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I've been looking into starting my own business recently - I've had my own business before a few years back in a completely different field so not new to self employment/business ownership.
Anyway - one of the things I've been looking at was a franchise for a car rental business - it looks ok and the figures stack up so it's definitely an option but it got me thinking about the fact that there aren't many places that rent out 4x4's that aren't expensive. All the 4x4's seem to be late model and as I said before, horrendously expensive (£95 a day upwards) so I just thought I'd pick the brains of the collective minds on here.
Does anyone think there is a place for somewhere that would hire out older 4x4's - everything from 5yrs old Freelanders to early Defenders and all with tow bars and also with the availability of transporter trailer hire? Obviously all vehicles would be up to a high standard of maintenance and preparation but being older then they would be cheaper to hire and vehicle dependant it wouldn't matter too much if they came back with an extra scratch or two.
As I said it was just one of these late night thoughts that was running through my mind so any comments either way would be welcome.
Thanks
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Ignosce mihi cacare necesse est
2012 Fiat Qubo
Sadly currently living a retroless life
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1 - People abuse hire cars horribly, and older 4x4's don't stand up to that sort of treatment very well.
2 - Freelanders? really? My daily runnabout is a Freelander and I completely, utterly fail to see any reason anyone would want to hire one. Low tow capacity being the main drawback. Your cars have to be useful, so the bigger landrovers and other full-size 4x4s that have high tow capacities are what you need, not soft-roaders.
3 - The place I used to work for hired out trailers of all sizes from wee luggage things up to a big tilt-bed transporter. 1 in 3 renters would bring them back with damage, ranging from minor scrapes to properly bashed about.....people generally cant tow for curse word.
4 - our rental side was not massively profitable. Lots of stock sitting around getting occasional use. This was 10 years ago though, so perhaps the flourishing of ebay and buying wrecks from the other side of the country has changed things? maybe.
5 - maintenance costs are high. Servicing and repairs have to be absolutely 101% tip top. Easy when your fleet is under 2 year old VW Golfs, but older cars naturally need more work. I have two 4x4s at the moment and each one has a wee list of work that needs done but I will leave most of it till MOT time. If they were being rented out those jobs would have to be done straight away.
6 - 4x4's give people a false sense of confidence, believing they will go anywhere. Don't be surprised when your cars end up in rivers or stuck half-way up a mountain track.
7 - do you intend to let people take them off-roading, or on road use only? how would you enforce this? Pay and Play off road days at quarries put massive - and I mean MASSIVE - wear and strain on the cars.
8 - expect a massive surge in demand at the first sign of some snow, then expect to find them all stuck in ditches within a few days as people realise that 4x4's are not the go-anywhere wonder machines they believe will let them drive at normal road speed on 6 inches of compacted snow.
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1986 Panda 4x4.
1990 Metro Sport.
1999 Ford Escort estate.
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Jul 24, 2013 23:11:27 GMT
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No. Absolutely Not. This business idea is NOT VIABLE.
In addition to all of Dave's thoughts above - have you priced up the insurance yet? I did, and for a small fleet of Honda Civic 1.4 Autos it was TWENTY THOUSAND POUNDS A YEAR. Double that for giving people 4x4s with towbars and M&S tyres.
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Jul 25, 2013 11:48:12 GMT
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Hi, most car rental insurance won't cover for towing, as per dave21478's point 3.
Colin
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Jul 25, 2013 12:39:18 GMT
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Your problem with renting out cheap 'banger' 4wds is that nobody will take care of them, as people have mentioned above. Not only that, but your business plan will almost exclusively attract a bunch of bodgers (like us) who want to hire the car for half a day on the weekend to tow something heavy. A late-model car is much more likely to be hired out on weekdays by business/tourist customers and should therefore be making money for a much greater proportion of the time.
If you let people tow with them and go off-road, then I would say your fleet's likelihood of making it through a wet weekend without damage is pretty low. Then it will become an exercise in extracting money from people for damage! Better make sure the contract is air-tight and you get everyone's credit cards in advance.
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Jul 26, 2013 16:27:15 GMT
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I'd hate to own a rental company, ive had lot's of hire car's & erm... I wouldnt want to buy an ex rental.. lol
\/ Not me btw
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Jul 26, 2013 17:53:28 GMT
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Hi, most car rental insurance won't cover for towing, as per dave21478's point 3. Colin I have to pay an extra £10 a day to cover just the additional insurance on a hired van if it has a towbar fitted. That's £70 per week , £3640 a year JUST for allowing hirer to use a vehicle for towing. Paul H |
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Jul 26, 2013 17:57:56 GMT
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What about doing sales with a guaranteed buy back price if it comes back without damage, then its up to the hirer to sort out the short term insurance etc
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Jul 27, 2013 18:36:08 GMT
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I'd hate to own a rental company, ive had lot's of hire car's & erm... I wouldnt want to buy an ex rental.. lol This^ The old joke goes: Q. What's the fastest car available? A. A hire car. Ok, bit lame, but joem83 isn't the only one. I certainly wouldn't want to be responsible for the maintenance of a fleet of hire vehicles which are constantly being taken out by people who couldn't care less about them. |
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1958 Hillman Minx
1988 Saab 900 T16
1989 Renault Trafic camper van
2003 Mazda 323F diesel
1994 Volvo 850 T5
1988 Saab 900i 4-door auto: breaking - anyone need parts?
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Jul 27, 2013 19:15:13 GMT
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Another thought is if you have anything derv they will frequently come back filled with cooking oil/ cherry/ kero/ pink parafin irrespective of the legalities or if the engine will run on it for more than a couple of hours/ you will need to charge a fuel deposit and dip it when it returns while the customer is still there.
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