Author Topic: Thoughts on sharing a car with a friend  (Read 6042 times)

SeattleStache

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Thoughts on sharing a car with a friend
« on: August 18, 2015, 11:20:43 AM »
I live in a highly walkable/bikeable/transit-able area and rarely use my car (perhaps 3 times/month during the summer, a bit more often during the winter).  The reason I’m keeping it is because most of those trips involve my older dog and she can’t travel via bus or in most carshare type vehicles and services.  I anticipate selling the car when I no longer have my dog.  My car is 14 years old, has been paid off forever, and is in good shape overall.

A friend who lives nearby floated the idea of using my car as a carshare with him and his wife.  They've been car-free for years but would like to use my car for backpacking trips, trips to the homebrew shop, etc.  I like the idea of sharing resources with neighbors and am on board with that aspect of it but could use some advice about how to figure out the risks involved.  For example, what if they get in a crash and injure someone else or themselves, how would that be handled?  I want to reduce liability on myself as much as possible.  Also, I’m struggling with figuring out how much to charge.  I initially thought about charging on a per mile basis to account for the extra wear and tear on the vehicle.  Any ideas about how to account for this?

Thanks for any advice.
« Last Edit: August 18, 2015, 11:25:26 AM by SeattleStache »

Greg

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Re: Thoughts on sharing a car with a friend
« Reply #1 on: August 18, 2015, 12:18:07 PM »
It varies from state to state, in WA the car's insurance is primary, the driver's secondary.  Meaning if they had a claim, your insurance would be primary if you own the car, theirs would pick up if your insurance was insufficient to cover the claim, in WA state.

I'd ask my insurance agent about it, maybe leaving out the idea of a regular loan, and also find out if they can get their own insurance for cars they don't own.

mxt0133

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Re: Thoughts on sharing a car with a friend
« Reply #2 on: August 18, 2015, 12:43:38 PM »
I would check how much Zipcard or other car sharing programs charge and start from there. 

With regard to liability I would increase my liability limits as you will be the one responsible for damages.  You are essentially lending your car to someone, make sure you tell them not to mention that you a commercial agreement as your insurance might drop you or make the claim ineligible because you are operating a car renting business.  Consider how it would impact your insurance premiums in the future, ect.  Do you know their driving history?  However unlikely, there are some pretty big repercussions of someone getting into an accident with you vehicle.

I'd day just lend it to them from time to time in exchange non-monetary services.

robartsd

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Re: Thoughts on sharing a car with a friend
« Reply #3 on: August 18, 2015, 01:05:53 PM »
If the car was newer, I'd suggest using Relay Rides as an intermediary in the transaction. They take a cut of the money but they also take care of insurance and you may find more people who want to pay for use of your car through them. Unfortunately to list a car with them it must be a 2005 model or later with less than 100,000 miles.

frugaliknowit

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Re: Thoughts on sharing a car with a friend
« Reply #4 on: August 18, 2015, 02:01:25 PM »
I think you need to ditch your car and use car sharing and so should your friends.

Too many risks and potential problems with your idea.

SeattleStache

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Re: Thoughts on sharing a car with a friend
« Reply #5 on: August 18, 2015, 04:39:07 PM »
Thanks for the comments everyone.  I wish my car was new enough for Relay Rides as that would be ideal.  I will definitely ditch the car eventually but would prefer to keep it for now for the dog.  Their driving history is good (no at-fault accidents) and they said they would always return the car with a full tank of gas.  I like the idea of some sort of non-monetary service in exchange for the car.  It'll most likely come down to how often they are using it/how many miles they're putting on since that will affect ongoing maintenance needs and such.  Thanks again.

robartsd

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Re: Thoughts on sharing a car with a friend
« Reply #6 on: August 19, 2015, 08:57:31 AM »
Rather than increase the liability limits of your own policy, I'd look into having your friends carry Non-Owner Auto Insurance with sufficient limits to make you comfortable.

 

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