I am fortunate to live in a community that offers peer-to-peer car rental (car sharing) on a local, day-to-day level, but it never occurred to me to carry this innovative use of resources over to the family travel arena until I came across Drive My Car Rentals, a car-sharing site dedicated to travelers. Based in Australia, Drive My Car Rentals is built on a simple principle: local car owners make their vehicles available for use to other drivers in their region or city in exchange for payment.
Now, how is this any different than renting (hiring) a car through an car rental agency? With peer-to-peer car rentals, participating car owners can generate a rental income and thus reduce their fixed costs, and renters are able to select a car from the largest range of rental cars in Australia and save up to 60% on traditional car rental cost. The DMCR online platform instantly connects car owners with drivers looking for an alternative to traditional car rental, making the process easy, friendly, and personal.
I love that registration on Drive My Car Rentals is free (with only an annual listing fee of $25 if you’re listing your car), and that owners are completely in control of their car’s rental. Since DMCR is an online community network, not a car rental company, the decision of who to rent to is up to the owners. Long term car rental is even available! DMCR is there to help facilitate, however, and can offer downloadable rental agreements and comprehensive insurance information.
I wish the U.S. offered something similar to traveling families needing a car for only a matter of hours or on non-consecutive days, as it would mean fewer rental cars on the road in general, more free parking spaces, fewer hotel parking fees, and less damage to the wallet during family travel! In the meantime, if you’re fortunate enough to travel to Australia for a family vacation, consider the convenience and cost-effectiveness of Drive My Car!
As mentioned during any review opportunity, the above post was sponsored by Drive My Car. This compensation came with no expectations of a positive review.
