Carpe

About Carpe

Carpe is a car subscription service from Jaguar Land Rover, offering 3 tiers of subscription depending on vehicle range, on 6-monthly terms. The subscription covers all costs – maintenance, insurance, tax, breakdown cover and even cleaning, placing Carpe firmly in the high-end bracket of the car subscription market. The concept is new, so the service currently takes the form of a waiting list. Vehicles are only available to the over-25s, and there is an additional joining fee as well as a one-off fee for switches within a 3-month window.​​

How it works

Carpe is part of Jaguar Land Rover, so the vehicles are all from the parent company, with less than 12,000 miles on the clock. Subscribing is simple:

1. Pay the joining fee and choose one of the three subscription tiers, which allows you access to specific vehicles
2. Go through the ID, DVLA and credit checks
3. Arrange for vehicle delivery – this is currently only available if you live inside the M25; otherwise, you need to collect.
4. Allow 2 weeks for the process
5. After 6 months, you can either keep the vehicle for a renewed term or switch. Carpe don’t guarantee that they will allow you not to switch though, as they periodically take cars back for inspection.

Any extra mileage is charged at £0.25-£0.40, depending on the vehicle.

Costs and fees

Carpe charge a one-off joining fee of £550. Thereafter, they don’t advertise any other administration or deposit fees to enter into a subscription contract. However, if you wish to switch vehicle before the stated term ends, there is a fee of £200.

There are three tiers of subscription available to Carpe customers:

Silver: £750 a month
Gold: £995 a month
Platinum: £1250 a month

All subscriptions include insurance, tax, maintenance, breakdown cover and cleaning. The excess for all insurance is £500, and there is no option to take out separate insurance.

Cancellation is free as long as it occurs within the notice period; for cancellations within 14 days of the contract end, the next month’s subscription fee will be charged.​​

Brands and models

All models are owned by Jaguar Land Rover:

Silver: Land Rover Discovery Sport / Jaguar F-Pace
Gold: Range Rover Velar / Land Rover Discovery
Platinum: Range Rover Sport​

Notice periods

Carpe require 14 days’ notice for the termination of a subscription contract. Early switching is also available, but for switches earlier than 3 months, there is a one-off charge of £200.​​

What’s special about Carpe?

Carpe is a high-end subscription service compared with its competitors, due in part to the quality of vehicle they offer.

Social media

Carpe has a Facebook account, but like most other vendors in the car subscription market, it is rarely updated.

Conclusion

Carpe is a high-end subscription service compared with its competitors, due in part to the quality of vehicle they offer. Their terms are favourable, including insurance and valeting. And from May 2019, they announced that they would also be offering penalty-free contract pauses, which singles them out. Subscriptions are available on a tiered basis, with a very limited range available, and the joining fee and terms for drivers (over 25, no more than 6 points) are indicative of the type of customer they are looking to attract.​​