How a Monthly Car Subscription in New York City Works and What It Costs

By Megan B., Marketing, Drivo Rent A Car. Updated September 23, 2026; prices checked September 21, 2026.

A Drivo car subscription is a month-to-month rental of a Toyota Corolla, Camry or RAV4 from $719 a month plus taxes and fees, with maintenance, roadside help and a replacement car included. You apply online, sign at a branch, and keep the car as long as you need it. It is built for people who need a car for a season, not a weekend.

This is what we tell people who call and ask "do you do monthly?"

Quick facts about the Drivo car subscription

What is a car subscription, and how is it different from renting by the day?

A subscription is still a rental. Same company, same counter, same keys. The difference is how long it runs and what is bundled in.

When you rent by the day, you pay a daily rate for whatever car you booked, decide at the counter whether to add damage cover, and bring the car back on the date. If you want it longer, you sign an extension before the return date.

When you subscribe, you pick one of three Toyotas, pay one amount each month, and the upkeep is part of it. Oil changes, tires and standard maintenance are ours to handle. If the car has a fault, we come to you within the local area, tow it free to the nearest service center, and put you in a similar or better car until yours is fixed. At the end of the month you keep going, pause, or hand the keys back.

It is not a lease. There is no multi-year contract, no financing check, and nothing to buy out at the end. If you do want a path to owning the car, that is a separate program called rent-to-own, with its own agreement and terms.

Which fits you, a daily rental, a month-long rental or a subscription?

People ask us for "a car for a month" and mean one of two things: a regular rental booked for 30 days, or a subscription. Both exist. Here is how they differ.

The honest way to choose: ask the branch for both prices for your dates. A regular rental for 30 days is quoted by the day and changes with the season. A subscription is a set monthly amount that includes the upkeep. If you expect to keep the car past the first month, the subscription is the one priced for that.

What does it cost, and what is included?

Three cars, three starting prices, all plus taxes and fees.

Toyota Corolla, from $719 a month. Daily errands, commuting, easy street parking.

Toyota Camry, from $749 a month. A comfortable sedan for work and family runs.

Toyota RAV4, from $849 a month. Road trips, kids, gear, snow.

In the monthly amount: standard maintenance and tires, roadside help within the local area, free towing to the nearest service center if the car cannot move, a replacement car for a technical fault, and damage protection under the program's terms. You also choose a distance plan that fits how much you drive.

On top of it: taxes and fees, fuel, and anything the plate picks up on the road. Every Drivo car is enrolled in a plate-reading toll program. Tolls are billed after the fact at the highest applicable rate, which at the MTA crossings is $12.03 for a car in 2026, plus a $9.95 administrative fee for each day tolls are recorded. Mount your own E-ZPass and keep it active and you pay your E-ZPass rate with no fee. The Manhattan congestion charge, $9 at peak and $2.25 overnight, is read by plate, so E-ZPass does not cover it, and Drivo adds a $5.00 administrative fee for each day it is charged. Parking tickets are billed back to you. The routes, tolls and crossing costs are laid out in our Coney Island driving guide.

Damage protection. Our subscription page says your damage may be fully covered under the program's insurance, with the full terms in the agreement. Read those terms at signing and ask about the deductible before you drive off. It is not the same thing as your own auto policy.

Who takes a subscription?

The people who call us about monthly cars are not tourists. These are the situations we hear most:

• The car got totaled. The insurance check is weeks away and the replacement is further. A subscription covers the gap without a 30-day rental bill that keeps resetting.
• Someone in the house cannot take the subway for a while. A broken foot, a surgery, a pregnancy in the last stretch. One car, one month at a time, until it is not needed.
• A parent is sick out of town. Weekly drives to Long Island, New Jersey or Maryland for two or three months. The RAV4 is the one people take for this.
• A job that lasts a season. A three-month contract in Jersey, a hospital rotation, a commuting stipend from an employer. Less than owning and parking a car you will not need in March.
• New to the city, new to the country. You have a license from home and no U.S. credit history. Our page says the document and insurance checks are set up for that. Bring your passport with your license; the office tells you on the confirmation call if anything else is needed.
• Delivery and courier work. A late-model car that you do not have to maintain, with a replacement if it goes down.
• A business owner who wants the cash in the business. A set monthly amount instead of a car purchase, and one invoice a month for the books.

If your situation is not on this list, call the branch and describe it. The answer is usually one of the three plans above.

How do you start, and what do you bring?

1. Apply online. Fill in the short form on the subscription page. Pick the car and the branch you want to collect from.
2. We call you. A Drivo representative calls to confirm your details, the car and the start date.
3. Sign at the branch. Come in during opening hours, read the agreement, ask your questions, sign. Bring your driver's license and the physical card you will pay with. If your license is from outside the U.S., bring your passport too.
4. Drive. The car is ready when the paperwork is done.

Plan the visit for a day the branch is open. The two Brooklyn offices run 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day; the airport branches run longer hours but are further from most Brooklyn homes.

Where do you pick up in Brooklyn?

Drivo Coney Island, 3221 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11235. At the south end of the avenue in Brighton Beach, a block from Brighton Beach Avenue. Open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. The Belt Parkway is half a mile north at exit 8, so trips to Queens, the airports and Long Island start fast. Branch page: Drivo Coney Island.

Drivo DUMBO, 106 York Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. In DUMBO beside the Manhattan Bridge approach, a short walk from the York Street F station and a few minutes on foot from the High Street A and C station, with the Manhattan Bridge and the BQE a few blocks away. Open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. The easier office to reach by subway if you are coming from Park Slope, Downtown Brooklyn or Manhattan. Branch page: Drivo DUMBO.

Subscriptions can also be collected at our airport branches: JFK at 124-10 South Conduit Avenue, LaGuardia at 2261 94th Street in East Elmhurst, and Newark inside the airport's rental car center at 132 Carson Road.

Frequently asked questions

Is a car subscription the same as a monthly or long-term car rental?

At Drivo, the monthly or long-term rental for Brooklyn residents is the subscription: one of three Toyotas at a set monthly amount with maintenance and roadside help included. You can also book any car in the fleet for 30 days at regular daily rates. Ask the branch for both prices for your dates.

Is there a minimum term, and how do I end it?

The plan runs a month at a time. The notice you give to pause or end it is set in the agreement you sign, so ask the office for the exact number of days before you sign.

Is insurance included?

Damage protection is part of the program and its terms are in the agreement. Our subscription page says your damage may be fully covered under it. Ask at signing what the deductible is and what is excluded. Optional liability cover is a separate question for the office.

Can I pay with a debit card?

Yes for a subscription: the subscription page lists all major debit and credit cards, and no cash. For a regular daily rental the rules are tighter. Debit is not accepted from local renters at the airport branches, and at the Brooklyn branches it needs two forms of government ID and a recent utility bill matching your license address.

Do I pay tolls and the congestion charge?

Yes, the same way as on any Drivo car. Tolls are read by plate and billed after the fact at the highest applicable rate plus $9.95 for each day tolls are recorded, unless your own E-ZPass captures them. The $9 congestion charge is billed by plate plus a $5.00 per-day administrative fee. Details in the Coney Island driving guide.

What happens if the car breaks down?

Call us. Within the local area we come to you. If the car cannot move, we tow it to the nearest service center at no cost, and if it is a technical fault we put you in a similar or better car until yours is back.

Can I use it for delivery work?

Yes, delivery and courier driving is one of the reasons people subscribe. Tell the office what the car is for when you apply so the mileage plan matches.

Is rent-to-own the same thing?

No. Rent-to-own is a separate long-term agreement that leads to owning the car. It has its own terms, payments and end-of-term steps. The office can walk you through both and tell you which fits.

Megan B. leads marketing for Drivo Rent A Car, a New York operator with five branches: Coney Island, DUMBO, JFK, LaGuardia and Newark. Every price in this guide was checked against the Drivo subscription page on September 21, 2026.

Sources: Drivo Rent A Car subscription page (drivo.com/subscription); Drivo Rent A Car FAQ (drivo.com/faq); Drivo Coney Island and DUMBO branch pages (drivo.com/locations/BRK, drivo.com/locations/BRKJS); MTA, Toll rates by vehicle type, effective January 4, 2026 (mta.info/tolls/vehicle-types); MTA, Congestion Relief Zone (mta.info/fares-tolls/tolls/congestion-relief-zone/about).