Car clubs are a means of sharing the use of a vehicle. They can be informal arrangements, or more commercially organised, with members buying shares in the club. Use of the car is charged at arranged rates (by hour, and/or by mileage). Fuel costs are often included in the hire rate, with members purchasing fuel claiming it back from the club.

Joining fees are from £25 upwards, or a monthly static charge, and hourly rates are typically around £4 an hour.

There are around 150 car clubs in London with over 5,000 members. Elsewhere, car clubs are less prevalent.

Some well known commercial car clubs are:

Streetcar are based in London

City Car Club operate in a number of UK locations

Whizzgo operate across 10 cities.

There are also a number of performance car clubs, giving you access to a range of high performance cars for an annual fee. Maybe not so green, but far better (and cheaper) than owning your own Maserati and using it once or twice a year (as if).

Carplus provide help and advice if you are thinking of setting up a car club.

London Car Clubs lists car clubs in London.

The downside? Its quite likely you will want to use the car at the same time as other people, and you need to plan your usage in advance. Its just not convenient.

The upside? You will tend to use the car less: rather than paying a large fixed “fee” to purchase your own car, then a relatively small charge for mileage, with a car club you pay a far higher proportion in mileage, and so think about spending that money a bit more.