 for a midsize car, which includes basic insurance and petrol, is a good option for those in urban areas, giving you the convenience of a car without the headache and costs that come with running and parking it.

View our infographic below for a cost comparison.

https://www.icarhireinsurance.com/infographics/car-club-vs-car-ownership