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Care by Volvo

Lease, subscribe, or buy a car?

October 30, 2019 - 10 min read
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There's many ways to access a car

It's not always easy to find out which one is the best for you. What's the real difference between leasing, subscribing and buying a car?

What does it cost, and how do I find out about the price difference? In short, what are the pros and cons?
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What is the difference between leasing, subscribing and buying?

Choosing the right alternative for you when it comes to leasing, subscribing or buying a car depends on many variables. It´s easy to focus on the monthly price but there are other, softer values to take into consideration. For example, what´s included in the price, how long do I have to sign up for and what’s the mileage range.
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Buying a car

Many people dream about owning their own car. However, we all know that buying a new car is tricky, there is so much choice and the comparisons could be endless.
Facing facts, buying a new car is never a good investment. It greatly impacts your financial position and you need to consider the residual value. It’s hard to know how much your car will be worth when you are ready to sell. Buying a car also means that you are locking up capital that you could otherwise spend on something that gains interest and offers a return on your investment.

In the purchase journey a lot of people forget about the selling part. Selling a car could be time consuming and requires a lot of effort.
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All-inclusive leasing does not include all

Many car manufacturers offer full-service leasing as an alternative to buying or subscribing to a car. With leasing you choose your configuration and get a new vehicle at a fixed monthly price. In most cases you will also have to pay an up-front fee. The amounts depend, among other things, on the duration of the lease and the expected mileage.
The term “full-service leasing” implies that aside from the leasing rate and refueling, no further costs are incurred. However, this is not always the case.

When you lease a car, the price normally includes maintenance services as well as replacement and repair of wearing parts. Other items, such as vehicle tax or comprehensive premium insurance are often not included, and you have to cover these yourself. This means the total monthly costs increase. As a rule, the term “full-service leasing” only refers to wear and maintenance services and the monthly leasing rate.
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What is a car subscription?

Care by Volvo is a flexible car subscription. You get access to a car for a fixed monthly price with everything included. There are no long-term contracts and, therefore, no long-term commitment.
Sign up with 30 days trial, drive as long as you like or change or stop your subscription when your circumstances changes. Changes like stop or switch your subscription to another model are possible at any time with a period of only 3 months – No added or hidden fees the monthly price is the price you´ll pay, the only thing that you have to ad is fuel.

What are the pros and cons of subscribing to a car?

Care by Volvo is a new, flexible mobility offer where you subscribe to a car. When you ask the current users of Care by Volvo about the pros and cons of subscribing to a car, they highlight the great all-inclusive concept and the possibility to change car at any time with just three months’ notice and without any extra charges.

Customer reviews

For me, the car subscription is the best alternative to long-term rental. I don't have to worry about anything anymore, saving a lot of effort and time. Also, I like the flexibility and the vehicle is really good!

Juliane L. age 41, subscriber of a Volvo XC40
Knowing what’s included in the deal is key. Even though it might sound easy, it can be like comparing apple to pears. To give you the full picture we have highlighted the core pros and cons between the different alternatives to accessing a car.
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Compare prices

When you compare a Care by Volvo subscription with leasing a car you quickly realise that you often get a better price with the subscription because of the all-inclusive package.

The cons of a subscription with transparent pricing is that everything is included in one transparent monthly price, which could seem high. Things like vehicle registration, road tax, insurance, maintenance and wear are all included in a Care by Volvo subscription. This could actually make the total price less expensive if you compare it to leasing a car when, in many cases, these items are added on at a later stage.
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Flexibility to change car or stop your subscription

Unlike leasing, a Care by Volvo car subscription does not have a fixed term, it’s open-ended. We argue that life can be unpredictable and knowing what´s going to happen is impossible, therefore we offer the flexible car subscription that changes with you. With only three months’ notice you can change your car or stop your subscription. In addition, all the costs of vehicle operation are already included in the transparent, fixed monthly fee - you just need to refuel.

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Minimum time of contract

Leasing contracts usually have binding periods of several years, meaning a long-term commitment. If you are looking for a more flexible option, a Care by Volvo subscription has a minimum binding period of only one month. You pay a flat monthly fee and you can easily cancel whenever you want with three months’ notice. When you subscribe, you can also switch to a different model or a newer version. There’s no cancellation fee and you can return the car at any time.

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Sharing my car?

When you lease or buy a car the most common practice is that only the person registered on the car can drive the car. In contrast, a Care by Volvo subscription car can be driven by anyone you want to share it with. The Volvo insurance automatically covers additional drivers without pre-registration or extra fees. The subscription covers the car, not the person driving.

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What is included in car subscriptions?

Here’s a list of what’s included in our subscription. For a further details, you´ll find the terms and conditions and answers to the most common questions about car subscriptions here. In short:
  • Everything is included. All costs are incorporated in the fixed monthly payment, you only have to pay for fuel and other regular consumables, for example screen wash, tolls and congestion charges.
  • You get a 30-day trial subscription period with a fixed monthly payment and no cancellation fee.
  • You can return a car at any time with only three months' notice period.
  • Insurance
  • No down payment, one transparent, fixed monthly cost
  • Possibility to choose your car configuration
  • Maintenance
  • Taxes
Compared to leasing a car, Care by Volvo offers a truly all-inclusive package with everything you need.

How do I get started with a subscription?

Select a car

Start by choosing your dream car in the configurator. Choose the model you like and configure it according to your wishes in just a few steps.

Enter details

Then enter your personal details and bank information with two clicks. Now you’re done!

Start driving

After your credit check is approved, you will receive an order confirmation from us and our Care by Volvo customer care team will contact you to arrange everything else.

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