http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?fid4ct=16633 Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:05:54 EST Thu, 29 Jan 2009 07:30:44 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss RapidFeeds v0.1 -- http://www.rapidfeeds.com Save £3,500 a year by joining a car club Last week, (January 7th) The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders year-end sales figures for 2008 reported that new car sales across the UK reached their lowest point since 1996. As new car sales have fallen, 2008 has seen the rapid expansion of car clubs, where the cost of ownership is passed on to the supplier and the customer is charged a flat rate for the hours they use the car. There has been a sharp increase in people signing up across the nation, with the major car clubs showing customer growth of over 100% in 2008. Growth is expected to continue throughout the year. New car registrations in 2008 were down 11.3% on the previous year, as the looming recession and high cost of ownership appears to have discouraged consumers from making major new purchases. With insurers warning that car insurance costs could increase by 20% this year and petrol costs set to rise again in the spring, consumers are increasingly turning to alternative means in order to cut costs. Pay by the hour car club WhizzGo, established in 2004, now has over 5000 members across the UK and is the largest car club outside of London. By charging hourly rates and eliminating the cost of petrol, servicing, tax and insurance, it is possible to save up to £3,500* a year. Andrew Prior, a quantity surveyor based in Leeds, joined the scheme after realising he was losing nearly £4000** a year in insurance, tax, running costs and depreciation. After making the switch to WhizzGo, he now estimates he spends an average of just £45 per month, saving over £3000 a year. Andrew commented: ‘Since joining WhizzGo, I’ve been saving significant amounts of money each month. I only really used my car at weekends, so I worked out how much it was costing me to have my car sat on the driveway for five days a week and it ran into thousands of pounds a year. I now hire a car about once a fortnight, so am only paying when I actually use it. ‘There are so many options to get places, so I now walk more than I ever used to, as well as car sharing. Not only has being a member of a car club helped my finances, but I also feel that I’m doing my bit for the environment.’ Note to editors * Source: http://www.carplus.org.uk/ ** Based on statistics from www.theaa.com For more information please contact Simon Lynes or Greg Felgate on simon.lynes@finncomms.com or greg.felgate@finncomms.com, Tel: 0113 394 4333 http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=3290497 http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=3290497 Thu, 29 Jan 2009 07:30:00 EST