Renting a car weekly vs Subscribe to Drive
What a weekly rental and a Detour car subscription each include, and how to compare the real cost.
23 October 2026 Detour Knowledge Hub 4 min read
Many drivers start by renting a car weekly from an owner or a fleet. Subscribe to Drive is Detour's way of putting you in a car for one weekly amount. Both get you on the road. What they include, and what happens when something goes wrong, can be very different.
Side by side
| Compared | Typical weekly rental | Subscribe to Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly amount | Set by the owner | Shown on each car's page |
| Insurance | Sometimes included, sometimes not | Included |
| Maintenance and tyres | Often the driver's cost | Included |
| Tracking | Varies | Included |
| Roadside help | Varies | AA cover included |
| Kilometre limit | Sometimes | No limit |
| Deposit | Varies, and not always returned | Paid up front, and it comes back |
| Do you own it at the end? | No | No |
| Written agreement | Not always | Yes |
| Detour plan needed | Not applicable | MyOwnBoss, R250 a week |
Every rental is different. Use the left column as a checklist of what to ask your owner, not as a description of every owner.
How to compare the real cost
The weekly amount is only part of what a car costs you. To compare fairly, work out what your current car really costs per week.
- Take your weekly rental.
- Add up everything you paid yourself in the last three months: services, tyres, repairs, insurance excess, tracking.
- Add the earnings you lost on days the car was off the road.
- Divide that total by 13, and add it to your weekly rental.
That is your real weekly figure. Compare that against a Subscribe to Drive car's weekly amount plus the MyOwnBoss plan. It may still be cheaper to rent. It may not. Either way, you will be choosing with real numbers.
Example
This is a made-up example to show the method. Say your rental looks low, but in three months you paid for a service, two tyres and a battery, and lost four days on the road while the car was fixed. Once those are added and spread over 13 weeks, your weekly cost could be well above the number on your rental agreement. That bigger number is the one to compare.
The cheapest weekly amount is not always the cheapest car.
Other things to weigh
- Your Uber profile and rating. With Detour, they are yours whichever way you come in. Ask your owner what happens to them if you leave.
- What happens when the car is in the workshop. Do you still pay?
- What the plan around the car gives you. On MyOwnBoss that includes Mobility Vouchers for fuel and EV charging, AA roadside assistance with tow and patrol, data-free Uber Driver app, Google Maps and Waze, and Detour Capital of R2 500 for the week something goes wrong.
- How easy it is to leave. Read the notice and deposit terms.
Thinking of moving?
If you are renting now and thinking of moving, an agent can work through the numbers with you, including your current weekly rental, before you commit. You do the talking with your current owner. We do not contact them.
Know the whole weekly cost before you take the keys.
Compare the cars on Subscribe to Drive
