What about interior damage ?
What about loss of Insurance no claim bonus?
I don't like the idea it has too many down sides
Behind the wheel with RelayRides
October 24, 2011 | Length: 00:03:02
Move over Zipcar, RelayRides is looking to take market share from the popular car-sharing service. And unlike Zipcar, where you rent from the company, in this case you borrow a car from a person who lives near you. SmartPlanet talks to Shelby Clark, founder of the company about his business and how it works.
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What about damage ? Scratches ?
Posted by TonyTrenton
26th Oct 2011
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Downsides?
Posted by Carl242
26th Oct 2011
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What about damage ? Scratches ?
Posted by TonyTrenton
26th Oct 2011
+1
Vote
Downsides?
While the car is being borrowed, it is under a different insurance policy, so you would not make a claim on your own insurance. RelayRides has good policies regarding damage/scratches/spilled jamba juice, etc. Read about it on their FAQ page. I've had my car in the system and so far it has been a great experience.
Posted by Carl242
26th Oct 2011
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>>Sumi Das: San Francisco resident Judy Vanzolt hasn't owned a car for eight years.
>>I sold the car and I haven't looked back. I've been making due with borrowing a friend's car.
>>Sumi Das: But recently she discovered a more reliable way to get around when she started using RelayRides, a new car sharing service.
>>It's convenient for me. I don't have to own a car. I can choose from a whole fleet of cars.
>>Sumi Das: Unlike traditional car sharing services like Zipcar where you rent from a company. In this case you borrow a car from a person who lives near you. Shelby Clark is the founder of the company.
>>Shelby Clark: We don't own any cars. Instead all the cars are owned by individuals who make them available to the neighbors who aren't using them personally so we step in and make it safe and convenient.
>>Sumi Das: If you want to rent a car you reserve the time that you want it and then pay $5 to $12 per hour for the time you want to use it. If you're the owner you set the rental price and make accessible the times you want to loan out your car. In each car there's a small black box that's used to unlock the car with a swipe of a card avoiding the need for the owner and borrower to meet to exchange keys. It also increases security.
>>Shelby Clark: The engine will mobilize in a car whenever there's not a reservation so basically because we leave the key in the car, this is very important. So, you can't just break the window and take the key and start the car. The car will not start.
>>Sumi Das: So far the company is still in startup mode. They've launched in two cities, San Francisco and Boston and currently have 3,000 members with 200 cars in their database. Katarina Rindy is a RelayRides member with a 2005 Toyota Prius; she decided to share her car because she liked the idea of doing more with less and it was a way for her to make a little extra cash.
>>I make a little over $200 a month off my car, people renting, borrowing my car and renting it from me and I still get to use my car as often as I was about three or four days a week.
>>Sumi Das: Here's how the math breaks down. The owner of the car gets 65%, RelayRides takes the other 35% which pays for gas and insurance on the car and operational expenses for the company. While critics of the new service may say that car sharing is not an easy sell for our car obsessed culture, Clark believes RelayRides is the future as people learn they don't need to own a car, just have access to one.
>>Shelby Clark: The average American car sits ideal about 92% of the time so it's one of our most valuable assets for the average American and the amount of time it's used is incredibly low. If we can make it safe and convenient for people to connect then I think society is better off.
>>Sumi Das: For SmartPlanet I'm Sumi Das.
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