If you want to learn how to rent out your car for extra money, my Getaround review gives you an in-depth look at this peer-to-peer rental platform.
Have you ever thought about how little you drive your car? I was thinking about this the other day. I mean, I work from home, so I’m not really using my car to its fullest potential.
You might feel the burn of that if you have a car payment or just finished paying your car off, and that’s where Getaround comes in. It gives car owners a way to use their cars to make a little extra money.
There’s a lot to understand about Getaround before you list your car, like how much you can realistically make, how it works, where Getaround is available, and more.
What is Getaround?
Getaround is a peer-to-peer car rental marketplace where owners can rent their cars to people who need a vehicle for a couple of hours, or a day, a week, or longer. The platform was built on the idea that the average car sits unused for 22 hours a day, so why not put your car to better use?
It’s kind of like Airbnb, but for cars.
The cars rented on Getaround can be used for personal use – maybe someone is traveling and wants to try Getaround as an alternative to traditional car rental companies.
Another use is for food delivery or rideshare drivers whose personal car is out of commission. They can use Getaround to keep working and prevent any lag in their income.
Getaround isn’t the first company to do this either. There’s a growing trend of peer-to-peer renting, especially with cars. There’s Turo, which is similar to Getaround. And there’s also HyreCar, which is specifically for rideshare and food delivery drivers.
What’s really cool about this idea is that, as a renter, there’s the potential to make a decent stream of passive income. You’re not actively trading time for money. You can keep another side hustle or job going while also renting your car out. That’s pretty sweet.
How Getaround works
At the core of Getaround is something called Getaround Connect (after reading some other Getaround reviews, I learned that this used to be called the Instant). Getaround Connect is a device that provides GPS tracking, anti-theft functionality, and cellular communications.
Connect is installed on your car so renters can unlock it using the Getaround app so owners and renters don’t have to meet in person to exchange keys. The device basically disables the car’s starter when it’s not being used by a verified renter or the owner.
Car owners pay a $99 installation fee to have Connect installed, and there’s an additional $20/month subscription fee you have to pay that covers data network access. There’s a 90-day free trial, so you don’t pay any of these fees until the end of the trial period.
Your car needs to meet certain vehicle eligibility requirements before you can list your car on Getaround, including:
- Be well maintained – owners are expected to keep up with the manufacturer's maintenance schedule and may need to submit proof of it
- 2010 model year or newer
- Fewer than 125,000 miles – if your car hits this mark while you’ve listed it on Getaround you will need to immediately pull your listing and contact Getaround
- No performance or appearance alterations
- You also have to submit photos of your vehicle to show that there isn’t any prior or existing damage
If you’re interested in renting a vehicle on Getaround, there’s a screening process to ensure that only verified renters can use the site. You’ll go through a signup process and background check that’s really similar to what you’d go through if you want to drive for Instacart or Shipt or any of the rideshare companies.
The renter eligibility requirements are:
- Be at least 19 years old (drivers who are under 21 will need a clean driving record for the last three years)
- No major violations in the last three years, and no alcohol or drug-related violations in the past seven years
- No more than two violations or accidents combined in the past three years
- Must be a licensed driver for at least two years
Getaround has a comprehensive insurance policy similar to personal auto insurance. This is a $1 million policy administered by Sedgewick and covers renters through the duration of their rental period.
The policy covers any accidents that happen while the car is being rented, and there’s also a Protection Plan that covers any damage that happens to your car. If you’re interested, you can read more about their policy here.
How much do you make with Getaround?
Most cars are listed on the app for around $6-$10/hour, and Getaround takes 40% commission from each listing. The commission covers costs like insurance and roadside assistance.
To get an idea of what you can realistically make, let’s say your car is listed for $8/day and it’s rented 10 hours every week. That’s $80. When you subtract Getaround’s commission, you earn $48/week or $192/month.
However, there’s also the $20/month subscription fee for Getaround Connect, and you’ll also want to consider side hustle taxes. Most tax professionals will tell you to set aside 30% of what you earn for taxes.
So in our example, subtracting $20 for Getaround Connect and 30% for taxes brings your actual earnings from $192/month to $114/month after taxes if your car is listed for $8/hour and rented for 10 hours a week.
I think it’s important in any Getaround review to give you a realistic estimate of what you can earn, but it's a good place to remind you that this is passive income.
You can earn a little more with Getaround’s referral program. For renters, if anyone signs up to rent through your referral link you and your friend get a $20 coupon code, but if they sign up as an owner, you get a $200 credit. Owners receive a $200 bonus when someone signs up as an owner through their link.
Owners are paid via check or PayPal once a month on the 15th.
How do you decide how much to list your car for?
To determine the hourly or daily price of your car, Getaround uses a dynamic pricing model called predictive pricing. This algorithm looks at more than 20 different variables based on demand and your vehicle, including:
- Demand variables: Day of the week, time of day, month, proximity to a holiday, and trip duration
- Vehicle variables: Year/make/model, MSRP, location of your vehicle, vehicle type (SUV, convertible, etc.), vehicle class, parking type, cost of ownership
Getaround says predictive pricing is used to determine an optimal listing price. You can see the price of your listing change throughout the day, week, and month in your Getaround dashboard under Pricing. It will look something like this:
Where is Getaround available?
Getaround is available in a very limited number of cities, and those currently include:
- Atlanta, GA
- Berkeley, CA
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Denver, CO
- Los Angeles, CA
- Miami, FL
- New Jersey, NJ
- Oakland, CA
- Philadelphia, PA
- Portland, OR
- San Francisco, CA
- Seattle, WA
- Washington, D.C.
Getaround is based in San Francisco, and they’ve built out the rental system in that market significantly more than other areas. Cars are organized and listed by collection, like Teslas (rent for $15/hour), Mercedes (rent for $8/hour), or trucks ($7/hour). You can still browse by class in other markets.
How to list your car on Getaround
Representatives from Getaround handle the majority of the listing process, but you start the process here.
You’ll need to meet the vehicle eligibility requirements I listed further up in this Getaround review, and the initial form asks for basic information about your vehicle’s make, model, year, and mileage. You’ll also enter your name, email address, phone number, and zip code.
After you submit that information, someone from Getaround will contact you to finalize the listing process. This includes your car’s availability schedule, and if pets or smoking is allowed.
The representative will also set up a time to have the Getaround Connect device installed in your car.
Getaround versus its competitors
It wouldn’t be a solid Getaround review unless I mentioned some of its competitors, and there are three big ones: Turo, ZipCar, and HyreCar. Let me answer some of the most common questions about Getround’s competitors…
Which is better, Getaround vs. Turo?
Turo is more widely available than Getaround and owners keep anywhere from 65% to 90% of the rental fee. To earn on the higher end, you’ll need to add Extras, which are things like unlimited mileage, post-trip cleaning, or prepaid fuel.
On the flipside, Getaround rents to younger users and generally has lower rates. This might attract more renters.
Learn more about Turo at Rent Your Car for Cash: How Much Money Can You Make With Turo?
Is Getaround cheaper than ZipCar?
These are both alternative rental platforms, but ZipCar requires a membership while Getaround doesn’t. But the membership means the hourly and daily fees can be a little cheaper than Getaround.
ZipCar memberships are based on where you’re located. In Houston, TX (where I live), there’s a $7/month or $74/year fee.
ZipCar is also really geared towards students who are living away from home and need a rental car while away at school. It’s currently available at over 500 universities nationwide.
What about Getaround vs HyreCar?
HyreCar is only for people who are rideshare driving or delivering food. Getaround also allows personal use. HyreCar only does daily rentals with a 2-day minimum, and most vehicles list for $25-$40/day.
Learn more in HyreCar Review | How it Works for Car Owners and Renters.
What about the negative Getaround reviews?
As I was researching Getaround, I came across a number of negative Getaround reviews on sites like Yelp, Trust Pilot, and BBB. I read through a lot of those reviews, and here were some common themes:
- Getaround Connect: This is the device that’s installed on your vehicle that lets renters get in. There are reviews saying the device drained the car’s battery, and that owners and renters had problems unlocking it via the app. Getaround actually addresses that last issue here, and it’s a possible issue for anyone using the Enhanced Security feature. If you have that enabled and travel to a remote place where data coverage is weak, Connect may not be able to connect to the network so you can unlock your car. Getaround recommends disabling it before you travel outside of a major coverage area.
- Claim resolution: Owners have had issues with how long it takes for Getaround to process claim requests for damages and tickets.
- Customer service: Some renters and owners have complained that customer service is slow or unhelpful, but Getaround’s customer service is also very active in the review sites I listed above and actively responds to complaints.
What do you do about those Getaround reviews?
In my personal experience, you have to take negative reviews with a grain of salt. They may be completely valid, but I think that people are much more likely to report bad things than anything good.
The reality is that renting your car on a site like Getaround or anything else presents some kind of risk. You’re offering your car up to strangers and trusting a company to take care of any issues.
On the other hand, Getaround presents an easy, passive way to make extra money. You have to decide if it’s with the risk. The vast majority of people are probably going to be fine taking that risk and will benefit from that extra cash, but they’re less likely to mention it on those review sites.
So do this: if you use Getaround, either as a renter or owner, go and leave a review, whether it was good or bad.
Getaround review -- my final word
If you want to learn how to rent out your car to make money, you can realistically make $100-$200 extra per month (after commission, fees, and taxes). There’s also a 90-day trial period that allows you to test out the platform before you commit to paying for Getaround Connect.
Getaround has a trial period that gives you a chance to try things out before you make a larger financial commitment, which I like.
But here’s the real bottom-line, if you’re not interested in Getaround, there are dozens of other legit side hustles, from running Facebook ads, freelance writing, dog walking, flipping furniture, and more.
With so many options, there’s no excuse to put off earning extra money.
About Millennial Money Man
Bobby Hoyt is a former band director who paid off $40,000 of student loan debt in 18 months on his teaching salary and then left his job to run Millennial Money Man full-time. He helps other Millennials earn more through side hustles, save more through budgeting tools and apps, and pay off debt. He is a personal finance expert who has been seen on Forbes, Reuters, MarketWatch, CNBC, International Business Times, Business Insider, US News, Yahoo Finance, and many other personal finance and entrepreneurship media outlets.
