OnStar Users Could Earn $600 per Month by Voluntarily Renting Out Their Cars — Will You?
- Posted on July 17, 2012 at 3:39pm by
Liz Klimas
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Does your car just sit in your driveway? You could be making money on it if you were willing to rent it out to strangers when you don’t need it.
On Tuesday, General Motors’ OnStar began implementation of its partnership with a program that lets subscribers to the service list their car as available for rental on the “RelayRides” platform.
(Image: RelayRides)
The program allows car owners to generate revenue each month by renting out their car when they’re not using it. According to the platform company, all the potential renters are screened in advance and covered by insurance. The car owner simply has to list their vehicle; decide if they want to rent to a person requesting the car (details about this person are provided); exchange keys, checking drivers license, etc.; and receive monthly deposits from RelayRides.
If you have an OnStar-enabled vehicle and trust your renter enough, you don’t even need to physically exchange the keys with them. You can lock keys inside the car and the renter unlocks it via a smartphone app or by responding to a text message. Non-OnStar-enabled vehicles can be used as well but a physical exchange of keys happens in this instance.
Watch how the car-sharing program works:
“General Motors, through OnStar, and RelayRides have joined forces to create an entirely new mobility solution for U.S. drivers interested in more affordable, sustainable and collaborative automobile options,” Nick Pudar, vice president OnStar Strategy and New Business Development, said in a statement. “Our exclusive relationship with RelayRides provides an exciting new choice: the first automobiles to run on collaborative consumption.”
RelayRides launched in Boston in June 2010 and by March 2012 was the first service nationwide to act as a platform for key-change between renters and owners interested in car sharing.
Access to OnStar’s API (application program interface) to enable renters to unlock cars without the keys in hand is only available to RelayRides now but is expected to be open to other third-party developers later this summer.
According to RelayRides’ website, car “landlords” can earn $600 or more each month by lending out their car for these services. This is 60 percent of what the renters pay to RelayRides.
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Comments (52)
LimaBean
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 9:25pmVoluntarily rent our my car? Umm…….no.
Report Post »ONE-IFBYLAND
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 7:34pmThis has got to be one of the stupidest ideas I’ve seen since the election of Obama.
Report Post »NOT-A-MUSHROOM
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 8:29pmAnd who gets charged with the drug posession or the drive by that was committed.
Report Post »BIgWheeler
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 7:10pmWhile I support the spirit of this idea (i.e. geting money for doing nothing). There is absolutly NO way I would let a stranger rent my car. On the other hand, I’m tempted to buy a bunch of junk cars solely for the purposes of renting them out. Registration, insurance and taxes on a beater would probably be only $600 per year. Leaving me with $6600…
Report Post »Mapache
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 5:57pmLets all further water down the concept of individual private property….out of that $600/month, the government will take $200 in federal income taxes, another $100 medicare/social security taxes, plus of course the government will get their grubby fingers into your life….NO THANK YOU!
Report Post »TelepromoterNChief
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 5:33pmPremium typical white person rates may apply.
Oppressed minority rightful heir to social justice discount.
Report Post »busterpuddles
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 6:07pmUh-Oh. This minority male must not be eligible for the discount because he is considering taking part.
Must everything be race based (sigh).
Report Post »AmericanMutt
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 5:26pmYou’d have to be a fool to have OnStar in the first place – especially with GM being beholden to this administration!! God only knows what information they’re collecting…
Report Post »busterpuddles
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 6:12pmThe government has backup systems for their backup systems. If you don’t subscribe to Onstar, they’re tracking you five to ten other ways anyway. BTW, Not subscribing to OnStar doesn‘t mean they’re not tracknig you anyway, because they are…
Report Post »inexiletill2012
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 5:17pm“Drive it like you rent it ”
Report Post »Constructionist
Posted on July 18, 2012 at 2:49amExactly. ‘Collaborative consumption’ is best left to prostitutes.
Report Post »Wyatt's Torch
Posted on July 18, 2012 at 9:20amI would be a great renter cause I only would use one gear (like I do in all my rental cars)…first gear…even on the interstate…that way I won’t wear out the clutch or those other pesky higher gears
Report Post »JAMACAMECRAZYMAN
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 4:58pmI thought the ACLU was a fart in Church……………………
Report Post »Dougral Supports Israel
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 4:47pmI prefer that my property be mine exclusively. I like to own my own home, car, furniture, etc, etc, etc. I am not in tune with the concept of not owning anything.
Report Post »MEANS2RESIST
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 4:53pmObama’s GM is becoming CHINA MOTORS>>>> take alook
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lvl5Gan69Wo
Report Post »Dougral Supports Israel
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 5:19pmIts enough to make your blood boil. GM is going to be looted by the Chinese for whatever US technology they can get their hands on then get cut out of the deal when China thinks they can go on their own. China is not our friend and they only want to partner up so long as it benefits them.
Report Post »paulusmaximus
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 4:10pmWhat did you all expect from Government Motors? first it’s voluntary then you will only be a good comrade if your car is signed up!
Report Post »TelepromoterNChief
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 5:28pmI believe you are correct.
Report Post »TelepromoterNChief
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 5:58pmOnce the black boxes are in place to regulate your car not exceeding the driving limits, you can then use another car from someone who doesn’t drive it that much for the rest of the month.
It’ll cost you though…..
Yeah, this is another child molesting hate mongering Eco liberal’s wet dream right here.
Report Post »Displacedsoutherner
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 4:09pmI’m curious what my current auto insurance company would say if I told them I wanted to sign up for this hare-brained scheme. So when m MY car gets left in MY driveway with no gas, a few new dents and dings and maybe a cigarette burn or two in the seats, is it my problem to get the other guy’s insurance to pay up? My guess is, yes.
How about when Renter A hits parked car B and drives away, same question, same answer.
A word of caution: ANY plan with the word “collaborative” used to describe it means a person with nothing wants a person with something to be the primary contributor for making the project work.
If you want a cheap rental car, go online and shop around but stay out of my driveway.
Report Post »XilinxDistributors
Posted on July 25, 2012 at 12:40pmWell one thing is you might have to have the customer fill out forms like the other rental places
Report Post »http://precisionlogicinc.blogspot.com/2012/02/distributor-xilinx.html
The good news is you get to charge like $5 a gallon for gas
Individualism
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 4:07pmRenting stuff to anyone is as risky as a wall street investment or a derivative. the likelihoods of victory in the end are slim.
Report Post »TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 6:31pmSo you used that line on your Mom and Pops and they continue to let you live in the shed rent free?
Hmmmm, smart move. Bet you glom off their internet signal too you sneaky guy…
Report Post »Individualism
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 8:22pmno i used that line at your nursing home and they plan to throw your ass out of it because the tax payer base is shrinking.
Report Post »LICENSEDTOCARRY
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 4:05pmThis idea is just so ridiculous on every level.
Report Post »THX-1138
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 4:00pmWhat’s the best off-road vehicle?
A Rental.
Yeah, I’m going to rent my car to a stranger so he can get caught with a pound of weed and have the car confiscated.
Hey, wait a minute…. I think I just found a market! Is “RentMyDrugMuleCar.com” taken?
Report Post »Eaglesnest
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 4:51pmI registered that site 18 months ago, sorry.
Report Post »Angel_light
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 5:28pm“Yeah, I’m going to rent my car to a stranger so he can get caught with a pound of weed and have the car confiscated.”
that’s what I was thinking. plus good chances are the renter will have no reguard for the condition of the car and will beat to the ground. Why? because it’s not theirs; so they don’t care. people already do that with rental cars. no one wants to buy a car knowing that it was a rental for any length of time.
Report Post »Wyatt's Torch
Posted on July 18, 2012 at 9:30amYou could always leave scorchingly bad feedback about that renter on the website…while you wait for your car to be released and reassembled after it was used as a drug dog chew toy at the police impound yard. Or you could rent some other blunt skull‘s ride and go 4 wheelin’ with it to forget about your troubles. A relatively small price to pay for helping the less fortunate, comrade.
Report Post »Eaglesnest
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 3:59pmThis would immediately void your insurance policy and open up a huge can of liability worms. There would be no way to get insurance if you told them your car was “for hire”. This is a ludicrous idea. Who would want to do this anyway?
Report Post »ShyLow
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 3:59pmWon’t this take away union jobs? Not that I’m against the idea
Report Post »ShyLow
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 3:56pmHow about affordable transportation you can buy. Free THE ATV”S!!! Don’t be a nanny-state progressive. Who ever liberates the ATV‘S get’s the youth vote http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heRwEx4jmg4&feature=related How many here claim to be free market, free choice but don‘t want ATV’S on the street. You are progressives, and you are driving up the cost of transportation
Report Post »title_of_liberty
Posted on July 18, 2012 at 1:23pmThat would be AWESOME. Cheap, reliable transportation that is not any more dangerous than a motorcycle or moped, can travel both on road and off, good on gas, and enjoyable. I can‘t see any problems with it that aren’t shared by motorcycles and mopeds. I am 17 so I may be a little biased but I think this is a great idea shylow. While we are at it let’s free the dirt bikes too.
Report Post »ShyLow
Posted on July 18, 2012 at 9:13pmIf it weren’t for nanny-state progressives and crony-capitalists, the free market would have transportation affordable so people could spend their money else-where. Police drive the can-am spider that only has 3 wheels, and 3 wheel atv’s were banned a long time ago.BMW makes a street-legal quad that costs over 50 grand, but for some reason they won’t legalize the affordable ones. FREE THE ATVS!!!
Report Post »HCfHUxw90v
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 3:56pmThis is a worse idea than the Pontiac Aztec.
Report Post »TelepromoterNChief
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 5:30pmIt will take off like all the networked electric car fueling stations.
Report Post »GM must be getting hard up for cash…..again.
XilinxDistributors
Posted on July 25, 2012 at 12:42pmI have a great idea for GM since the Chevy volts catch fire. Why not build Chevy volt fire engines
Report Post »http://precisionlogicinc.blogspot.com/2012/02/distributor-xilinx.html
Then you will have the best of both worlds.
voicecheck1
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 3:55pmsounds to me like someone is lookig to listen in on a brandnew bunch of conversations.
Report Post »Lee_in_PA
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 3:53pmRent my car to a stranger? What will my insurance company say? Probably do better to let the dog drive it to the grocery. At least he would eventually come home.
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 3:51pmNot no, hell no! I’ve flown to many places and picked up rental vehicles a lot of times. And, I have seen how people treat a rental. Pretty much the way Jeff Foxworthy describes it. Sorry, couldn’t find a clip of that at You Tube.
Report Post »grudgywoof
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 3:50pmYou would have to be nuts to do this. What if you need the car on the spur of the moment and it’s gone. This is the stupidest idea ever.
Report Post »MeteoricLimbo
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 3:48pm“The car owner simply has to list their vehicle; decide if they want to rent to a person requesting the car (details about this person are provided); exchange keys, checking drivers license, etc.; and receive monthly deposits from RelayRides.” That’s gonna go over like a fart in Church with the ACLU, I can already see the lawsuits
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 3:48pmNo thank you. I enjoy actually *owning* my own personal property and not acting as a custodian of it for random strangers. If others want to do this, so bet it, but it’s not for me. I like my car clean, fresh and well handled, and there’s no guarantee that a stranger will treat it anywhere as nicely as I do.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 3:45pmSounds like a bad idea but not to worry the government can create a new department of regulation to make sure everyone’s equal and nobody gets hurt.
Report Post »djeffcoat
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 3:50pmAnd put a tax on it.
Report Post »