My wife and I have been renting out our 2011 Mazda3 via RelayRides (use this $25 first-timer credit) since December of 2014, as I work out of the house and do not need a car frequently. It has been a pretty good experience so far. We’ve met some interesting new people, the car pretty much pays for itself and we feel better about the car getting used instead of just sitting around.
We pride ourselves on providing good customer service – it’s our car, but it’s a business (read how we approach being owners). There have been a couple of times where the stress factor was turned up, and it only takes a couple of simple things from renters to make the whole process a little smoother. The most basic rule is really if you are cool with us, we will be cool with you.
- Read all the rules first
- Make sure your account is approved and verified before attempting a booking
- If you are uncertain about anything, make an inquiry (not a booking)
- Don’t be late (or early)
- Communicate!
- Don’t hide tickets or tolls
- Please be careful with our car
- Don’t worry about simple cleaning, but please don’t leave surprise messes
#1 – Read all of the rules and conditions on RelayRides and be sure you understand their fees and requirements. There are many things that we do not have control over as owners. Also make sure that your account is approved and verified to complete a booking.
#2 – If you are uncertain about your plans, make an inquiry not a booking on the site first. We get back in touch with people usually within an hour and can sort out details without the risk of needing to cancel a reservation and getting stuck with a fee.
#3 – Don’t be late! (or early) – This goes for the pickup and the drop off. Our car is very popular and we often have quick turn-around times for the next rental – sometimes only an hour. We need some time to clean it out and check all the vitals before turning it over to the next renter. Even if we don’t have another rental lined up immediately, we still schedule our day around the contract times for the rental. If you think you will be late returning the car, request an extension via the website as soon as possible. This is a great way to avoid the fees, which can be very costly via RelayRides; however, it can be hard to do at the last minute of a rental (and the car may not be available).
Also, we cannot give out the car early. RelayRides has us covered under their insurance policy, but it begins when the rental begins. It specifically states not earlier than the rental. If we let you take the car early, there is no insurance coverage. We cannot take that risk.
#4 – Communicate! Call or text us if anything goes wrong as soon as you are safe. Our second renter sent the car back to us on a flatbed wrecker – it literally got plowed in a snow storm. However, no one was hurt and the renter was in touch with us right away to keep us informed. This made a tremendous difference in getting the situation resolved quickly and easily.
#5 – Don’t hide your tickets or tolls from us. We rent our car on the internet and both of us have programming degrees. We will find out what happened and have the data to get reimbursed. RelayRides will hit offenders with the cost and a fee from RelayRides. No one has gotten away with it yet.
#6 – Be a little more careful with our car than you would a normal rental. We still drive and take care of this car and don’t have a fleet of others to fall back on. I understand that it’s going to pick up some road acne, but don’t treat it like it’s stolen.
#7 – You don’t need to wash the car before returning it, but don’t leave sticky, stained or smelly on the inside. That’s fairly gross.
The people we have rented to have been from all walks, and from all over. They’ve all been decent, and nice just like most people are. Things do happen sometimes and we understand the risk we took to rent out our car, but it’s generally fun and easy to rent our car via RelayRides.