Drive My Car Rentals - Money Magazine (Jun 2010)

Eighties Pop Group Madness once famously sang "I like driving my car". Many of us do too. About 12 million of us have one (according to the Australian Bureau Of Statistics.)

According to the NRMA car cost calculator, the average car forks out roughly $260 p/w, (on a generic Holden Commodore sedan) which is hardly loose change.

After your mortgage, car ownership is the second highest financial leakage in a household," states Daniel Noble (Managing Director) Drive My Car Rentals. "We all know car is a depreciating asset, yet we're quite happy to invest thousands of dollars into something that will eventually lose us money. Why not try to claw back some of the costs?"

Why not, indeed. Let's look at ways you can make money from your car (including renting it out), using a "smart car" and "ad-wrapping" your wheels.

A single person working fulltime uses their car only about 8 hours a week, states Daniel Noble. "If you live within commuting distance it seems an expensive luxury to spend over $200 p/w on your car & just to leave it in the garage."

Drive My Car Rentals allows you to privately lease out your own car - whether it's for a weekend, a week, a month & a year - for an average of roughly $200 a week with the potential (depending on your car make) to generate $24,000 per annum of additional revenue.

This could suit everyone from commuters, those who travel frequently, people with suspended licences & business minded entrepreneurial types.

For a $25 per annum fee, you can list your car with www.DriveMyCarRentals.com.au, with a photo, description, location & details of the driver requirements. You choose the vehicles availabilty period & accept/decline offers submitted by approved drivers (with full driver history as per RTA). The rental price on the vehicle is generated by an intricate rate calculator.

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.

The price your vehicle attracts is all dependant on the drive. For example, a $50,000 car (e.g. Audi A4) would gather around $40 a day & generate a profit of $800 dollars a month. The site caters to all car types from economy to luxury, sports to 4WD, family to utility.

'If you're looking to rent a car (of any make) yourself, Drive My Car Rentals is upto 65% cheaper than the standard car rental companies'. (D. Noble, Managing Director) 'Renting a Mercedes C200 Kompressor with Hertz will cost $127 per day, whereas Drive My Car Rentals will charge a mere $60, saving $67 per day,' states D. Noble.

Ultimately, Drive My Car Rentals is a great opportunity for all consumers (car owners & car drivers) to either generate a substantial potential income or save big dollars on car rentals.

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.

*DRIVE MY CAR RENTALS SET TO BECOME AUSTRALIA'S LARGEST CAR RENTAL COMPANY*

Online car rental platform www.DriveMyCarRentals.com.au is setting its sights on becoming the largest car rental group in Australia within 12 months.
DriveMyCar Rentals (DMCR) raised over $1 million in private investment at the end of 2009 to become the first “peer-to-peer” car rental provider in the world, and is rapidly growing its fleet of rental vehicles.

“With the largest car rental range in Australia (37 car brands from Ferrari to Hyundai), the DMCR fleet can grow by as much as 77 cars per day and is able to offer savings of up to 60% on traditional car rental,” says DMCR Managing Director - Daniel Noble, “At this rate DMCR will become the largest rental fleet within 12 months. Many industry spectators believe that this type of rental model is the next generation of car rental worldwide!”.

Unlike a traditional car rental, the DMCR rental fleet is privately owned by individual car owners. The online platform directly connects car owners with drivers seeking to rent a car for a weekend, a week, a month or even a year! Car owners receive 85% of the car rental income, which they can use to reduce their cost of car ownership and/or generate a regular income. Car owners can earn as much as $1,400 per week (depending on the car make, model and year).

“The Australian car rental market is worth $3 billion, with 75% of the market controlled by four major rental operators (Avis, Thrifty, Hertz & Europe Car),” Mr Noble says. “Their sheer size and the capital costs required to build and maintain a rental fleet has prevented any real competition, until now. We can offer more choice at a price point that the majors cannot match. We receive over 500 rental bookings per week, demand in this space is very high and it has only just begun.”

Visit Us On: www.drivemycarrentals.com.au