Car Share vs Ownership

[Rezz]

Hi all,

A Times car share parking area is opening right next to my place in two weeks, and it got me thinking about signing up. I have a full british driving license which I need to convert into a Japanese one (I heard the process is quite simple), but haven’t driven in about 7 years. Saying that, I’d quite like to be able to make the odd getaway once or twice a month. Owning a car here seems to be notoriously expensive, so car sharing seems like a nice compromise.

Has anyone used Times car share or any others before? Is it economically worth it if you take a two day weekend trip once or twice a month somewhere?

I’ve had a brief look at some numbers and it seems it would cost 6-12,000 yen for a one day trip depending on the car. I’m going to do a more detailed breakdown and analysis when I have some time (I’ll report my findings), but what does everyone here think? Does anyone use the service often? How has it been? Any hidden costs to be aware of?

Regards,
Rezz

[RetireJapan]

Fantastic topic. There is one of these about a mile down the road from us, so I am also interested.

I think the car share service is aimed at an hour or two though. Times also has a car rental service which might be more economical for 1-2 days, and there is a lot of competition in that space (cheap rentals). Would love to hear more about your experience looking into this (guest post?)

[Dan]

Times Car Share services are everywhere in Tokyo nowadays. We tried it out a couple of years ago. The company would not charge any member fees for the first month or two at that time. The service was very smooth. Once you become a member you can make reservations for any car at any service station in Japan.

We canceled after the trial period ended because the usual member fee is something like 1,000 yen a month. We were not planning to use it every month and we are still able to sign up again for new free months. The company said that was okay. On top of the member fee are the costs for hiring the car. Also, the cars tend to be small.

But I disagree with RetireJapan that the car share service is aimed at an hour or two. Lots of people use the service to hire cars for a half or a full day. It’s especially convenient if the service station is near your house or if you want to use a car when visiting a rural area during the weekend - just make a reservation for the car at home and pick it up after arriving at a station nearby.

There are some other companies which offer a similar service. One of them is Orix Car Share. It already has almost a thousand pickup points in Tokyo.

https://www.orix-carshare.com/search/in ... medium=cpc

[RetireJapan]

But I disagree with RetireJapan that the car share service is aimed at an hour or two.

Sorry, I didn't mean it wasn't possible, just that if your main purpose is to rent for a day or two there might be better options

Times car share has the monthly fee, plus it costs you just over 8,000 yen per day to rent: https://plus.timescar.jp/fare/use.html
On the other hand a super-cheap company like Guts (heh) or similar is about 2,000 yen a day with no membership fee: https://guts-rentacar.com/

My impression is the point of the car share is to use it to replace a car, so doing daily errands, shopping, etc. In that case paying 206 yen per 15m makes sense. If you are going to rent for a long weekend or something I would say it might make less sense.

[RetireJapan]

Even Times car rental is cheaper (6,480 per 24h) than the car share service: https://rental.timescar.jp/price/car/

I suspect they don't really want people taking the share cars away for longer durations...

[Dan]

There are still lots of people who want to use a car for six to twelve hours once in a while. Obviously if your main purpose is to use a car for 24 to 48 hours there will be economically better options. But I do not want to make his into a penny pinching fight and hope you don’t intend to do so either.

If you pay close attention to car sharing stations you’ll notice how often cars are gone, for longer stretches of four to six hours. That shows to me there is a need among people to use a car for such a time period.

it’s simply not true that the service is only aimed at people who need a car for one or two hours.

[Rezz]

Great comments guys. I know a friend who managed to wangle a rental car contract for 20,000 a month through a dealer she knew, but she was still responsible for petrol and insurance.

Guts looks very cheap. Nice find!

https://plus.timescar.jp/fare/longpack/

Times have a “long pack” which seemed reasonable at first, but its quite limited in pickup locations.

[adamu]

As a Times carshare member, you get discounted rates and simplified procedure for the normal rental service too, and you can pick up the car any time after 5pm the day before for no extra cost. They also have frequent campaigns. I usually pay about 3-4k + fuel for 24 hours for a basic car like a Mazda Demio. I really like their service.

The car share itself is a little bit pricey, but it's very convenient and the service is smooth. Unlike the normal rental service fuel is included, although they charge for distance on some tariffs. You can get 15 mins credit back if you refuel the car (using the card provided, no cost to you).

[RetireJapan]

As a Times carshare member, you get discounted rates and simplified procedure for the normal rental service too, and you can pick up the car any time after 5pm the day before for no extra cost. They also have frequent campaigns. I usually pay about 3-4k + fuel for 24 hours for a basic car like a Mazda Demio. I really like their service.

The car share itself is a little bit pricey, but it's very convenient and the service is smooth. Unlike the normal rental service fuel is included, although they charge for distance on some tariffs. You can get 15 mins credit back if you refuel the car (using the card provided, no cost to you).

Interesting! I was wondering about the '15m for some fuel' thing. If you were paying for the fuel it would be a terrible deal

[eyeswideshut]

We use Times+ somewhat regularly and after using it for over 2 years I would agree with Retire Japan that, cost wise, it works out better to use car sharing for short distances/periods and a cheaper long term rental for longer trips. Times has a sweet spot 6 hour, mileage included rental that includes their premium models. If you can keep your usage under 6 hours I find this is a good deal for half day trips (outlet malls, local hiking etc.).

Also, I have noticed that regular car rental fees have really come down in response to the car sharing competition. What a time to be alive!