Commonwheels is keen to ‘adopt’ cars into the Car Club from Club Members. This allows faster expansion of the fleet at lower financial cost (savings which are passed on to the Members).
So long as you don't use it daily for commuting to work, your car is a resourse which many people can share. It really is as good as it sounds: all your bills are paid for you. And if your car is out, you can borrow another instead.
Commonwheels seeks vehicles that are reliable and presentable, fairly new (certainly no more than 8 years old), with central locking and an immobiliser. The intention is to develop a diverse fleet, including ‘people-carriers’, estate cars and automatics, as well as a high proportion of fuel-efficient small cars.
If Commonwheels considers the car suitable, a 12 month renewable lease can be agreed, electronic equipment is fitted, and the car becomes available for use by members like any other Club car. Commonwheels becomes responsible for maintenance, servicing, MOT, insurance, and Road Tax. (and deals with any DVLA contact about any parking and speeding tickets)
The owner can book and use the car as any other Member, and would pay the usual fees and mileage rates, but in return for the lease, the owner receives up to 60 hours use of the car each month (and up to one third of these hours may be in any other Club car). If the car is heavily used, there is also provision in the lease for some monetary compensation to the owner.
Commonwheels seeks to locate vehicles in bays convenient to the owners; sometimes CW would request they be located elsewhere, according to the availability of bays, and providing an overall service that best matches the locations of all members.
Commonwheels will want to know:
Membership of the Car Club, and adoption of a vehicle, suits some people very well and offers great savings. if you would like to discuss any details further, do please contact us on info@commonwheels.org.uk.
My name is Andy, and I gave my car to Commonwheels when it first started in Oxford.
I realised the last 3 times I'd had it out were to get tires, an MOT, and a new battery, and it was costing me a fortune for a car I hardly used. But I felt I did need it: occasionally I needed to go out of Oxford either for work or to visit relations, and sometimes I just needed to take something big down to my allotment.
So I signed up, initially for a year. At first it was a bit of a shock to realise I'd need to book it when I needed it, but after one or two occasions I got quite used to it. One day, when I needed the car, I realised mine was booked into the garage for its annual service all day, so I simply booked another. It was so easy. And I no longer have to pay those bills. But most of all, I notice how well it runs. It was sounding a little sad when I rarely used it, but now it gets enough use and the engine sounds much better and the brakes no longer squeek.
I'm very happy to see my car used so much. Booking is convienient and practial (although I found I was consistently under-estimating the time I'd need to car for - the solution is to book it for slightly longer).
The fact it's not located outside my house is only an issue if I have young children in tow, so if this applies to you, do check where the car will be kept, and where the next nearest one will be.
- Andy Henson