Subscribe, own or rent: how to choose the car you drive for work

Ask any driver what decides whether a week is good or bad, and most will say the car. What it costs you every week, what it costs you when it breaks, and what it costs you when it is off the road.

There are three common ways to get a car to drive for work: own it (usually with finance), rent it weekly from someone, or subscribe. None is right for everyone. Here is how to think about each.

Owning a car on finance

Owning makes sense if you want an asset at the end and you can carry the risk until then.

• You usually need a deposit and a credit record that a bank will accept.
• The instalment is only part of it. Insurance, services, tyres, tracking and repairs are on you.
• Many car loans have a balloon payment at the end, a big amount still owing after years of instalments.
• When the car is in the workshop, the instalment does not stop.

If you go this way, add up the full weekly cost, not just the instalment. Many drivers are shocked by the real number.

Renting weekly from an owner or fleet

Weekly rental is how a lot of drivers start. It is quick and you do not need a bank.

• Ask exactly what the weekly amount covers. Insurance? Services? Tyres? Who pays when it breaks?
• Ask what happens to your Uber profile and your rating if you leave.
• Ask what happens to the weekly amount when the car is in the workshop for a week.
• Get it in writing. A verbal deal is only as good as the owner's mood.

Subscribing

A subscription sits in between. You pay one weekly amount, and the things that usually catch drivers out are already in it.

On Detour's Subscribe to Drive, that weekly amount covers a newer car with insurance, tracking, maintenance and tyres. There is no finance and no balloon at the end. You pay a deposit, and it comes back. There is no limit on the kilometres you drive, and you can move into a new car every 24 months.

The trade is simple, and we would rather say it than let you assume: you do not own the car at the end. You are paying for a car that works, not for a car that becomes yours.

Questions to decide with

1. Do I want to own a car in four years, or do I want a car that works this week?
2. Could I pay for a big repair tomorrow without borrowing?
3. How many days was my car off the road in the last six months, and what did that cost me in earnings?
4. What does my current car really cost per week, with insurance, services, tyres and repairs added in?
5. If I left my current arrangement, what would I lose?

A worked example

Take a made-up driver, Lerato. She rents a car weekly. On paper her rental is lower than a subscription. But in the last three months she paid for two services, a set of tyres and a clutch herself, and lost six days on the road waiting for repairs.

When she adds those to her weekly rental and divides by thirteen weeks, the real weekly figure is much higher than the number she thought she was paying. That is the number she should compare against a subscription. It might still be cheaper. It might not. The point is that she now knows.

Whatever you choose

Know what is in the weekly amount, know what is not, and know what happens when something goes wrong. If you are not sure, talk to us. An agent will go through the numbers with you, including the cars we have and what they cost, before you commit to anything.