Why are these start-ups having another go at something which has been tried before and never really took off? (See, among others, DriveMyCarRentals in Australia and Spagg in Los Angeles.) Technology now makes the act of renting a car from your neigbour a really smooth experience.
It takes WhipCar only seconds to check whether a car owner or a driver is trustworthy, because they can ping databases over the internet. The firm can also calculate insurance premiums on the fly, depending on where a car is for rent and what type it is. RelayRide installs a device that allows cars to be unlocked with a chip card, doing away with the in-person handover (something that many may dread). And more such tricks will certainly make renting a car even easier in the future. I would not be surprised to see a smart-phone app that tells you whether the cars parked in front of your house are for rent.
More important, p2p car rentals are part of a larger trend. Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers, the authors of What's Mine is Yours, call it "collaborative consumption". From their website,
From social lending (Zopa), to car sharing (Zipcar) to co-working (HubCulture), to peer-to-peer rental (Zilok), to collaborative travel (Air BnB), to neighborhood sharing schemes (WeCommune), people are already using the principles and dynamics of Collaborative Consumption— organized sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting, gifting and swapping through online and real-world communities — to get the same fulfillment and benefits of ownership with reduced personal burden and cost and as well as lower environmental impact.
But p2p car rentals also suggests that consumers could increasingly become "micro entrepreneurs" by making money on the side. Another example for this is a new iPhone app called Field Agent, which was launched the day before WhipCar went live. It shows users a list of task people or companies want to be completed. As Gadgetwise points out, however, at current prices they are hardly worth the hassle if you are not already right around the corner. Tasks such as checking the price of a product in a store or taking a picture of a product on a shelf will put you $2 ahead.So the time seems right, finally, for p2p car rentals to take off.
What do you think? Post a comment to Twitter, Facebook & Blogger.com
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Drive My Car Rentals - P2P Car Rental's
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Drive My Car Rentals - HOT4's & Performance Cars (Article)
Drive My Car Rentals - *THE GREAT IDEA*
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Drive My Car's - Dream Rates for Dream Rides!
Driving off into an exotic sunset behind the wheel of a luxury car is often the stuff of dreams - which has just become much more realistic and affordable thanks to brand new website, DriveMyCarRenatals.Com.au
Drive My Car Rentals offers holidaymakers a rental service with a difference. The innovative new site enables car owners to rent their vehicle to an approved driver when they're not using their car. As a result, Drivers now have a wide variety of car rentals to choose from and allowing car lovers to take the keys of their dream motor, whether they’re at home or away.
So if you’ve ever fancied taking to the Great Ocean Road in a classic convertible or seeing the East Coast in style in a sleek sports car Drive My Car should be your first port of call.
Turn your dream into a reality and rent a:
2008 Audi A5 coupe – $100 per day
2007 Porsche Boxster – $70 per day
2008 Hummer H3 - $50 per day
2002 Mercedes E55 - $50 per day
But, that’s not all. At DriveMyCar your car can pay for your holiday! DriveMyCar Rentals provides an easy way to off-set your car costs while you are on holiday. Giving you MORE money to spend while you are away. Owners can choose the length of time their car is available to other drivers for – whether it's a weekend, a few days during the week, a month or a year. For an annual payment of $25 the car is listed on the website with a photograph, full description and details of driver requirements. Car owners can earn as much as $2,000 per week from their vehicle.
Find out more at www.drivemycarrentals.com.au
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Drive My Car Rentals - Money Magazine (Jun 2010)
When a potential renter registers to the website, they are required to upload a full driver history provided by the RTA which defines the drivers rating (Bronze,Silver or Gold) based on their history & previous usage of the website.
All renters must sign a rental agreement & are fully covered by comprehensive insurance with Yellow Brick Road. The insurance cost is included in the advertised rental price, which is paid by the driver when the vehicle is on hire.
As a part of the rental agreement, the driver agrees to pay the excess in the event of an accident insurance claim (see: www.DriveMyCarRentals.com.au for more details). Drivers then contact the car owner directly (via SMS or e-mail notification). You (the car owner) can then check their details, contact them or meet them in person, but ultimately the car owner has entire control over the transaction.
Off-Set The Cost Of Your Car By Renting It Out Privately!
There are approx. 12 million private passenger vehicles in Australia (ABS 2010). And, according to the NRMA car costs calculator, the average car owner pays out about $260 a week on a standard family sedan (see: Holden Commodore sedan).
“After your mortgage, car ownership is the second highest financial leakage in a household,” says Daniel Noble from DriveMyCar Rentals. “A car will lose up to 40% of its value within 3 years and yet we’re quite happy to invest thousands of dollars into owning & maintaining a car. Why not try to claw back some of that cost?”
“We conducted a 12-month survey in 2009 and discovered that a single person working fulltime uses their car for an average of eight hours per week”, says Noble. “If you live within commuting distance it seems an expensive luxury to spend almost $300 a week on your car and then leave it in the garage.”
DriveMyCar Rentals allows a Car Owner to off-set the cost of car ownership by renting it out privately – whether it’s for a weekend, a month of a year. At DriveMyCar the average Car Owner would make approx. $200 p/week by renting their car. However, depending on the vehicle make, model & year – a Car Owner could earn as much as $24,000 per annum.
DriveMyCar Rentals attracts all types of Car Owners from unsuccessful car sellers, city commuters, frequent travellers, Car Owners who have lost their license or just smart money-minded entrepreneurial.
For instance, Glen a Balmain resident bought a scooter to commute to the city each day and found that his two cars (a Dodge Nitro and a Hyundai Santa Fe) were idle at home. So he leased out both for $370 each a week, one renter locking in a six month agreement worth $10,000!
For $25 a year you can join the DriveMyCar Rental Fleet, with a photo, description, location and details of driver requirements. You choose your availability period and the price is set using a rate calculator. The site requires all potential renters to upload their full RTA driver history and drivers are rated bronze, silver or gold based on their history and previous use of the site.
All renters must sign a rental agreement and are fully backed by comprehensive insurance with Yellow Brick Road. The insurance is inclusive in the advertised rental price, which is paid by the driver when the vehicle is on hire. As part of the rental agreement the driver agrees to pay the excess in the event of an accident insurance claim (see www.drivemycarrentals.com.au for details). Drivers then contact you directly by email or SMS. You can check their details call them up or meet in person, but ultimately you have final approval.
What you’ll make depends on what you drive. For example, a $50,000 car (like an Audi A4) will be rented out for about $40 a day with a profit for you of about $800 a month. The site caters to all cars – cheap to expensive.
“If you’re looking to rent one yourself, DriveMyCar Rentals offers renters over 37 car makes and rental savings of up to 65% on tradition rental costs”, says Noble, “for example, renting a Mercedes C200K with Hertz will cost you $127 a day but with DriveMyCar you’re looking at $60 – that’s a daily saving of $67,” says Noble.
Posted by Drive My Car Rentals at 6:30 PM 0 comments
Labels: car hire, Car rental, Car rental Adelaide, car rental Brisbane, car rental Melbourne, car rental Perth, Car rental Sydney, cheap car rental, discount car hire, luxury car rental