How a car subscription can help you stay within your monthly budget

What is a car subscription?

Car subscriptions are growing more and more popular as an exciting alternative to traditional car ownership, but you might be wondering exactly how it all works. It’s a simple service that allows you to have your own new car for a fixed monthly fee. All of the running costs are even included, meaning you’ll never be caught out by unexpected payments. All you have to do is add the fuel and hit the road.

You might be thinking this just sounds like leasing a car, but there are a number of differences that make a car subscription a much better option for many people:

• Flexibility: A car subscription allows you to change cars depending on your need at the time. You can even try out different cars each month to get a feel for what would suit your lifestyle. You can cancel your subscription whenever you want, letting you relax knowing there are no unexpected costs. Leasing locks you into a multi-year deal where you’re stuck with the same car throughout.
• Value: Car subscriptions with Drive Fuze are all-inclusive. The monthly fee you pay covers maintenance, repair, tax, fully-comprehensive insurance, and breakdown cover. The savings you’ll make not having to worry about any of these will often make a subscription much better value than leasing.
• Freedom: With no long-term commitment, and the option to switch cars or cancel whenever you like, car subscriptions offer you the freedom that a lease simply can’t. Instead of being locked to a long contract or one car, you’re free to change your subscription at will

Considering how easy it’s become to set up a car subscription, it’s even become a real alternative to traditional car ownership. All of the qualities that give subscriptions an advantage over leasing are also true compared to buying outright. You have more flexibility, you’ll get more value from paying less upfront and from avoiding depreciation, and you’ll have more freedom without any long-term commitment.

How car subscriptions can help you save money

So how exactly does a car subscription help you save money? There are four ways that a subscription offers you better value than leasing or traditional ownership:

1. Fixed monthly costs

Each month your subscription cost will be a fixed fee that won’t change. This offers you huge predictability when planning your personal budget. You know that every month your car will always cost you the same amount. On top of this, by having everything included in the price, it’s likely that you’ll actually save money compared to having to cover all the usual costs yourself. Take replacing tyres as an example. If you want to change four premium tyres at once it will cost an average of £2,800, and that doesn’t even include wheel balancing!

2. No need for a down payment

If you’re using PCP to finance a car purchase or a lease, you’ll likely have to pay at least 10% of the car’s value upfront. This is a significant amount of money and may mean you have to opt for a car that doesn’t quite fit your needs. With a car subscription, you’ll only pay one month upfront, which could be lower than £500! This allows you to save a significant amount of money while still getting a car with the specification that you need.

3. Maintenance and insurance costs

Right now the average annual cost just to run a car in the UK is over £3,500. Just one incident could drive your repair costs through the roof. Using a car subscription helps you avoid these costs by offering everything through an all-inclusive flat fee. You won’t have to worry about the cost of unexpected repairs or regular maintenance. Also, because we are insuring fleets of cars, it’s likely that we can actually save you money on insurance by negotiating lower rates with providers than you’d be able to on your own.

4. Avoidance of depreciation costs

It’s common knowledge that a car begins to lose its value the second you drive it off the lot. Within a year your new car could lose up to 35% of its total value, costing you a lot of money. A car subscription solves this problem as you don’t have to own the car outright, meaning you avoid all depreciation costs. In fact, because of the flexibility of a car subscription, you can even upgrade your car to newer or different models over time without ever having to worry about the cost.

Factors to consider when choosing a car subscription

Before choosing your car subscription, there are a number of things you need to consider first:

• Your driving needs: Will this car be a daily runaround of a heavy motorway commuter? Have a think about how often you drive your car and what type of distances you’d typically cover in a month. This information is extremely important when choosing a subscription. At Drive Fuze we include 1,000 miles as standard on all of our subscriptions, but you can always add on more if you feel you’ll need them.
• Your budget: Another important consideration is your budget for a car. Fortunately, car subscriptions don’t come with huge upfront costs and the monthly payments are always predictable. This means once you decide on a monthly budget that’s appropriate for your needs you can be confident that you won't exceed this. You’ll also never be met with unexpected costs, making the budgeting process even more stress-free.
• Your lifestyle and preferences: Make sure to take your lifestyle and car preferences into account before you choose your subscription. Do you need more room in the back for a large family? Or maybe you need a lot of boot space? Take all of these things into account before you decide on your subscription to ensure what you choose will suit every aspect of your life. But don’t worry. One of the great things about a car subscription is that you can always change your car after a month if you decide what you picked doesn’t actually suit your needs!
• Length of commitment: Before choosing a car subscription make sure you think about how long you want to commit to your car for. Most subscription services will only require you to commit for a month, meaning you’ll never be locked into a multi-year deal like you would with leasing or buying a car outright.

With all of these aspects considered and decided on, you can finally take a look at getting started with your car subscription. Let’s take a look at exactly what happens during that process, what you’ll need, and what you should expect.

How to get started with a car subscription

Getting a car subscription with Drive Fuze is a very simple process, it only takes four simple steps:

1. Choosing your car

Select your car and specification based on your personal needs from our catalogue of subscription cars before you continue on to the next step.

2. Confirm the specifics

To set up your subscription online, you’ll be asked to create an account and input your relevant information. You can input who’ll be using the car and decide on what mileage you’ll need for the month.

3. Checking your documents

There are a couple of important documents you’ll need to ensure your signup process goes smoothly:

• Your driver’s licence
• Proof of address (such as a utility bill, council tax bill, mortgage statement etc)

Once we have these we’ll also run a soft credit check, but this won’t affect your credit score. We’ll also check to see if you meet the rest of our requirements, things such as being 25 years of age or older, and holding a UK licence for at least a year.

4. Delivery time

The final step is the delivery of your new car! You’ll be able to choose what day you’d like the car to be delivered, and we guarantee delivery within seven days of order confirmation. When we arrive with your new car you’ll need your drivers licence so we can confirm your identity. This is when we will take your first monthly payment.

Getting started with a car subscription with Drive Fuze is already extremely easy, but let’s try help you even more with some tips for negotiating the best deal:

• Do your research: Look at customer reviews, compare prices, and check what features are available with your service - Drive Fuze offers an all-inclusive service that takes care of tax, insurance, servicing, breakdown cover, tyres, and maintenance for example.
• Know your needs: What are your non-negotiables? Do you need heated seats or cruise control? Make sure you know exactly what you want so you can choose the specification.
  

Top car subscription service in the UK

Drive Fuze wants to transform the way you get a car, by giving you the freedom to focus on what’s important to you and allowing you to live life on your own terms. Our monthly car subscription offers you a simpler way to get around that has no long-term contract and no pressure - just total piece of mind.

We’ve taken the standard car subscription model and re-engineered every single detail from the perspective of the customer. From our quick and intuitive website to our professional and friendly car delivery, ongoing support, and returns service. We pride ourselves on an end-to-end experience that prioritises the wants and needs of our customers.

Just take a look at our extensive list of features. Your monthly package will include:

• Your chosen car
• Comprehensive insurance
• All servicing and maintenance
• Road tax
• Breakdown cover
• 1,000 miles per month (which is easily extended if needed)
• 24/7 UK helpline
• No long-term commitment - you’ll have a monthly rolling contract that you can cancel at any time
• No unexpected costs with our flat monthly fee
• Guaranteed delivery within seven days of order confirmation

Don’t just take our word for it though, take a look at what some of our customers have to say about Drive Fuze:

“I needed a car to start a new job and I came across Drive Fuze. They understood what I required and the short delivery required so their flexibility and customer service approach was key to sign up to their services.” - Andres

“I would highly recommend Drivefuze if you are looking for a subscription vehicle. The price is very competitive and the customer service is excellent.” - Rolyan

“Really great service from the first contact to handover of the car. Thank you.” - Gary

Saving money through a car subscription

Offering freedom and flexibility beyond anything you’ve experienced before, Drive Fuze’s car subscriptions are the future. Save money through our flat monthly payments, never get surprised again by unexpected costs, and enjoy the freedom to live life on your own terms. Car subscriptions are a brilliant way to enjoy a hassle-free and convenient driving experience. 

Take a look at our cars now and let us help you get out on the road in your dream car in no time at all.