Should I Rent out Spare Car for Side Income Instead of Selling?

decryption on 11/07/2021 - 21:49
Last edited 12/07/2021 - 09:34 by 1 other user

I'm about to purchase a new car and my current vehicle (2017 Toyota Prius, 77,000km) will not be needed. Normally I'd sell it or trade it in, but I'm not in desperate need for the cash right now, so I'm wondering if it's worth renting out, e.g: DriveMyCar or Car Next Door.

Anyone offered their car on these services? Would they say it's worth it to squeeze some cash out? Interested to hear experiences/ideas on what to do with a relatively modern car I don't need besides selling it to earn some side income.

Automotive

Comments

  • epkh on 11/07/2021 - 21:50
    +23

    If you're going to sell the car sooner or later, isn't it a great time to sell it now considering present inflated car prices?

    • decryption on 11/07/2021 - 21:54

      It is a great time to sell - probably will be for another 6 months or so. Could earn some spare cash in the meantime?

      • garetz on 12/07/2021 - 00:08
        +8

        a car is a depreciating asset, trying to pick and choose the best time to sell is like trying to play the lottery. It could be prices plummet in the near future, and any money you make will be offset by that loss and break even.

        Take advantage of the current climate and sell, greed will cost you.

      • Drakesy on 12/07/2021 - 09:25

        I wouldn't be holding onto a car right now hoping to make money off it in the long run.
        Prices have fallen significantly (in perth at least) and will be back to pre covid prices in the next few months.

        IMHO the sooner you sell it the better.

      • Big Lenny on 12/07/2021 - 09:47
        +2

        sold my 2018 subaru XV this feb for 33k, i bought it brand new for $35k in 2018

        best to sell sooner rather than later

  • photonbuddy on 11/07/2021 - 22:04
    +7

    Have you looked into insurance changes required to do this?

    Also, given the car, maybe the resale price will be far worse if you add more kays on it because of the battery pack needing replacement sooner.

  • oscargamer on 11/07/2021 - 22:53
    +8

    Sell now.

  • JimmyF on 11/07/2021 - 23:25
    +1

    so I'm wondering if it's worth renting out, e.g: DriveMyCar or Car Next Door.

    On these platforms, its all about location, location, location…. Or the type of vehicle aka van.

    A Prius in a far away outer burb (where you live), isn't really that appealing to most people. Not a van, well thats different.

  • spackbace on 12/07/2021 - 00:30
    +5

    So let the car get trashed, or scratched/dinged/dented for the sake of a few extra bucks over 6 months…

    Yeah sounds like a great plan /s

    Sure, insurance will cover the repairs, but you'll need to deal with quotes, time off work to get it fixed, then the drop in depreciation as people spot the panel repairs…

    Or just sell it now, put the money in something to earn interest

    • Hellfire on 12/07/2021 - 08:12
      +6

      This was my experience.

      I was getting good returns but it just wasn't worth it with a newish car. There was quite a few small pieces of damage and Car Next Door wouldn't do anything about it as we couldn't pinpoint which person did the damage. Insurance was useless too because it was an excess for each incident so we would have be much worse off going that route. Things like small dents/scratches in doors, scratches to the interior, scratches/gunk in the boot.

      Also copped annoying things like the car being left with no petrol and the odd parking or speeding ticking.

  • Euphemistic on 12/07/2021 - 05:31
    +5

    These services are there to make money for the service provider, not the owner. As above unless the car is used very regularly it’ll probably not give you any meaningful cash return. If it does get used a lot you’ll be adding more kms and ‘rental car’ treatment to your low km well looked after vehicle which will cost you in final sale price.

    • netjock on 12/07/2021 - 10:28

      If people dig into the business model it is easy to make a high return on investment if all you need to invest in is an app and some insurance given people willingly bring the equipment and service it.

      It is sorry sight people who buy cars they can't afford to do Uber etc. then have the rules change on them.

      • Euphemistic on 12/07/2021 - 10:33
        +1

        Uber etc is a shocking model. Based on making people think they can make a few bucks when they aren’t smart enough to recognise it costs a lot more than a tank of petrol to keep a car running. It also outsources all the risk to the driver while Uber scrape or a large percentage for hosting an app.

        I don’t know what the rates are, but suspect the hourly rate of pay once you take out total running costs is well under the poverty line.

  • decryption on 12/07/2021 - 07:45
    +9

    After reading some of the horror stories and the lack of giving a shit from either Car Next Door or Drivemycar, not gonna bother renting it out. Not worth the headache.

  • Davo1111 on 12/07/2021 - 11:09

    sell - its a depreciating asset

  • Lunarboogie on 12/07/2021 - 12:21
    +1

    It is human nature to overestimate your own chances when approaching something like this but thinking about it subjectively, your plan had more downside risk than you ever stood to gain. I'm glad for your sake you've come to this realisation.

    More often than not, go for the bird in hand. The one in the bush is there for a reason.

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