How flexible is a flexible car subscription? - Car Subscription Top Tips

How flexible is a flexible car subscription?

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With all of the Car Subscription companies boasting that they offer flexible car leases, not all of them make it completely clear the term required to get the advertised rate.

So we’re hoping this article will cover a few of the basics required, should you really require a flexible car subscription.

Credit: Car-Subscriptions.co.uk on YouTube

Flexible Car Subscriptions

Flexible in our eyes is something without the long-term commitment. Many car subscription companies in the UK advertise fantastic rates but based on a subscription period of 36 months, in this case, you might as well look at traditional contract hire & leasing.

A good example of this is Cazoo and Wagonex, their headline rates are based on 36 months or 24 months respectively, depending on the vehicle. Dropdowns are available to change the contract length and with Wagonex the rate doesn’t change too much, which is a huge benefit and might be worth paying the additional money for the added flexibility.

Credit: Wagonex (Taken 20th December 2021)

Care by Volvo, Flexed and Cocoon Vehicles rates may look expensive at first, but dig into the terms and conditions and you will find that you only need to take the car for a few months to get the best price and with many of the firms such as Flexigo and Flexirental, their mileage allowance is usually higher than the bigger firms.

Top Tips

Here are our top tips for getting the best from a flexible car deal:

  1. Always look at the Contract Length before signing up, if you need a car for 6 months but 36 months is cheaper, should you send it back earlier there will more or less always be a termination fee to end it early.
  2. Inclusive Insurance can be a benefit, but see what the difference is with and without before committing, adding the vehicle to an existing policy can sometimes work out cheaper, even for a shorter time frame.
  3. Mileage is really important, don’t opt for 800 miles per month if you do 1,500 miles per month. Excess mileage charges are usually higher on short-term contracts.
  4. Some of the smaller companies run rolling month-to-month contracts, but they will have a minimum period such as 28 days (Flexed) or 90 Days (Cocoon / Flexigo), after this time, you are able to run the car until they request it back or you have finished with it.
  5. Some flexible providers do want you to swap vehicles on a regular basis, every 3-6 months. Before committing, ask how long you can keep the car for. Whilst it sounds great swapping into a new car on a regular basis, some find it hard work and the admin involved can be time consuming.

Flexible Providers

PROVIDERMINIMUM TERM
Care by Volvo3 Months Min (Select at Checkout)
Cocoon Vehicles90 days minimum (to get advertised rate)
Drive Car Flex90 days minimum (to get advertised rate)
Elmo1 Month (Select at signup process)
Flexed28 Days (On flexible cars)
Flexirental90 days minimum (to get advertised rate)
Short-Term Car Leasing Ltd90 days minimum (to get advertised rate)
Sixt+1 Month

Compare Car Subscriptions

Easily compare car subscriptions using our website, we try and cover the basics of each provider and only accept those companies that meet the correct criteria. You can also read more about Car Subscriptions using external websites, like the ones on our highlighted blog piece.

Patty Atindehou

Patty is the content writer for Car-Subscriptions.co.uk and loves her cars and the automotive industry in general. She worked for large dealer groups in the United Kingdom and the USA specialising in high-end and premium vehicles. Her goal is to provide the most interesting information on the vehicle subscription industry.

Article Details

Post Published: March 28, 2022
Post Last Updated: November 15, 2023
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