Is it possible to lead a fully-functional life without having to own anything? A few years ago, the answer to that question would have been an obvious no. Today, however— shaped by the preferences of avocado-loving millennials and many technological breakthroughs — that life is possible with subscription services.

The subscription lifestyle spells out convenience and instant gratification. Online-streaming platforms, meal subscription plans and co-working spaces provide the mobility of on-demand services, but more importantly, the freedom to opt out of the service anytime we want.

Millennials prefer to remain flexible, to not be tied down to long-term decisions and to fill their lives with experiences without settling for just one. This tendency also explains why millennials don’t seem to be interested in making traditional purchases such as houses or cars.

But it’s not as superficial as it sounds. Subscriptions provide value for money and are pliable to an individual’s budget. It’s just good math. We can get more movies out of the cost of a DVD and more music out of the cost of an album. Entertainment aside, even big purchases such as cars, have entered the fray.

For instance, to buy a hatchback by a leading carmaker, not only do you have to make a down payment of around Rs.1.5 lakh, you also have to deal with additional costs such as EMIs, insurance and maintenance. These costs would bump up your fixed expenses to almost 25k per month.

Instead, let’s take a detour from the outright car purchase and consider ‘temporary ownership’. Car subscription services hook you up with a set of wheels that are yours for the time period of your choice. They cut out the long-term expense of purchasing a car and provide the mobility of owning one.

One such subscription platform is Zoomcar’s new service — ZAP Subscribe. The service caters to the mindset that prefers access over ownership. For under 10k per month, the subscription service allows you to get the benefits of owning a car, without the long-term commitment involved in it. The video below captures that metaphor, humorously.

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Apart from covering the maintenance cost of your car, ZAP Subscribe includes round-the-clock roadside assistance as well. You can choose 6, 12, 24, or 36 months as your subscription tenure and select from a range of hatchbacks, sedans or SUVs. Changing your mind about the car model or the duration you opted for are its other advantages. For instance, the SUV you were eyeing can be budgeted for in the same bracket as the amount you had put aside for owning your hatchback.

You can also earn money on your ZAP Subscribe car by sharing it with others. The sharing feature can save up to 70% of your subscription fee. To know more about ZAP Subscribe, visit www.zapsubscribe.com.

This article was produced by the Scroll marketing team on behalf of ZAP Subscribe and not by the Scroll editorial team.