Hello All,
I am a bit surprised that this deal or service has not been listed on Ozbargain yet..(if it has then feel free to delete)
Basically you get free parking with car detailed. *The catch is your car gets rented out however, you also get a % of the rent revenue. If it does not get rented out you still get free parking and wash.
More details on their website.
I have personally used this service twice and both times I had great experience.
So not worth having randoms driving your car.
Lmao whatta ridiculous concept. I wonder what their insurance policy is.
Hi CVonc,
Steve here from Carhood. Our insurance policy is underwritten by Hollard Insurance Group - a multinational Insurance company with over $16 billion in assets underwritten. The policy covers your vehicle comprehensively & for third party damage incurred at no cost to the owner.
Generally speaking when you leave your car at a car park you indemnify the car park of all liability done to your vehicle & their is no insurance provided by them. With Carhood however, your vehicle is kept in our secure indoor warehouse when it is not out on rent and is insured against damage as well as theft.
This concept is nothing new in the sharing economy with AirBnb, Uber, Taskrabbit etc. all going gangbusters.
Except no one drives my car and puts unnecessarary wear on my tyres and engine when I park my car.
uh, you can't compare your service with Uber. if you're an Uber driver, it's you who's doing the driving and other people are the passengers.
with your service, those others can drive/thrash someone else's car
Hi Sween64,
It is actually bad for the car to sit idle for extended periods of time, for the following reasons and more:
Lubricants: If the engine stays still too long, all oil gets down to the sump. When you start the engine it effectively runs completely dry in the beginning, causing a lot of wear internally.
Oil: Due to the tendency of oil to thicken when sitting idle it can cause blockage in the pipes and valves and mechanisms, which again is not healthy for the vehicle.
Battery: Leaving a car battery idle is likely to run down the charge in the battery. Everytime a battery dies it is bad for the internal cells/plates and will cause significant wear and reduce the longevity & lifetime of the battery. Modern cars in particular have many electrical components, that even when the car is shut down, they use so much energy that can empty the battery on their own in less than a week.
Tires: Especially if the tires have not enough pressure, their shape can be deformed leading to a bumpy ride.
Have a look at the link below for further detail on the damaging effects of letting your vehicle sit idle for an extended period of time (i.e. airport parking when you travel). Cars are meant to be driven, not sit idle.
http://jerseycash4cars.com/articles/Sitting_Car_Problems.pdf
they use so much energy that can empty the battery on their own in less than a week.
No, just no. If you're going to make outrageous claims, back them up with actual facts. Before I replaced my battery recently, it was about 6 years old and on its way out, my car regularly wouldn't be driven for a week or two and not once was it flat just sitting there. This was an 07 Mazda 3, so a modern car.
All your points only somewhat apply to a car that is left for a significant length of time (ie. months). If you're going away for that long, you sure as hell wouldn't leave your car in paid parking at the airport, you'd have to remortgage your house to afford it. You'd leave your car at home and get a family member or friend to drive it every few weeks, not random people as a way to 'save' money.
If you're going to make unsubstantiated claims to try and 'sell' the concept, don't link to a 'cash for cars' website, they're about as trustworthy as the 'we buy houses, call this mobile number' that are stuck to random power poles.
@Porthos: and if the tires do become "bumpy" (!), I find that putting a bit of air in them tends to relieve the bumpiness
Im not lending my "76" 2 door corolla to ANYONE! (its tan color btw)
Ooooh tan….
I drive a lot of hire cars when travelling. Hire cars are awesome, way better than my own car. They accelerate quicker, brake harder, take speed humps without slowing down, park using touch bumpers…
Reminds me of Jeremy Clarkson driving "the fastest car in the world" in New Zealand on Top Gear.
A rental Corolla.
Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where they were renting out Kramers car from the car lot and the hookers were using it for 'mobile business'
should be voted as lamest deal ever, unless you have a 10+ year old car with dents and scratches like mine, which I doubt they'd even accept it.
am a bit surprised that this deal or service has not been listed on Ozbargain yet
Please let me know your rego.
Lol random freaks driving my car…yeah!
Because we all love and respect rental cars right?
Oh, oh! can I make up bullshit hail invisible damage or pretend I just found a six month old scratch and bill their credit card $2000 like a real car rental joint?
Not ever.
Hi KingTightarse,
Steve here from Carhood.
All vehicles undertake a meticulous check-in & check-out process including 20+ photographs & a visual condition report done to note all scratches & dents that you refer to. Should any damage be new then the renter will be accountable and the car will be repaired.
Carhood has not had one insurance claim to date & the probability of damage occurring is minimal. Should any damage occur then this is the purpose of insurance so the owner is at no loss.
Akin to Airbnb, renters treat these vehicles with respect due to the fact that it is another personals vehicle (not a corporation). It has been proven that by personalising cars that renters treat the vehicles with care, which is why other car sharing models such as goget & greensharecar name their vehicles e.g. Lyla or Blake .
1/ I was joking.
2/ There is no combination of words you can use that would make me even consider doing this. Even after checking in to Larundle and declaring myself Emperor of the Spanish moon, still unlikely to think is a good idea.
How many photos do you take of the engine and gearbox internals? Bumps & scratches are one thing, thrashing the bollocks out of a car is not so easy to detect.
Agree with the hordes, no one who values their car would use this service. However many don't & the roads are filled with junkers so I'm sure you'll make a killing, good luck with it.
What are your rental rates like? [evil eyes]
yeah i highly doubt they do a full mechanical inspection before and after, you know, of the stuff that actually matters and is more expensive to rectify than a scratch or a dent.
Thanks OP I was really struggling to get the $70 together to park my Ferrari in the airport carpark. You've just made my holidays!
With Melbourne Airport parking being the third most expensive in the world I can see why you would struggle! $60/day gives you only 1.16 days parking….OZ Bargain - I don't think so.
I just paid $48 for 6.5 days parking at Melbourne Airport.
Long term or under cover?
Doesn't sound as good as paying nothing, making money & receiving a free car wash.
I have found the Long Term there so much cheaper now, book online, you can get a couple of days for under $20.
Check your tyres next time. Probably hoons are renting it for their burnouts!
Hi DJ710, Steve here from Carhood.
Vehicles are inspected for their tyre condition every time they get checked in & checked out. Should any visible damage be done that is suspected to be caused from hoon driving including 'burnouts' then the renter is accountable for such damage, including the replacement of tires.
Interesting concept
I have car with no issues and I parked my car with carhood and went overseas. Upon return, i picked up my car and drove home. After 1-2 days i found that car got some damage. Now will carhood take responsibility of such damages? Or once i drive my car out from carhood, its my responsibility.
Hi cniminc,
Are you raising the question or has this happened to you? If this has happened to you then I suggest you contact Carhood at [email protected] and the customer service team will be more than glad to investigate the matter and help you out.
If this is a hypothetical question, then if the damage was noted upon return e.g. a dint then Carhood will organise to get this repaired for you at no cost assuming the damage was new whilst being left with Carhood. You obviously need to inform Carhood as soon as you notice the damage and an investigation will take effect.
Hi Steve, i was question as i never used carhood before. So people can report damage even after they take their car back from carhood.
Also, Honda SUV on your website does not look like 2002 model. Or picture on website is not actual.
Hi cniminc,
Yes you can report damage after the car is taken however it needs to be within a reasonable timeframe and an investigation will be conducted accordingly.
The images are for illustration purposes (similar to other car rental companies) at this point in time & a more in depth database of photos will be implemented shortly.
3 kind of fastest cars you'll ever seen on the road:
1. Stolen cars
2. Rental cars
3. Company cars
I know sharing economy is becoming the normal these days but there are some things that you just don't share with others. Underwears and girlfriend springs to mind lol.
I guess you don't own a pair of fundies then!
http://www.amazon.com/Forum-Novelties-Fundies/dp/B0087UL3SS
Hi Gorodemon,
Carhood is soon to implement carkits that will track all vehicles listed with Carhood when out on rent. These kits serve as a monitoring system & disincentivise poor driving through penalising any renters that may speed, decelerate or accelerate too quickly. Peer-to-peer carsharing is most definitely the norm in Europe & the USA and Australia will soon follow (as it does with most concepts).
You make a point about underwear though, however who knows! lol
you can do the tracking thing with undies too, just got to find a comfy way of attaching the GPS unit
Probably an easy to answer question - but how can I ensure the person renting it doesn't rack up parking or speediing or other traffic fines? I don't want to get my car then a few weeks later have a few fines hit my mailbox!
My thoughts exactly. I wouldn't want to the hassle of all the paper work and running around trying to prove that I wasn't then driver. I hardly think Steve from carhood will be putting up his hand personally for all the fines and points.
this is an easy one. It would be the same as any car rental agreement. Any speeding/parking fines issued while the car was available for rental would become liable to the renter, not the owner.
Yes they would become the liability - but as you're the registered owner of the vehicle the fines would still arrive in your letterbox and you would get the hassle of having to sort it out - and if there some sort of "administrative error" at Carhood the problem grows for you.
@braddsey: agreed - but that would only be a minor hassle in my opinion. However you have a pretty good alibi in that you are out of the country/state at the time, and have a lease/rental agreement with Carhood expressly for that time period, so I'm sure it would be nothing more than a letter or two to Police once the fine arrives. Not enough reason to not lend out your car, although I wouldn't do it personally but only because I don't want a stranger driving my Bentley.
@shmahoo: Thats exactly right shmahoo, similar to company cars where staff members may incur a speeding fine, a simple statutory declaration form is filled out by the owner addressing the matter to Carhood, subsequently thereafter the fine is then passed onto the renter. No demerit points or financial burden is imposed upon the owner. The form (on the back of the infringement) at most takes 1-2 minutes to complete.
From the minimal amount of infringements that have been issued, the car owners are more than happy to fill in a 1 minute form in light of all the benefits that Carhood offers.
Hey Carhood, you want to run a car rental business?
Here's an idea: BUY SOME CARS!
Umm yeah, (profanity) that. Rather just pay money for parking or get dropped off. So not worth having randoms driving your car.