Rent Out Your Car or Car Sharing

[scfr]

Please don't ask me all of the in's and out's of this, because I don't know the details, but I found out that a friend of DH's is taking advantage of the rental car shortage to make some money by renting out his personal vehicle (not on his own, through an agency of some sort). It's a pretty easy thing for him to do because he owns a 2nd home and car in a touristy location that he can't/won't travel to right now due to the pandemic, and his vehicle is a luxury make & model that can command a high price.

Basically, he's aware of a product shortage (cars in general and especially rental cars) and he's making some money by helping fill it.

[disneysteve]

Not a new concept. I've read about this in years past, though I'm sure with the current rental car shortage it's probably become much more popular and lucrative. If you have a spare car and live in an area where rentals are in demand, it's probably not a bad idea. I'd much rather rent out my car than my home. And if anything happens to it, insurance would take care of things.

[ua_guy]

What's the saying? Nothing goes faster than a borrowed car? lol
If you care about your vehicle and want it to remain pristine and gently driven, I wouldn't recommend signing it up for rental to others.

There's stuff that insurance doesn't cover. Like someone who just beats on the car, redlines it leaving every stoplight, lights up the tires. You're not going to undo someone smoking in the car, a cigarette burn, a spilled soda, or dog hair everywhere. Sure, you can keep a cleaning deposit, but stuff like that really eats up the value of (your personal car) car very quickly.

I've worked for car dealerships. The general public is hell on wheels. You're always going to get test pilots in rentals.

[disneysteve]

You're not going to undo someone smoking in the car

That would be the biggest one. One person smoking in the car for a day and it's pretty much trashed for good. I certainly wouldn't want it back after that.

No way I'm renting out my own vehicle but I get why some people would.

[Fishindude77]

I'm pretty anti smoking too, but saying a day of smoking in a car and it's trashed for good is a whale of an exaggeration.
Five years of smoking every day might make it difficult to get the odor out, but a days worth will just require a thorough cleaning and airing out.

I wouldn't rent my vehicle out to unknown drivers either.
It might however be reasonable to share a vehicle and associated expenses with a second party if you could both get on the same page regarding required, care, maintenance and expenses.

[scfr]

The guy who is doing this is a pretty big risk taker. He started & ran several business. Since "retiring" (turning the businesses over to his kids) he has branched out into a partnership that invests in small real estate projects, a farming investment, a couple vacation rentals, and now this little car rental thing (I doubt he'll continue when rental rates come down). He looked into bitcoin and who knows what else? I think he's just someone who always has his eyes & ears out for the next opportunity to make some money. He enjoys it.