Car-sharers share a deal

Blablacar offers its 28,000 top ‘ambassadeur’ drivers in France new Corsa, Astra or Mokka X cars at the special rate and other makes – Audi, Peugeot, Toyota (a hybrid) and Volks­wagen, at a lesser discount.

Drivers who sign up for the deal will have servicing and roadside assistance included in the €164/month offer (a €20 bonus for regular ride-share drivers cuts this to €144) with leasing firm ALD Auto­motive and Opel, which is for a Corsa used for 20,000km a year.

A larger Mokka X costs €239 per month over four years and the same €20 bonus applies.
Nicolas Brusson, Blablacar founder, said users buy 1.3million cars every year and they wanted to “thank them and to share savings on car budgets because they share their cars”.

Opel, recently bought by Cit­roën and Peugeot owner PSA, said the cars would have Wifi fitted, with the possibility of
up to seven users connected.

Costs hit €5,883 a year

MANY owners see leasing as a way to cut costs while driving a new car every year and paying a fixed sum each month but there is a lot more to car costs than just the price of petrol.

The French Automobile Club Association did their sums and said average annual running costs total €5,883. This was for a petrol-engined Renault Clio 4 being used for 9,000km a year.

Prices varied across the country with drivers in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur paying the most, at €6,184, because of the high cost of insurance and annual maintenance. The ones who paid the least live in Lorraine, where running costs averaged €5,441 due to cheaper insurance and motorway tolls and the fact they drove less, just 7,000 miles a year.