Fair days, written down.

01Who owns the car

Every co-owner owns a fixed share of the car, recorded in a written co-ownership agreement. One co-owner is the lead owner: their name is on the Vehicle Registration Certificate and the insurance policy, and they run the group's bank account. When a private owner sells shares in their own car, they normally stay as lead owner. When a dealer sells every share, the buyers choose a lead owner between them.

• The lead owner holds the car for the group. They don't own more of it than their share says.
• The car can't be sold, used as security for a loan or changed in any major way without a vote.
• A share is co-ownership of a car for your own use. It is not an investment and nobody may sell it as one.

02Days and points

Each car has 120 booking points a year, split by share. A half share gets 60 points, a quarter share 30, a sixth 20. Points reset on 1 January and don't carry over, so use them.

Each day costs points depending on when it falls:

• Winter weekday, November to March: 0.5 points
• Standard day, which covers weekdays in the season and winter weekends: 1 point
• Saturday or Sunday in the driving season, April to October: 1.5 points
• Peak day: 2 points

A Friday to Sunday in May costs 4 points. A quarter share covers about seven long weekends in the season, or a week away in summer plus a few weekends.

03Peak days and bank holidays

Peak days cost the most because everyone wants them. They are:

• Every Irish bank holiday weekend: the Saturday, Sunday and Monday
• Easter, from Good Friday to Easter Monday
• St Patrick's Day and St Brigid's Day
• Every Saturday and Sunday in July and August
• Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, St Stephen's Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day

You can hold 2 bookings that include peak days more than 60 days ahead. Inside 60 days, any peak date nobody has claimed is open to whoever has points left. That stops one person booking every bank holiday in January while still filling the car on good weekends.

04Booking

• The minimum booking is 3 days. Collect from 10am on the first day, return by 7pm on the last.
• The longest booking is 7 days in the driving season and 14 days in winter. Ask the group if you want longer for a tour.
• Book up to a year ahead, with at least 2 days' notice.
• Cancel 14 days or more before the start and every point comes back. Any later and you lose 50% of the points for that booking.
• Bookings are first come, first served within these rules. The calendar won't accept one that breaks them.
• The lead owner can block dates for servicing and repairs. Those blocks override bookings.

05Fuel

You pay for your own fuel. Return the car with at least as much as you collected it with, and never less than a quarter of a tank, so the next person isn't hunting for a petrol station on the way out.

• Use the fuel the car is set up for. Older cars may need super unleaded or an additive: it's on the listing and in the car's handbook.
• Log the fuel level and mileage at the start and end of every booking in the calendar.
• Short on fuel at return: you owe the next co-owner the cost of filling it to where it should have been, plus €20 for the trouble.

06Mileage

Classic insurance policies in Ireland usually cap annual mileage, often somewhere between 3,000 and 8,000 km. The car's cap is split by share: on a 4,000 km policy, a quarter share gets 1,000 km a year.

• Go over your allowance and you pay €0.40 per extra km into the running-costs fund.
• If the group regularly runs out of miles, raise the cap with the insurer at renewal. It usually costs less than people expect.

07The running-costs fund

Every co-owner pays a monthly contribution, by standing order, into a separate bank account run by the lead owner. It is set by share and covers:

• Insurance: one classic policy with every co-owner named
• Motor tax: the vintage rate for cars over 30 years old
• The annual service at a specialist, plus the NCT where the car still needs one
• Tyres, brakes, battery and other wear parts
• Storage and a battery conditioner
• Classic breakdown and recovery cover
• A repair reserve, usually 2% to 2.5% of the car's value a year

Typical contributions run from about €69 a month for a quarter of an MGB to €156 for a sixth of an E-Type, storage included. Our running costs calculator works it out for any car. The lead owner shares a statement with the group every quarter, and anyone can see the account on request.

08Repairs and big bills

• Routine servicing and repairs up to €750 a job: the lead owner books them and pays from the fund.
• Anything over €750: the lead owner gets a quote and the group votes. A simple majority by share decides.
• If the fund can't cover an approved bill, co-owners top it up by share within 30 days. Nobody can be asked for more than the value of a year's contributions in any 12 months without agreeing to it.
• Restoration, upgrades and changes from original need three-quarters of the shares to agree.
• Use a specialist the group trusts. Receipts and the service history stay with the car.

09Insurance and who can drive

One agreed-value classic policy, in the lead owner's name, with every co-owner named on it with their own driver number. Many classic insurers ask that named drivers are over 25, or 30, and have held a full licence for five years or more. Check with the broker before you buy a share.

• Only named drivers drive the car. No lending it to friends, however careful they are.
• No paid hire, weddings, film work or track days unless the policy covers it and the group agrees in writing. Paid use also changes the NCT rules for older cars.
• Taking the car out of the Republic of Ireland needs the insurer's cover and the group's agreement.
• Never drive after drinking. One conviction and the policy, and the group, have a problem.

10Damage, fines and accidents

• Whoever has the car pays for damage they cause, the insurance excess, fines, parking, tolls and clamping during their booking.
• If a claim pushes up the next premium, the co-owner who made it pays the increase for the next renewal.
• Report any damage or warning light in the calendar the same day, with photos. Hiding damage is the one thing groups don't forgive.
• Normal wear and tear, and things that fail on their own, are the fund's job.
• After an accident: make sure everyone is safe, call the Gardaí if anyone is hurt, take photos, and call the lead owner and the insurer.

11Handover and condition

• Collect and return the car at its home base unless the group agrees otherwise.
• At collection, walk round the car and note anything new in the calendar before you drive away. If you don't, it's assumed you did it.
• Return it clean inside, dry if you can, with the roof up, the battery conditioner connected and the keys where they live.
• Returned dirty: €50 to the fund for a valet. Late: the next co-owner's first day is on you.
• No smoking or vaping in the car. Dogs only if the group agrees, in a crate or on a cover.

12Winter and salt

Salt is what kills old cars. From November to March, check whether the roads have been gritted before you go out, and wash the underside within a day if you drove on salted roads. The group can vote to lay the car up for the winter, in which case the lead owner blocks those months for maintenance and nobody spends points on them.

13Selling your share

• Give 30 days' notice to the group.
• The other co-owners get first refusal at the agreed price: the latest agreed value of the car divided by the number of shares, unless you all agree something else.
• If nobody takes it, you can list your share on Mile Club. The group must approve the buyer, and can't refuse without a good reason, such as the insurer refusing to cover them.
• Three-quarters of the shares can vote to sell the whole car. It is sold, debts and costs are paid, and everyone gets their share of what's left.
• Your fund contributions stop once a buyer has paid you and signed the agreement. Money already in the fund stays with the car.

14Disagreements

Most disagreements are about dates or money, and the rules above settle most of them. For the rest: talk first, then put it to a vote, then mediation. Court is the last resort and rarely worth it for a car.

Mile Club makes the introduction and runs the calendar. We aren't a party to your agreement, we don't hold your money and we don't referee disputes. Groups can change any of these rules by unanimous agreement, in writing.