Car Subscription
One all-inclusive monthly payment, a short minimum term, then rolling month to month. The most flexible way to have a car, and the easiest to walk away from if your plans change.
Explore subscriptions
Car SubscriptionLondon's short-term vehicle specialists
A car or van for exactly as long as you need one
Subscriptions, flexible leases and fixed short-term contracts from 1 to 24 months, on cars and vans, delivered into central London and every borough. Servicing, road tax, warranty and breakdown cover are already in the monthly price — you add insurance and fuel.
- FCA registered & GDPR compliant
- Short-term specialists since 2007
- Delivered to every London borough
- 5 working days’ notice to return
What are you after?
Jump straight to the right agreement, or let the finder work it out with you.
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Start here
Four ways to get moving without a three-year contract
Most people who reach us already know they don't want a long lease — they're just not sure which short-term option fits. Here's the honest difference.
Short-Term Lease
A fixed contract from 3 to 24 months at a lower monthly rate than a subscription. Right when you already know exactly how long you need the vehicle.
Explore short-term leases
Short-Term LeaseFlexible Lease
A short minimum term — often three months — that then rolls with notice. Cheaper than a subscription, easier to exit than a fixed lease.
Explore flexible leasing
Flexible LeaseVans & Commercial
The same three structures, applied to panel vans, crew vans, tippers and pickups. Popular on 6 and 12 month terms for contract work and seasonal demand.
Explore van options
Vans & CommercialLive fleet
Vehicles we can supply right now
In-stock vehicles only — GL and GPC reference — ready for delivery in as little as 3 to 5 working days. Pulled live from our fleet feed, not a curated selection.
Vehicles available right now
What you're actually paying for
What the monthly price covers
On a subscription or flexible lease, servicing and maintenance are bundled in — you add insurance and fuel. On a fixed short-term lease maintenance isn't standard, but it's optional on most agreements, and your quotation says which.
Subscription or flexible lease includes
- The vehicle itself, for the whole agreement
- Servicing and routine maintenance
- Road fund licence (road tax)
- Manufacturer warranty
- Breakdown assistance
- Delivery, and collection at the end
You arrange separately
- Fully comprehensive insurance — arranged by you
- Fuel or electricity
- The London congestion charge, ULEZ and clean air charges
- Parking and speeding penalties
- Damage beyond our return standards
- Mileage driven above your contracted allowance
Fixed short-term lease includes
- The vehicle itself, for the whole agreement
- Road fund licence (road tax)
- Manufacturer warranty
- Breakdown assistance
- Delivery, and collection at the end
Not included as standard
- Servicing and maintenance — optional on most agreements, not standard
- Fully comprehensive insurance — arranged by you
- Fuel or electricity
- The London congestion charge, ULEZ and clean air charges
- Damage beyond our return standards
- Mileage driven above your contracted allowance
Where we're different
The applications other brokers wave away
Almost anyone can lease a car to a tidy five-year-old company with a spotless credit file. Far fewer can help once the paperwork gets more interesting — and that's most of what we do.
New start-up businesses
Trading under two years with no filed accounts? Mainstream funders decline almost on reflex. We place these routinely, usually against a larger initial payment or a director's guarantee.
New business leasing
New start-up businessesExpats & overseas customers
Relocating to or returning to the UK with no recent credit footprint here. We work with funders who look at the person, not just the file.
Expat car leasing
Expats & overseas customersOverseas directors & parent companies
A UK-registered company whose directors, parent or shareholders sit abroad. Workable, but it needs a funder who actually understands the structure.
Overseas director leasing
Overseas directors & parent companiesNon-status leasing
Outside standard credit criteria — a new company, an overseas parent, no UK credit history. Reviewed case by case by specialist underwriters, not declined automatically.
Non-status leasing
Non-status leasingBusiness & fleet
One vehicle or fifty, with one invoice, staged deliveries and a single point of contact. Terms that flex with contract wins instead of fighting them.
Business leasing
Business & fleetSalary sacrifice
Give staff an electric car out of gross salary. Employees save income tax and National Insurance; the company saves employer NI. No capital outlay.
Salary sacrifice
Salary sacrificeNot sure which?
Answer six questions, get a straight answer
The Vehicle Finder works out whether a subscription or a fixed lease fits your situation, then shows you vehicles that match. Takes under a minute.
How it works
Enquiry to your door in five steps
Tell us what you need
Vehicle type, rough term, monthly mileage and your London postcode. That's enough for us to start.
We check real availability
We quote from stock we can actually supply, with an honest lead time. If it's four weeks, we say four weeks.
Written quote
Monthly figure, initial payment, mileage allowance, excess mileage rate and delivery charge. All of it, in writing.
Application & approval
A short online application. Straightforward cases are often approved the same day; specialist cases take a little longer.
Delivered to you
Vehicles are prepared and dispatched from Derby, York or Leeds. In-stock cars can be with you in as little as 3–5 working days, delivered into London and collected again at the end.
By the numbers
A long time doing one thing
0Supplying short-term vehicles since
0Maximum contract length, in months
0Minimum contract length, in months
0London airports we serve
Do your homework
Compare us properly — we'd rather you did
Short-term leasing is a crowded market and we won't always be the cheapest. These independent resources are genuinely worth reading before you talk to anyone, including us.
- Compare Car Subscriptions — a side-by-side of UK subscription providers and what each one includes.
- The Car Expert: best car subscription providers — independent editorial review of the main players.
- The Car Expert: best websites for short-term car leasing — a useful sense-check on who does short-term properly.
London Short Term Cars is a trading style of Cocoon Vehicles Ltd, trading since 2007 and FCA registered. If another provider suits you better, take it — a badly matched contract helps nobody.
Answers
Frequently asked questions
What people ask before they commit. There's a longer list on our FAQ page.
Selected vehicles start from one month, though most of our fleet runs on 3, 6, 9 or 12 month terms. Anything under three months tends to suit a subscription better than a fixed lease — the initial payment on a very short fixed contract can otherwise look disproportionate.
Vehicles carrying a GL or GPC supplier reference are our in-stock fleet and can typically be delivered in 3 to 5 working days once your order and payment are in place — sooner still if credit is already approved. Pre-order vehicles depend on the supplying fleet's own schedule, and we always tell you the real lead time before you commit, not an optimistic one.
Every agreement carries an initial payment, usually one to three months' rental paid up front rather than a deposit held on account. A separate refundable deposit is sometimes also required — that depends on status and is set by the underwriters, not by us. Both figures appear clearly on your quotation before anything is signed.
No, and that's deliberate: arranging your own fully comprehensive cover keeps control of the policy, the excess and your no-claims history with you. If your usual insurer is awkward about short-term or subscription agreements, we can point you towards a broker who writes this kind of cover routinely.
We collect the vehicle — no sale to negotiate, no residual risk sitting with you. Short-term vehicles are checked against our own return standards rather than the BVRLA fair wear and tear standard, unless the vehicle has been kept beyond 18 months, at which point BVRLA fair wear and tear applies. We operate to the BVRLA code of conduct throughout.
Usually, yes. Subscriptions and flexible leases roll on past the minimum term, and you can keep the same car until it turns three years old — no mid-contract swap forced on you. A fixed short-term lease can often be extended or re-contracted subject to availability, so talk to us before the end date, not after it.
Next step
Tell us what you need, and by when
Send us the vehicle type, rough term and your London postcode. We'll come back with real availability and a written quote — usually the same working day.