There is always a new venture looking to simplify our lives and the world. We now live with endeavors such as airbnb, Uber, VRBO, where individuals can make money using their own homes or car. There is a new one that just launched in Portland called: “Flight Car.”
It is an interesting idea. You go to the airport, park in a Flight Car parking lot. Take a free shuttle to the airport and while you travel another fellow traveler can “rent” your car while you are out-of-town. Flight Car also will wash and vacuum your car before you return. Take the free shuttle back and pick it up. If your car is not rented you still receive a free car wash and vacuum. It sounds like a great idea, and in many ways is not much different from airbnb or VRBO.
Yet, why does it feel odd to me? Of course you are making money, and the longer you are away the more money you make. For me it feels different to have someone rent my car than my house. Many individuals that rent out their airbnb do not rent out their actual residence, rather depending on the city, it is an extra property, and sometimes it is only meant as income. I do not have a really good reason, but my car feels slightly more personal to me. You could have a manual car, and the individual that “rents” it has no idea how to drive manual. You do not know when you get your car back that they have basically killed your clutch. It will not show right away.
While Flight Car indicates that they have insurance up to $1M, it still just feels strange to me. Maybe because in a house you can often fix things easily or replace them. Cars are sometimes not replaceable. If you have a specific year and model of a car, it might mean that it is nearly impossible to get again. You might have the last year and model of that body style. The Flight Car “renter” wrecks your car. It would not be the same as replacing a hole in the wall in a home. I am all for fewer cars on the road and conservation, I just do not think I could rent mine out.
Would you leave your car at Flight Car while traveling?
random olio 
love the concept – truly a microbusiness or “old school” working out of your “house”
if i traveled a lot and wanted to use this service, i would buy an “airport” car – you know the type, you buy it from an autotrader magazine (found in the supermarket) for cash and you literally do nothing to it but add oil. i just looked at a 2003 Acura MDX and could get it for about $5K cash. Let’s say that we take two family trips a year and each trip’s parking will cost about $250 for 10 days (or the cost of car service). If i do this for 5 years, then i’ve saved $2,500. this means i will need it to be driven 25,000 by people for a simple break-even because I can get $0.10 per mile for this car.
i dont see people a Flight Car 5K miles per year or 2,500 miles per trip. Ergo, i am out. So, to answer your question, “No, i would not do it.”
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Interesting! Great way to look at it.
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