The "Airbnb of Cars" -- Getaround

[kitkat]

Just wanted to share a tip for those mustachians living in the SF Bay Area, Chicago, Portland, or DC. I've been renting my car out for ~1.5 years, and have overall been "satisfied" with the service. If you're familiar with ZipCar or other short-term rental companies, this is the same idea but the cars are owned by individuals instead of the company.

Some general thoughts about Getaround that apply to Mustachians:

• Lets your car earn money while you're not using it (since you're riding your bike 95% of the time anyways!)
• Provides a resource to your neighborhood/community
• (Ideally) reduces need for car ownership by providing another alternative
• Con: Car must be 2005 or newer and <125k miles (mine is an '06 that I've had for 10 years -- got lucky there!)
• You can rent a variety of cars (including pickups), allowing ownership of more efficient vehicles

Anyone else used getaround? Have any questions? New users should check groupon, etc. for great introductory deals

**I have no affiliation with the company, other than the fact that I rent my car out with them and am generally enthused by the sharing economy**
***I do, however, have a referral link that will give you $20 credit on the service (and give me a bonus). Message me if you would like to try it out***

[ketchup]

• Con: Car must be 2005 or newer and <125k miles (mine is an '06 that I've had for 10 years -- got lucky there!)

Damn.

[Choices]

How does your insurance company handle any accidents or issues?
What happens when someone leaves your car a mess?
How much do you earn from letting others use your car?

I love the idea, just seeing if it would be worth the hassle.

[kitkat]

How does your insurance company handle any accidents or issues?
What happens when someone leaves your car a mess?
How much do you earn from letting others use your car?

I love the idea, just seeing if it would be worth the hassle.

*MY* insurance company is 0% responsible, all renter activity is covered under the company policy. There seem to have been a few issues where GA tried to not pay for something by saying they couldn't prove it happened during a rental. This seems like mostly an issue for SF street parkers who really don't know what happened to their car..

If you scroll down this page to "Owner Reimbursements" they outline the structure. Basically, you just send a picture and tell them how much you need reimbursed to clean it. They have limits ($45 or $135 if they smoke) but from what I've seen, these are negotiable. They recently added the "$15 earnings adjustment" so that if you just go vacuum out your car ($2) you still get compensated for your time/hassle.

You take home 60% of what the renter pays. Most cars rent $7-9 per hour, with daily rate = 8* hour rate. Income varies wildly based on location, car, and availability. I made average $300 a month when I was living in SF, and a bit less when I moved to Oakland. My S/O rents his new-ish Accord only on weekends along with a truck ($13 per hour) that he bought specifically to rent on the service. He makes enough to cover both cars' payments, insurance, and a little profit.

There can definitely be hassle, especially if you can't check your car regularly (can't pinpoint things on renters as easily) or just generally don't like dealing with your renters. There is a certain level of communication involved that, although not required, makes for a more pleasant renter experience and generally less issues (again, think of airbnb). I 100% recommend it as a way to offset costs for a car you already have, but I do not think it is lucrative enough to justify the hassle and risk of buying a car just for the service... (what my S/O did........)

[Fresh Bread]

Thanks for this, there is an Aussie company doing a similar thing and now I'm inspired to check it out for our car that mainly just sits on the driveway.

I just rented two spaces in our yard for storage, got to love the sharing economy.

[Bicycle_B]

Kitkat, thanks for posting this.  Your review told me exactly the things I was wondering about.

[brooklynmoney]

I have used it to go up to Sonoma several times. It's fun to rent luxury cars. I don't have a car and normally get around by subway and walking so I don't feel guilty since my transo costs are less than $200 a month.

[TheAnonOne]

Car's are hard for me to let get rented out because much of the damage is unseen. They take stops at the last minute, gun-it at every light, don't dodge pot holes as often as you would, ect,ect,ect

What you'll have is a car that needs far more repair work. So I hope your making enough to cover it...

[kitkat]

Car's are hard for me to let get rented out because much of the damage is unseen. They take stops at the last minute, gun-it at every light, don't dodge pot holes as often as you would, ect,ect,ect

What you'll have is a car that needs far more repair work. So I hope your making enough to cover it...

I'm sure that is definitely the case with certain renters. I feel as though the vast majority are just like you and me, normal, respectful people. But perhaps I am being naive :)

One of the owners actually has an Automatic device installed in his vehicle, so he is able to see where and how his renters drive (not sure how this is allowed as it seems like it would interfere with renter's privacy, but, alas...) and he was able to go after some renters for obviously using his manual car to teach others to drive stick. He had needed to replace his clutch (or something) twice in one year and was able to get getaround to pay for the second one due to the proof in the Automatic data.

[kitkat]

Kitkat, thanks for posting this.  Your review told me exactly the things I was wondering about.

I'm glad! Let me know if you'd like a referral link. I took it down from the opening post as it shows my facebook profile picture and I'd like to remain a bit anonymous if possible...

[TheAnonOne]

Car's are hard for me to let get rented out because much of the damage is unseen. They take stops at the last minute, gun-it at every light, don't dodge pot holes as often as you would, ect,ect,ect

What you'll have is a car that needs far more repair work. So I hope your making enough to cover it...

I'm sure that is definitely the case with certain renters. I feel as though the vast majority are just like you and me, normal, respectful people. But perhaps I am being naive :)

One of the owners actually has an Automatic device installed in his vehicle, so he is able to see where and how his renters drive (not sure how this is allowed as it seems like it would interfere with renter's privacy, but, alas...) and he was able to go after some renters for obviously using his manual car to teach others to drive stick. He had needed to replace his clutch (or something) twice in one year and was able to get getaround to pay for the second one due to the proof in the Automatic data.

I guess it then comes down to weighing that time, and effort in tracking that data and proving the fault is on the renter...

I applaud someone who does this, and maybe in retirement I would have the time/mental will... but for now it would be too much.

[zephyr911]

There's also Turo (http://www.turo.com/)