RelayRides - How Am I Doing? (4 Months In)

So my car has been listed on RelayRides for almost four months now.  This time, I'm going to go through how much money I've made so far on RelayRides as well as my expected expenses to give you an idea of where things stand today.  I'm also going to talk about the "new" car I bought!

My experience on RelayRides has been a mixed bag so far.  That being said, I think I'll be sticking with it for a while - I bought another car about a month ago! The reason behind this decision was that I figured I should be able to **hopefully** cover my expenses for the unused vehicle, which would allow me to keep it for a rainy day.  Why, you ask?

Well, I'm a fan of the less practical cars.  Namely, I love the little roadster convertible, the Mazda MX-5 Miata.

 Isn't this just the cutest little car? 

I actually owned one for about three years.  I didn't sell it because I was sick of it, but because I decided to try going car-less.  It was a failed experiment...heat, humidity, hills, rain, and public transportation all make me unhappy!  Thus, I made it about 6 months without a car when I bought my Mazda 3.  At that point, I decided practicality was in order.

Since then, I've gotten married and am now the step-mom to a wonderful 7-year-old little girl.  So, you can see how my cute little roadster could cause some difficulties in transportation!

This time, I decided if my RelayRides experiment went well, I would buy another Miata and rent out the Mazda3, keeping it in case I needed it.  This time, I'd get one used and cheap.

I did just that this July, buying a 2007 Mazda MX-5 Miata with about 72K miles.  And I got it cheap.  As a CPA who is constantly thinking money and savings, this made me very happy.

There was only one problem.  The convertible top was torn!  My husband, being both amazing and super mechanically inclined, solved this and spent an entire day (10+ hours) replacing my top.  This turned an $1,800 expense (the quote I got) into a $700 expense!  (How's that saying go again?  Oh, yeah.  "A dollar saved is a dollar earned.")

My little Miata has been working great since then and I've been loving every second driving it.  Almost makes my hour long commute in Atlanta traffic bearable!

Now, back to RelayRides.  For the gritty details.


How Much Have I Made?
I've only rented the car out six times so far.  Why?  

1. Until I bought the Miata, I could only rent when I was willing to bike/ride MARTA (awful public transportation of Atlanta) to work.  
2. I wasn't sure how to rent the car when I couldn't be there for pick-up or drop-off (to hand over the keys). 
3. I got married in June!
4.  One of my renters had an unfortunate "incident" (the car was hit or they hit something), which required it being out of commission for two weeks!

That being said, I have made a total of $1,387.75 in the last four months.  This includes regular rental fees, as well as mileage overages, late fees and delivery fees.  Thus, on average, I've made $231 per rental.  Adjusting out the (unusual) overage fees from my first renter, it's an average of $156.25 per rental.  

However, to fully grasp what this means, you have to look at your Net Income.

 Here's a snapshot of the expenses I anticipate each month for my car, assuming it's only used for RelayRides (i.e., no personal gas expense, etc.)

 VEHICLE EXPENSES  
Gasoline                                                            5
Insurance                                                         79
Oil Changes                                                     23
Other/Miscellaneous                                       30
TOTAL OUT OF POCKET COST       $  138

Depreciation                                                  150

TOTAL COSTS                                       $  288

A few notes about the above costs:

1. They're estimates!
2. Remember to factor in your depreciation on the car.  Cars go down in value every month.  How much it depreciates will depend on a variety of factors.  I recommend using the car depreciation calculator found at Money-Zine as a starting point. 
3. Oil changes are expensive on my car (about $70 each).  Factor these in as your renters will use a lot of miles!
4. Insurance is important.  If anything went seriously wrong, you want good insurance.  I don't want to solely rely on RelayRides.  That, and you're required to have at least the minimum level of insurance to rent through their platform.

So, bringing it full circle, looking at the definition of of Net Income (Gross Revenues less Expenses), I am currently in the black.

Gross Revenues                             $  1,387.75
Expenses ($288 * 4 months)            (1,152.00)
Net Income                                    $      235.75

Clearly, this has not been a "get rich quick" scheme for me.  But, it is paying for my car.  That, and I can write off a lot of expenses, including all the mileage driven by renters.  If you're renting or considering renting your car on RelayRides, talk to your accountant/CPA to ensure you're taking all the appropriate deductions!

Until next time - happy rides!

Recap of 1st Relay Rides Experience

As I mentioned in my original post about RelayRides, I recently decided to give RelayRides a try again, after a failed attempt a couple of years ago.  My first renter had the vehicle for a week.

So, how did it go?

Well, there were some not so minor problems.

1. Renter indicated he wanted to extend the rental period for additional days, but never did despite repeated indications he would.

Trying to figure out the plan, since the car wasn't extended, was a nightmare.  Renter did not answer the phone, texts or emails.  I was sure I would be calling the police the next morning.  I finally gave up around 12:30AM.  I left a firm and straightforward (nearly nasty) voicemail on his phone and wrote him in RelayRides to ensure I had something verifiable in the company's records.

The renter finally emailed me at 2:30AM, asking to extend the rental.  I was up at 6:45AM and told him in no uncertain terms that that would not be possible.  Respect and courtesy are absolutely paramount to using RelayRides, and he had done neither of those things.

Funny thing about this was, when I finally spoke to him that morning, he seemed confused as to why I was upset.  I think he was just trying to smooth things over, but it was too little, too late.
 
 2.   Renter returned the car late. 

Late fees with RelayRides are No Joke.  At the beginning of the rental, I told the renter (and later reminded him!) that I had a flight to catch the morning of the return...so it was important I get the car back on time.  He was late.

  
 3.  Renter returned the car with an empty tank of gas.

No, not low, just about empty - the car range said only 30 miles to empty!  He called and said he "didn't have a credit card" and "since my bank isn't open yet, I can't fill up the tank."  I caught him in the lie - obviously he has a credit card, otherwise he couldn't rent on RelayRides.  Then he changed the story to be that, of course he had a credit card, he was just waiting on a replacement.

    4.  Renter drove the car >500 miles over the mileage limit.

Mileage limits are set by the owner and can be pretty much whatever you choose.  It's clearly indicated what they are...


Something to keep in mind for anybody that wants to rent out their car or rent a car using RelayRides - Read the policies!!!  

You can access RelayRides owner guide here.  Here are the things I did and highly recommend you do on every trip (which the guide will indicate as well).

Recommendations for Owners

• Always check the renter's information.
• Get signed documentation at the beginning AND end of the rental indicating:
• Condition of car - mark any damage
• Fuel level
• Mileage
• You can find the RelayRides checklist here.
•  If you don't get signed documentation, IMMEDIATELY take pictures of the aforementioned and add it to the "trip" on RelayRides.  
• This is how you get reimbursement if the renter does not adhere to the rental agreement
• Report any damage/late charges/overages to RelayRides within 24 hours of the rental end.
• Talk to the renter about any additional charges before adding them to the trip.
• Review the renter.

Once all of that was said and done, I said I would never rent on RelayRides again.  However, I've since had a change of heart.  RelayRides was quick and courteous in dealing with all of the issues I had, and I'll be getting reimbursed for all of the overages (because I had documentation!).  After reporting the issues to RelayRides, the renter has 72 hours to dispute.  The renter did dispute.  I was asked to provide documentation, which I did, so I'm good to go!

Another perk:  RelayRides provides direct deposit every week!  You can see before you even approve a trip how much you'll get paid, and in the case of shorter trips (a week or less) you get paid within a week of the trip end. 

Here's to hoping my next renter will better!

"Car Less" or "Car Free"?

As you may have already read from my last post, I have jumped into the world of renting my car out using RelayRides on Friday, and am now without a car for the upcoming week!

So, how has it been going so far?

Well, it's certainly been an adventure.  For starters, my fiance is still getting used to the idea, and seems at times, a bit surprised and forgets I don't have a car this week.  On Sunday night I set my alarm an extra half hour earlier than usual, and when he asked why, I had to remind him that MARTA (oh, such a joy to ride!) is none too quick.

Nevertheless, I have to say I've found the experience more freeing than anything else.  The weather has been ideal this week, making my 4.5 mile bicycle ride (each way!) to the train station rather stress free.  I have a desk job, so it's fairly important that I'm not drenched in sweat when I arrive.

My commute time is longer now, that is true, but I have the pleasure of knowing I'm actually multitasking while I bike to the train station; I am getting from Point A to Point B, exercising, and reducing my impact on the environment!  Since running and fitness are always top of my mind, this is a significant benefit.  I even decided another way to look at what I'm getting paid is that I'm 1), covering the cost of owning my car each day it's rented out, and 2), I'm getting paid to exercise!

Looking at it like that may not be useful to everyone, but it has helped me, especially since I already make a good living.  I have a steady, full-time job in corporate America and don't actually need the extra money from renting my car out.

So, why do it?

The extra cash is great as is helping to preserve our environment, but neither of those is my driving motivation.  Mainly, I enjoy trying new things, escaping my comfort zone and finding new ways to make money.  Renting out my car is affording me all of those opportunities.

Renting on RelayRides and being Car Free is not new to me.  I experimented with ditching my car entirely for about 5 months a couple of years ago.

While living in Atlanta. 

If you've ever visited Atlanta, you know it's not what you would call a walker or biker's paradise and has some of the worst traffic in the country. In addition to that, according to a new report released by the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings Institution, Atlantans also have the longest commute in the country.




Still, this was possible for me for a few reasons:

1.  I lived within 2 miles of work
2.  I had a great support network - family that lived nearby that didn't mind giving me the occasional ride!
3.  I was in the middle of the city.

Still, I gave up the experiment after a few months and bought a new car.  At this point, I don't believe it's practical to live in Atlanta without a car, but going without for occasional stretches of time, now that, I can do. 

Foray into RelayRides

I made the leap of faith, so to speak, and rented my car through RelayRides for the first time today. I've been meaning to try out RelayRides for some time now. Basically, it's a service that connects people that have a spare vehicle/one that they don't need to use all the time, directly with renters. RelayRides runs each potential renters' driving record and credit before approving them and also requires certain information from the owners. Then the owner can list their car for rent at whatever price they think is appropriate. RelayRides also provides a $1M insurance policy so the owner doesn't have to worry about liability.

I thought about trying it a couple of years ago and got cold feet worrying about the renter. This time, I decided I would jump in with both feet.

Here's the link to my car listed on RelayRides.

I relisted my car a few days ago (you can deactivate/reactivate your listing as desired), and tried to set the rental price at something I knew would be enough to make it worthwhile for me. I commute about 10 miles each way to work, so going without a car is not super simple.

In Atlanta the public transportation system is called MARTA and is mediocre at best. We have a small subway system with a line that runs North-South and one going West-East. And then a bunch of bus systems.

My job is only about 1/2 a mile from one of the subway stations, but my house is a good 2-3 miles away...which is where things get a little tricky. To do this, I would have to commit to actually using my bicycle. I've been thinking about it for a while, but it's sort of scary to challenge the status quo.

So, I listed my car for an amount I thought would actually entice me to rent it out. $39/day, $175/week and $600/month. RelayRides takes a 25% cut of those amounts, so my actual "take home" amount would be $29.25/day, $131.25/week, or $450/month. My monthly costs over the last year, excluding depreciation (which wouldn't really be relevant for car sharing purposes since I would have it either way by virtue of owning a car) were as follows:

I didn't include a car payment since my car is paid off.

So, in simple terms, I would have a free car if I brought in $219/month in RelayRide rent, so I could average renting it about a week per month, at the daily rate, two weeks per month at the weekly rate or 6 months per year at the monthly rate.

As it happened, my first renter travels back and forth from California for work and needed the car for at least a week. It happened pretty quick - he put in a request yesterday morning, we talked via RelayRides and on the phone, and once the logistics were figured out, all that was left was to figure out a good meeting point this morning!

I had to drag my booty out of bed earlier than I like today to clean out the car. I was traveling for work yesterday until about 10pm, which made it impossible to prepare the car ahead of time. I made sure all my personal stuff was out, gave it a quick wash (the car wash wasn't open early enough to take it in!) and stuffed my bicycle into the car (yay for hatchbacks!) before I headed out.

The renter and I chatted for a while, I verified who he was to his driver's license, checked the car for damage and mileage levels, and then he was on his way. As far as first impressions go, he seemed nice and I feel pretty good about this rental experience. He works in the television industry and was listed on IMdB!

I'm excited about being car free for a while and expanding my horizons, while making a few bucks. Hopefully I'll have good things to report once I get the car back.

Has anybody else tried out RelayRides? You can share your impressions or experiences in a comment below.