Private Car Rentals: Drive Your Neighbour’s Porsche

Fancy an alternative way to renting that will give you access to a whole new world of choice? Hiring a car can be pretty ho-hum with the standard fare, but for Australian residents, we’re excited to share that there’s a new kid in town to spruce up the experience.

Introducing the Private Car Rentals Concept

DriveMyCar Rentals (DMCR) puts a unique spin on car hire by hooking up renters with car owners. This peer-to-peer car sharing platform attracts owners by allowing them to generate income from their cars which in turn furnishes renters with the largest, most varied selection of cars to choose from.

Whether you want to save money with an old 1990 sedan or indulge yourself with a Maserati coupe, chances are you’ll find something that suits you. It’s also an excellent place for those seeking long-term car rentals at competitive prices.

All one needs to do is register yourself as a Driver for free. You’ll be able to search by make, style, rate and suburb. The results include pictures of the cars as well as the corresponding year of production. Select your car of interest and you’ll receive a brief overview of information like the all-inclusive daily rate, minimum rental duration, minimum driver age, insurance excess and the number of kilometres on the odometer.

Pick your rental dates to get an immediate quote and if you’re happy, submit a booking. You’ll need to do this at least 48 hours in advance of your pickup time and once the owner accepts your booking, you’ll have to pay a 16.5% administrative deposit to secure it (any cancellation prior to commencement and you’ll lose your deposit so don’t book until you’re certain!) You’ll then agree with the car owner where and when you’ll meet for the handover and to sign the agreement.

How reliable are the cars? Well, DriveMyCar Rentals ensures all cars are of roadworthy condition, complete with current registration and requires all owners to sign a declaration that their cars are in good working condition. Roadside Assistance for $1/day is incorporated in the daily rate though you can opt out of it.

All cars are also insured at a compulsory cost of $10/day which is also included in the daily rate. The amount of insurance excess on the car varies (starting at $1,250 up to $7,500 or even $15,000 for serious supercars) and you’re given an option to reduce the excess by 50% for a daily fee (from $5/day to $15-25/day).

When you first register as a driver, you start out at the Bronze Driver level. If you (and you should) upload your driving history information, making you more legit and trustworthy, you’ll be upgraded to Silver Driver which in turn gives you access to a larger variety of cars, particularly premium cars. Once you’ve rented at least 2 cars over DMCR and received positive feedback from the car owners, you’ll be awarded Gold Driver rating and have full access to all vehicles on the site.

All in all, DMCR is a highly promising site that’s looking expand their presence internationally this year. A few checks reveals they indeed have very competitive rates relatively to the Big Boys of Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Thrifty. There’s still room for operational improvement like making the search function more user-friendly but they’ve certainly set themselves apart.

One of their key selling points is the fact that there’s so much choice for the renter. If you live in Australia, there’s no reason not to give the site a check the next time you want to rent and are looking for something a little different.

Link:
DriveMyCar Rentals