Carhood - Park for free at airport if you rent your car out

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Carhood

• 

  hashtagbargain on 13/07/2016 - 13:47

  I've used them a couple of times, no complaints. I enjoy the fact that I'm supporting a small start up business.

  There are plenty of thread on ozb, just search for carhood.

  If i recall correctly, they are now open in Melb, syd and Brisbane.

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  inherentchoice on 13/07/2016 - 13:48

  Been using them in Brisbane. Only positive experiences from me. I live over an hour drive from the airport or 2.5 hours on a train/bus. I pay $0 or even get paid, and I come back to a nice and clean car. It's like a no-brainer.

  They're just launching now in Sydney too.

  I just hope they succeed so I don't have to start paying for parking.

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  nafe on 13/07/2016 - 14:20

  Seems interesting, I'd do it if I drove a crappy car I didn't care about.

  • 

    tomsco on 13/07/2016 - 14:27

    This is me, pity trips to the airport are with the family, hence needing to take wifey's car.

  • 

    Store RepCarhood Support @ Carhood on 13/07/2016 - 16:54

    Most of our cars are no older than five years, and we have plenty of high end vehicles such as Audi's, BMW's etc. listed on a regular basis. Your vehicle is in safe hands, do not worry. Your cars safety is our No. 1 Priority. You should see how meticulous our check-in/out process is!

    • 

      nafe on 13/07/2016 - 17:15

      +2

      End of the day, the onus is on the driver renting the car though. Do I know they aren't going to thrash my car to the redline from a cold start? Do I know they aren't going to be hammering my brakes? No. For the same reasons I wouldn't buy an ex-rental vehicle, I won't let strangers drive my car. I am sure the system works fine for people who use their car like an appliance and as a means of commuting and not much more, but for those who are more on the enthusiast side, the cons outweigh the pros IMHO.

      Note: I don't have any experience with Carhood, and if I had a car that I didn't care about others driving then I'd give it a go and see how it turned out.

      • 

        LKJ899 on 13/07/2016 - 21:04

        They said u can set ur own rental price. I wonder how it works. If I rent out a crappy car at high price, then no one would rent my car and I won't have to worry about potential damages?

      • 

        Store RepCarhood Support @ Carhood on 14/07/2016 - 17:26

        @xwon123: We will reprice if we feel necessary both upwards & downwards to ensure the car is priced at an optimal level to maximise the earnings potential.

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  LKJ899 on 13/07/2016 - 14:48

  Did you notice your car had damage or the mileage increased significantly?

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    inherentchoice on 13/07/2016 - 15:03

    Well I only used Carhood twice. Once for 4 days and once for 14 days. It was only rented for 4 days during the 14 and about 200km was added to the clock. Didn't notice any damage.

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  LKJ899 on 13/07/2016 - 15:09

  If a lot of cars park and share but no one is renting them, the owners park for free. I'm just wondering how they make money from this?

  • 

    Sweetnsour on 14/07/2016 - 23:19

    They'd price it cheaper or higher depending on how much stock they have in their yard at one time. Interesting concept.

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  [Deactivated] on 13/07/2016 - 15:41

  +2

  Just remember, the fastest car in the world is a rented one.
  http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NYt9DO5WXr8

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  Store RepCarhood Support @ Carhood on 13/07/2016 - 16:45

  Most definitely give it a go, you can see our independent reviews at Feefo http://ww2.feefo.com/en-au/reviews/carhood or on Facebook. Our customers love us, and you will too.

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  KaTst3R on 13/07/2016 - 19:30

  +3

  Somehow I think that if you have the ability to own a new-ish car and is willing to fork out the cash to park at the airport, it means you are reasonably well off to not need the extra income from Carhood. I personally feel the risk outweighs the reward in this case. The car is quite a personal thing and I dont feel comfortable with stranger driving around in my vehicle.

  And also for personal vehicle insurance. Sometime, they might have clauses that says if the vehicle is used for commercial purposes, there is no coverage. So I will be wary about this.

  • 

    affable on 14/07/2016 - 10:30

    On the car insurance point, CarHood has their own insurance to cover you while someone else is driving your car.
    I'd never use the service as a car owner, however I might rent someone else's car if the price was right.

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  MiRaNtZ on 14/07/2016 - 10:18

  Hi guys,

  I've been parking my car with Carhood since they started up as a small company based in Melbourne whenever I travel.

  Their service is great and I always highly recommend them to my friends whenever I get asked about airport parking.

  It's free if you park your car for 3 days and over. As for insurance wise, once you drop your car off, they inspect your car thoroughly and log all damages (what I always do is I point it out to them as it makes it easier). Thereafter, you sign the form thus handing the car over to them. At this point, your car's covered under Carhood's insurance, and if anything happens to your car, it's all covered under Carhood's insurance policy. So they'll drive you to the airport using your car and then park your car in their office - all the parks are indoors. Only time when it's outdoors is when they've to move cars, wash your car or when someone hires your car. You set the rate how much you want to charge - there's a rough guide on the website - so you can tell what the average pricing is.

  When you return and call them, they'll drive your car to pick you up from the airport and once back at the office, another inspection is made and you sign the forms - that's when Carhood's insurance ends. Also, when you rent a car from Carhood, you're limited to 200kms/day, any extra and you've to pay a surcharge. Petrol is paid for by the renter, so I tend to bring it in full so it's easier for the renter to bring it back full, if it does get rented out. I've had quite a few times where I went away and my car doesn't even get rented out and sits in the garage. And besides, car sharing isn't considered commercial purposes. My car's listed with Car Next Door as well, and I don't get any problems either.

  =)

  • 

    KaTst3R on 14/07/2016 - 14:11

    Are you sure car sharing isn't considered commercial purposes?

    When you car share do you receive rental income? Yes. And if you receive rental income, you are engaging in commerce. The meaning of commercial is the intention of engaging in commerce. Your insurance may not block your claim, but they can if they want to if the clause exist.

    If Carhood has insurance for the owners, then good. But if the coverage is insufficient then your fall back plan on your own insurance might be an issue.

    • 

      MiRaNtZ on 14/07/2016 - 17:14

      As with Car Next Door (since it's both part of the sharing economy), this was the response from their FAQ, which I'll copy/paste it:

      Q. Are income and expenses related to sharing my car on Car Next Door subject to income tax?

      A. In general circumstances, no. This is because for most Car Next Door owners, sharing their car does not have the characteristics of a business activity. The factors that are taken into account in working out whether you are operating a business are set out on this page on the ATO website. They include factors like whether the activity is carried on in a commercially viable manner, with the purpose and prospect of profit. For people who are sharing their car when they are not using it in order to offset some of the costs of owning it, these factors are unlikely to be present.

      More info at https://www.carnextdoor.com.au/docs/CND_Tax_Letter.pdf and https://carnextdoor.zendesk.com/hc/en-gb/articles/204824899-…

      • 

        KaTst3R on 14/07/2016 - 17:54

        Thanks for the clarification. From a tax perspective, it appears that the general circumstance is that this is not included in income tax. From the insurer's perspective, it could be dealt with differently. Dont forget, it is their job to push back claims as much as possible. Any potential claim looks like it is going to be a long battle if an event happens. I definitely support start ups and their ideas, but for my own assets (house or car), I wouldnt risk it.

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    LKJ899 on 14/07/2016 - 14:46

    How do they inspect the car thoroughly? I mean maybe a person knew the car has "hidden" issues and it wasn't noticed during the inspection. When the person pick the car up, can the person claim the issue was caused by the renter/Carhood?

    When you share your car. what is considered as roadworthy? If a car doesn't have full log book service record but it's drivable, is it still eligible to be rented out?

    • 

      Store RepCarhood Support @ Carhood on 14/07/2016 - 18:06

      We do a thorough condition report which you can check out here, this includes approx 22 detailed photos. https://www.carhood.com.au/uploads/terms/Carhood_Owner_Terms…
      We will drive the vehicle to the airport when dropping off the owner to ensure that the car is sound.
      The car needs to have a record that it has been regularly serviced.

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  DiscoJango on 01/08/2016 - 12:47

  +1

  being a "car guy" there is no chance in hell i would let random people drive my car. as mentioned above to some people a car is just to get from A to B and for those types sharing their car will not be an issue. My main concerns would be: do they even bother slowing down for speed humps? thrashing the car all the time, how and where they park it, general hygiene of the occupants etc etc

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  rickdquinn on 11/01/2018 - 13:18

  While planning to visit Fiji, we intended to share our car through Carhood Brisbane. What a disaster. Here's how it went:

  1. Sign up. No issues.

  2. A little late to drop-off due to 4 car washes being closed (despite saying they were open) and we wanted to wash the car before sharing it. As I was looking for a car wash, I send an email to the 'Emergency' contact for Carhood to let them know I'd be a few minutes late.

  So, I go to another car wash and prepare to pay $50 to have the car washed; there were a lot of workers doing a great job on all the cars.

  1. I receive an automated response saying a 'Ticket' had been created. Then, I receive another email saying I could expect a response within 24-48 hours; I'm scheduled to drop my car off at Carhood in 30 minutes. Because these emails were disorganised and useless, I call Carhood to explain that I'll be a little late.

  2. The representative at Carhood puts me on hold, engages the drop-off location and then tells me not to worry about washing the car, 'they'll take care of it.'

  3. Then, the Carhood Brisbane office…first, it's in an industrial park with ZERO building signage. I mean NONE. There was a stand-up sign on the sidewalk at the end of a cul-de-sac which said, "Carhood Stop Car and Turn Off Engine" with no human in sight. If I would have done what the sign said: stopped my car and turned the engine off, we would have sat their alone in the street until nightfall. So, we drive into driveway and to the end of a cluster of buildings and a woman comes walking out of a corporate unit, one the phone, waving me over. She's the Carhood Brisbane manager, she says.

  4. The manager tells me to park the car and that her colleague—the one who told me not to worry about washing the car—said that I called 'and left a message asking if Carhood could wash my car.' First, I did not leave a message. I spoke to a human. Second, I did not ask if Carhood could wash my car; I told Carhood I was washing my own car and was advised by this Carhood rep not to wash the car and that Carhood would do it. Carhood OFFERED TO WASH MY CAR AND ADVISED ME NOT TO WASH MY CAR. So, again, the communication is completely ridiculous, false, and very disorganized.
     Imagine how strange it would be if Carhood operated at an AIRPORT and you went to Carhood thinking the process would be seamless and easy, just before you needed to CATCH A DEPARTING FLIGHT!

  5. Then, the same woman and her colleague inspect the interior of the car and determine that 'the car is too dirty and we can't use it to rent to our customers.' It wasn't terribly dirty, although it wasn't clean. It's a daily-driver and I have three kids at home. I say, 'You said you would wash it. Wash it and vacuum it—like I was going to just pay $50 to have these things done perfectly—and then decide how you feel.' To which they say, 'No. We can't do that. There is cat hair in the car and we would need to get a SPECIALIST to vacuum the cat hair.' Problem: a cat has never been in our car. I advised that there couldn't be cat hair in the car because—although, we do have a cat who does not shed—there has never been a cat in the car. Carhood insisted. I even suggested that Carhood could park my car in its otherwise-empty lot, kill off some of the bad vibes of this terrible experience, and just not rent the car out at all (so I wouldn't have to scramble to find a last-minute alternative) and thus avoid a review on social media for their terrible business. Think of the cost of an unused parking space to the brand-damage of me simply telling the truth about what Carhood has done here. The manager was unmoved.

  6. I brought my car to Carhood and was prepared to clean it perfectly so that it could be shared. Carhood told me not to do it, that Carhood would do it. Then, even though the business is tucked away without signage, I manage to find it and get there, only to learn that Carhood said they wouldn't wash the car and that it also wouldn't rent out our car because it had cat hair in the interior, even though a cat has never been in the car. So, after an hour of (a) going to a car wash and (b) haggling back and forth with Carhood, we had to arrange our own parking. Because our flight was the next day, we did not miss our flight.

  Moral of the Story: only use Carhood Brisbane if you want to have a BAD experience. Terrible hidden location. Incompetent on-boarding process. Miscommunication. False promises. Refusal to honour even their own process. No attempts to mitigate their own failures. Etc. It was a complete disaster. I wish I could give it a negative five star rating. One star is too much credit.

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    LKJ899 on 11/01/2018 - 14:16

    Thanks for sharing your experience. It didn't sound pleasant at all!

    I didn't end up using them. There are so many private parking near Melbourne airport. It's pretty cheap when you use Groupon etc and combined with further discount. I have tried 4 different operators and all were hassle free.

    Sometimes money is not the only factor. When there are so many potential issues that may happen, it might not worth it.