Car sharing, leasing, regular rental or subscription? When, what to choose?
Every year different services are developed for car rental in Ukraine. For example, these are classic leasing, trendy carsharing, and the mysterious “subscription car” format. Let’s understand what is the benefit, what are the prospects and when to use what?
Leasing is a long-term rental with the right to buy. Here you can see the percentage of overpayment after 3 years of using the vehicle. If you are satisfied, then it makes sense to use leasing.
Car rental is most often in demand when you need to use a auto in a short period of time – a day either for several days. Despite the presence of two international players, the rental-services is not very developed in Ukraine. Since our prices are higher than European ones & there are no support programs from manufacturers.
By the way, you can also rent luxury or rare supercars from the owners on Bimbarent.
Car sharing – hidden nuances
Whether per minute daily vehicle rental.

While carsharing is showing growth in Ukraine, it almost died in Russia. Why? The local population breaks down and steals cars from the fleet faster than the operator renews its fleet.
Billing in Ukraine starts from $0,05 per minute, plus payment for mileage – $0,24 per kilometer. We tested the service several times, this scheme really turns out to be more profitable than a taxi if you plan to make several small trips in one go. The second advantage of such a lease can be considered the return of the car – it is not tied to the location of the start of the lease.
Daily rent starts from $32. There is a mileage limit of 100 km.
In order to use carsharing, you will need a passport, driving license & a bank card. Deposit from 12 to 400 USD, depending on the duration of the lease.
Insurance. If you do not buy an additional insurance belt, then in case of an accident with damage up to $2 800, you will have to pay the company $800, regardless of who is to blame. If more, then you will be charged 25% of the amount of the loss.
Also, carsharing is focused on good mobile communication and work with the application. If you parked where there is no internet, you will not be able to close the auto, complete the rental.
Finally, there may be a headache with dressing. If there is less than 20% fuel in the tank, you will have to look for the nearest partner gas station. And here you are standing in a traffic jam, and the gas station that suits you is on the other side of the road …
Auto by subscription – how does it work?
This direction came to us from the USA & Europe, but on the way to Ukraine it adapted to our realities.
2010, USA, Hawaii. Here they begin to rent out cars not for rent, but by “subscription”. Later it turns out that this is a veiled form of short-term leasing. The reason is simple – people began to buy less and began to rent more often. All major manufacturers in the US (Audi Select, Porsche Passport, Book Cadillac, Ford Canvas and others) are beginning to offer this service. Now Americans no longer bought cars, but paid from 300 to 2700 dollars every month for using the car.
In 2018, “car subscription” was named the best product for millennials (those born between 1983 – 2000). Later it turns out that the overpayment for such use of the vehicle is 28-102%, when compared with classic leasing.
How does “subscription” work in Ukraine?
Now several startups are actively promoting, the main emphasis is that the segment of the audience that works in IT can use the service. This is explained by the fact that there are consistently high salaries and the “user” is able to pay a monthly subscription. For example, a hybrid Toyota RAV4 in the Style package will cost $10,000 in the initial payment. The remaining payments are evenly split over 3 years. If you want to buy back a car after a 3-year lease, you will have to pay an additional subscription fee.
We did not find any financial advantages over conventional leasing, but the subscription idea is suitable for those who want to constantly change cars until they find one that they like.