Man using Zipcar vs owning a car
July 17, 2023

Zipcar vs. Owning a car

Is Zipcar cheaper than owning a car?

We believe car sharing is the future of responsible city living and our research suggests that utilising Zipcar can save you up to 57% against the average cost of owning and running a car.

Zipcar conducted research into the average cost of owning a Vauxhall Corsa (Britain’s most popular car of 2022) in Wimbledon in South London over a year, looking at everything from insurance and parking to petrol, tax, maintenance and charges like the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). We then compared this to the cost to car sharing the same type of car in the same area and with the same mileage.

Zipcar is half the cost of owning a car

 

The results speak for themselves: the total cost of owning a car over the course of a year came to £5,278, while sharing the same car for the same amount of time and mileage came to just £2,243 (providing you’re on our plus package) – over half the cost of owning and running the same car. Saving was apparent on all the different packages Zipcar offer with the Smart plan costing you £2,643 and our basic plan worked out at £3,000

After pointing out all the great benefits of car sharing but with many options available out there it can be tricky to pick one. To make it easier for you, we have outlined the difference between Zipcar and traditional car rental here.

 

 

zipcar vs. owning chart

References

Depreciation - Money Calculator -  https://www.themoneycalculator.com/vehicle-finance/calculators/car-depreciation-by-make-and-model/FORD/FIESTA/

Car Insurance - Compare The Market quote - https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/

Parking Permit - Merton Council -  https://www.merton.gov.uk/streets-parking-transport/parking/permits/resident#titleCol20

Fuel - Gov UK -  https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/average-speed-delay-and-reliability-of-travel-times-cgn

Fuel - Inrix -  http://inrix.com/press-releases/scorecard-2018-uk/

Fuel - Fleet News -  https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/costs/fuel-cost-calculator/?FuelType=0&PencePerLitre=125.55&Mileage=12560&ManufacturerId=67&ModelGroupId=531&DerivativeId=98961

Tax - Gov UK -  https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-rate-tables

Repairs and Breakdown - The Car Expert -  https://www.thecarexpert.co.uk/average-car-costs-more-than-160-per-month-to-run/

ULEZ & Congestion Charge - Tfl - https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge

MOT - Gov UK -  https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/mot-test-fees

Service - Money Advice Service -  https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/tips-on-servicing-and-maintaining-your-car#how-often-should-a-car-be-serviced