Next time you need to rent a car, consider one of the alternative companies that have launched in the last few years as part of the sharing economy. It’s one idea for how to save money on car rentals.
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For example, on Turo, car owners list their vehicles to be rented by drivers. Renters browse through the cars for rent, like shopping on Amazon.com for Hot Travel Books
Typically, the renter arranges for key delivery or pickup from the owner. Here’s my personal experience:
I listed my vehicle on Turo and made about $1,300 after three months. However, that was almost exactly the increased costs for maintenance, cleaning, restocking complimentary items, all of which ultimately made it unprofitable for me as a vehicle owner; the renters got a steal. I also had a few bad experiences that seemed to increase as I decreased the daily rental price. You can adjust the price at anytime; even minute by minute if a similar vehicle to yours is going for less—or more.
In my experience with Turo, most of my renters were local residents who either didn’t own a car or needed an extra, or more reliable, one for a few days. Turo says it carries a $1 million insurance policy for each rental.
Another rental-sharing service is Getaround. It’s the same concept as Turo, except with Getaround, owners install a key box device so renters unlock it with their phone—no human interaction required to hand off the keys.
As with Turo, Getaround says it also carries a $1 million insurance policy and is currently in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Portland, Chicago, and Washington, DC.
Also consider JustShareIt for a similar concept.
The company is in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, Miami, and Portland and allows hourly rentals, than the full day, which may work better for some people.
For those looking for car rentals from an airport, check out BeeRides while overseas.
It rents vehicles parked by owners at airports while they’re traveling. Right now it has limited international locations but plans to grow.
TravelCar is doing the same thing and finally expanding to America, opening its first U.S. location in Los Angeles International Airport and soon at San Francisco and Las Vegas airports. Car owners get free airport parking regardless of whether their car is rented out while they’re gone. The European company is now in 25 countries and promises rental rates of “up to 70% less” than competitors.
In the US, Flightcar provided an airport service. But after a rocky experience for some customers, FlightCar said it had restructured but then abruptly shut down months later.
If you’re going to France, TripnDrive works on a very similar concept for airport rental/drop off. Traveling to Australia? Check out DriveMyCar or CarHood.
There are other points of view and problems can crop up. This article in USA TODAY details what can happen if a vehicle is damaged while you’re renting it. And though it is rare, owners’ vehicles have been reported stolen by the renter. In this case, the owner says he was pleased with how Turo resolved the case.
Far more people, of course, have a pleasant and hassle-free experience. My number one recommendation is to do your research and read online reviews.
ZipCar is often used by people who rent by the hour. Use this link to get $25 off your first ride. Thank you for using our referral (“affiliate”) link to support our journalism.
Our number one money-saving tip for using traditional car rentals is this: Unlike airlines, you can cancel a rental car with no penalty when you find a cheaper rate—even with the same company—as long as you did not book a pay-in-advance rate.
So search every day for a lower rate if you want, and only go with what keeps the most money in your wallet, or is the most convenient to you.
Planning to drive in a foreign country? Read up on the U.S. State Department’s Driving and Road Safety Abroad tips.
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