Getaround

I put my car on Getaround 5 weeks ago, since I rarely drive it. So far, I’ve made over $ 300! The longest gap between rentals for my car has been 4 days and it’s been rented out almost every weekend day. I love getting the text messages telling me that my cars been rented and how much I’ll make.
The vast majority of the people who rented my car left it in perfect shape. I have had a couple people forget to fill up the tank. But Getaround’s Customer Service team has been great. I sent in the receipt and they reimbursed me for the gas + $ 10 extra for the inconvenience.
Overall, I’d definitely recommend putting your car on Getaround.
P. S. I also rented out a car on Getaround to see what it’s like from the renters perspective and it’s awesome. It’s really cool that you can unlock the car with your phone and be on your way.

This was so easy to use, and allowed me to visit my grandma in the suburbs who I haven’t seen in months, so happy with the service. Great for a quick trip and really affordable.

Move over Zipcar and all you others, there is a better, friendlier and more economical car share program in Chi-Town…its called Getaround. I have the BEST experiences with this car share program and I have only been involved for a week. Every car I have shared has been in PERFECT condition, it feels like test driving a Brand New Car each one I have used. Since I sold my car a few years ago and have only had the option of relying on Lyft or public transportation to get around I now feel so confident that when I need to go shopping, take trip out of town, or visit friends and family in the burbs there is a car right near me that I can use for such things. It makes a big difference here in the city. Thank You Getaround for making life so easy and more enjoyable. I will speak your praises every chance I get.

Here in Chicago, Getaround is the alternative to Turo, formerly Relayrides, where I had previously been both an owner and an occasional renter. There are some important differences — among them, Turo is by the day, week, or month, while Getaround is by the hour. This makes Turo a better deal in the vast majority of situations — though if you want a car for an hour or two just to run errands and there seems to be a getaround nearby, Getaround might be a better fit. Personally, this is the case with me quite often.
But unlike Turo, Getaround really doesn’t seem to care at all with making sure good renters and owners are on their site. They also have zero concern about sharing your personal information with the other person, exposing your full name, phone number, personal email to them.
And most important, which I think is the biggest problem with Getaround, is that neither renters nor owners get reviewed publicly — you can review after, but those just get sent to the company and aren’t public. Which means someone can be totally terrible over and over again and no one in the future will have any idea.
Having been on both sides, I am an awesome renter. I leave the car cleaner than when I found it (I stop to get it vacuumed before I return it), I leave the gas tank fuller than when I picked it up, and I come back early and leave the car close to the original location. Yet there is nothing on my profile saying that I’m a good renter. Past owners have marked me as a «trusted renter,» but that’s only visible to them — not new people.
I’ve had to deal with some terrible and really awesome owners, and I wish I had a clue ahead of time about what my experience would be like.
Experiences I’ve had with Getaround:
— getting a call from the police the day after a rental. Apparently the owner had been pulled over and had a ton of weed, and he told them that I must have hidden it there for later use. He gave them my name and phone number, because Getaround makes that info available to him.
— Having multiple cars not even be there when I arrive. Don’t plan your day around your getaround rental, and don’t spend time and money to get to them. For me, about 30% of time I’ve arrived to discover the car isn’t available.
— A car that is a complete and disgusting mess. This happened yesterday — I took pics of the car’s condition — crap and bills and ketchup packets and used napkins and empty soda bottles everywhere, and it smelled horrible. It was so dirty that people on the road could see what a mess it was in. I was embarrassed to go anywhere in it. Afterwards, the owner texted me and told me that he’s disgusted with the mess I left and that he’s going to get an attorney and sue me for damages. Just an asshole who wanted to manipulate the situation for some personal gain. Not sure what would have happened if I hadn’t taken time stamped pics and sent them in, but it really sucks that this person has my personal contact info. That was the worst of the car I’ve used, but in general Getaround cars are dirty.
— A car that was well below empty on gas. The gas station was six blocks away, so I decided to just drive there. But it was so low on gas that it started shaking and stalling while I drove. I rolled into the station just in time.
I’ve had good trips too. I was walking through Wicker Park once with my dog and was carrying a bunch of stuff, and saw a beautiful Audi with the Getaround label. And it allowed pets! I decided to book it instantly, hop in, and go for a sunny joyride with my dog to the beach. The car drove beautifully.
All of these owners are still on the site, despite complaints.
Getaround would be awesome if it made just a few changes. #1, more than anything, is allow both renters and owners to be reviewed. Not only does that give fair warning to people who are on the fence, but it also gives positive reinforcement to people who are great. #2 Have phone numbers disguised, like with Turo or Über. People shouldn’t be allowed to harass each other after the rental.
I understand that Getaround is struggling with getting people on both sides and so they have low standards, but they’d have a better time if people weren’t having so many bad experiences.
My advice: Getaround is great as an impulse, if there’s one nearby and it’s for something that’s not very important. Don’t plan your day around it and realize you’re taking a gamble.

I’ve been an owner that has rented my car on getaround for ~6-​months. Drivers regularly don’t fill up the gas tank, and nobody has time to go and document this multiple times a day/​week, so you’re just left on the hook to buy gas on your own…
The last renter smoked weed in the car and must of sprayed the whole car with intense air freshener. The car is no longer deliverable and you literally can’t even sit in the car without feeling sick.
Getaround’s response: they’ll pay for us to get the car cleaned (up to $ 135) and reimburse us for $ 15 for our time and headache. Seriously? A rider just trashed my car and you’re not willing to come take care of it? You were really excited to come and pickup my car initially, and now that you have my car, you’re not willing to come and help fix what your customer did to my car.

This was very fast, convenient, and easy to use service that I definitely will be frequently using.

I have been renting out my car for people to use at Getaround and have had a fantastic experience so far. You can adjust the rate you want to charge customers, however you need to be competitive based on the cars around you. Getaround has a steep commission of 40%, but it still better than the car sitting in the garage earning nothing. The people have used my car have been great. Of the 50 odd times someone has rented the car, it has been left messy only once. One of the customers was nice enough to give it a carwash and cleaned up the inside, leaving it in a better condition than what I had given it to him.
Definitely recommend if you don’t use your car much.

As a person who rarely needs a car in the city, this app is a dream come true. The app and technology made for a seamless rental experience, and I will absolutely be using Getaround as my new go-​to rental solution.
My favorite features of the app:
— Ability to extend rental time, which I ended up doing three times during my rental
— Ability to lock/​unlock car from my phone (IMPORTANT NOTE: don’t blow off your rental return time. You only have a ten minute window post-​rental to lock the car)
— Available listings are shown in a map view, which makes it much easier to see rentals in your area (I’m also biased towards map view)
I have heard that there are some downsides to renting your own car with this service, so I hope they’re able to work through the kinks so both parties are equally satisfied.
I’d highly recommend this service as a renter.

My husband and I have been renting out our car on Getaround for a few weeks now. We usually use our car once a week to visit our families out in the suburbs and for mini trips for convenience so it’s nice to earn the cash back for our monthly parking. We earn about 500 – 600 a month but it’s so much work! I feel like the customer service team are doing their best but it’s a start up and they have to make improvements. So it’s important to be patient while working with this company as a renter and have time on the phone or to email! I hope to do an update review in the near future and give them 5 instead of 4 stars!
If you are interested in renting your car out– here are some tips and points of consideration! I would read all of them too! Sorry it’s long!
–You’ll make cash but you got to put in the work. You have to pay $ 99 for Connect after a few months (Maybe you can get it waived)! And then $ 20 a month. It takes 2 – 3 days for them to install Connect on your car. So the first month will be a good way for you to make your decision.
— You log in via Facebook so I do everything with the account with the Getaround App. If my husband wants to block the car rental– he has to talk to me since he can’t do it via his phone but he can access it using my Facebook account on a desktop computer.
–Do it if you don’t rely on your car. If my husband and I used our car for work we would definitely not list the car. I got crack in the windshield by a renter– Getaround fixed it– but It’s just a lot of communication back and forth over the phone and email– but it’ll happen. They are payed me $ 25 a day while it was out for 4 days.
–Take pictures of your gas mileage and tank after each rental (I don’t always but it’s a good practice) and save conversations with your renters at least until you have seen the car after the rental. Do not have a conversation with them after you see damage or points of concern– contact Getaround immediately. You never know when you will need to show documentation. I had to for my cracked windshield, a renter who didn’t fill my gas all the way, etc. I have had over two dozen renters now and a few that rent my car a lot so I trust them. Getaround requires a lot of documentation for anything — it’s something that they need to improve on as a business.
–I would not rent the car if I had street parking. The renter can return the car a half mile away from your chosen location and it’s just too challenging then to look at it’s maintenance. Especially if the car is returned at night. Having it in a ²⁴⁄₇ public garage with camera’s makes a huge difference. Or you can block the car to be rented in the middle of the night but most of my renters have the car till 12 am and sometimes past that time.
–You have to be available A LOT if you want to take good care of your car. I try my best to always look at my car’s gas, mileage, tires, etc. Each rental can take 200k miles away. It is a little wear and tear on the car. I work part time and mostly from home and my car is nearby so it’s easy for me to keep an eye on it.
–CONNECT takes the life of your battery so I had to buy a new one. You want to make sure you have a good one. And you have to drive your car here and there to preserve the battery life.
–You have to be able to update your calendar A LOT to block times.
–You don’t get to approve your drivers. It’s an automatic rental. I have had one renter that didn’t fill my gas up and had an arrest record– but that was the only one person that I felt a little uncertain about out of 10.
Overall– you will deal with nice people while working with Getaround and they will listen to your voice of concerns if you reach out to them!

Easy to use and very speedy responses from customer service!

Hi —
Recently booked a first time rental with Getaround. Process was so easy, it was a fun app to use. It automatically unlocks and locks the car back right from your cell phone. I have to say this was more convenient and cheaper than Über! I can’t wait to use it again!
–Becca

I really love this app. I don’t own a car in Chicago, so whenever I have a big grocery trip or need to get to the suburbs on a whim (hello, IKEA), Getaround has saved me. I love the range of cars in my neighborhood, and the unlocking/​locking technology is seriously cool. It’s allowed me to have a little more freedom moving around the city at an affordable price.

I just started using Getaround in the last few months and it’s awesome. It’s like airbnb for cars. I rent cars for $ 6 or $ 7/​hr when I need to go to Costco. see my family in the suburbs and/​or take a weekend vacation. For a round trip to Costco, it only costs me $ 14-​$ 18 compared with over $ 35 on Über for the round trip.
It’s also super easy to use. Even in the last few months, they’ve been able to add more cars and cheaper cars, so I anticipate the experience getting better and better as they grow. This is a must try app.

I completely loved using Getaround. I had a guest flying in and thought it would be nice to meet them at MDW. Sign up was easy, finding the car was easy, and driving was a blast (forgot how much fun it is to get behind the wheel of an A6). Way cheaper than an über ($ 12 for 90 minutes, +$ 7 of gas). As a user, it was seamless and novel and actually pretty useful! I’ll use it again when I need to do grocery runs, airport runs, or even to head on an afternoon drive with the windows down. Keep it up.

Amazing service! I have nothing but great experiences using getaround cars through out Chicago. From grocery shopping and Ikea runs, to the occasional weekend road trip, it’s been much better than zip car.

Although in the begining I was a little skeptical of the strenght of the application and the service it provides for the leaser myself, I now understand the value the getaround generates for both the renter and the leaser. Im confident that getaround will do its best to improve its already amazing service. Of all, Im most impressed with the customer service they provide. They listen to my pain points, with utmost professionalism, and try their best to address the issues. Specifically, I was impressed with Mohammed’s ability to turn dissatification to satification through his genuine heart to help, along with offering tangible benefits that I couldnt pass by.

This is a great service more folks need to use. The pricing is great, service is even better. If you’re scared at all about the process, try it once and see how easy it is. Inevitable that the same and smart movement with housing (AirBNB) is now happening with cars. Get in early!
Flexible pricing and ease of scheduling was also really nice!

I’ve used this service twice now and it has been fantastic for short trips down to southern Illinois and Indiana.
I used to take Greyhound and Amtrak when I took trips to see family and friends because it seemed more cost-​effective. However, when you factor in having to travel to/​from the stations, hit a specific schedule, and deal with delays, does it really matter if you save a little money? After my last Greyhound trip left me stranded in Indianapolis for 17 hours, I decided it simply wasn’t worth it anymore.
So I started using Getaround, and both times have been a breeze. You book the car, unlock it with the app, and just get in and drive. For my last trip, I found a 2014 Lincoln MKZ for only $ 40 per day, which wasn’t much more than the $ 30+ Greyhound bus tickets I would often get, and was a lot more luxurious. I took a weekend trip down to Indianapolis and back for $ 80, and didn’t have to deal with the stress of public transportation.
Getaround cars are often full of handy accessories as well. Both times I’ve rented cars, they included phone chargers, tissues, and car seats. They also always smell good and are very clean. Lastly, both cars also included iPasses, so I didn’t have to stop at the toll gates.
I will continue using this service as long as the prices are reasonable and the options are many.

I am quite disappointed by Getaround and my entire experience with them
1) Connect draining car battery, leading to a premature replacement — in the last 4 years, my car has done only about 20,000 miles. While a battery’s life should last about 4 – 5 yrs, given that I barely used it, it would have lasted me another year or two, at a minimum. My frustration stems not only from Connect draining it all together and causing me to have to replace it prematurely, but also I was not told by anyone from Getaround that Connect was going to be attached to my car and that it works using my car battery. Had I known, I would have never signed up for Getaround given how minimally I use my car.
2) Due to my car battery being drained by Connect, I had to cancel plans and have road side assist /​neighbors help me jump my car over 3 – 4 times in the span of 3 days. This happened after I called Getaround and asked for someone to disconnect Connect from my car as it was draining it; and explaining the urgency of the situation. I feel like the company handled my car carelessly and without regard for the inconvenience caused to me.
3) I have asked for Getaround to delist my car and remove my Connect over 2 weeks ago; and I just got an email to schedule delist. I have called over 3 times about it, and was always told that someone would call me regarding it. No one has bothered to call me at all.
4) Reimbursement — I am yet to be paid for the car rentals in December and January and for reimbursements of gas etc. Still not sure what the status of that is.
5) Both the times I have rented my car out have resulted in bad experiences — first time, someone ran a red light and got my car a ticket. Since it is a moving violation, my insurance has escalated. Second time, the renter did not refill fuel in my car.
All in all, I have had a terrible experience.

As an owner, I was really excited about the opportunity that Getaround provided to potentially make a little money off of my car. I would NOT recommend Getaround. Here’s why:
First, the financials– Getaround will charge you $ 20.00 a month. There is a 1-​time start-​up cost of $ 100 that covers them installing equipment for GPS, etc. Then, Getaround takes 40% off of each rental. So, for a 2014 Nissan Altima, they priced it at $ 8/​hr. That means an 8 hour rental is $ 64, Getaround takes $ 25.60 and you’re left with $ 38.40. And, they only pay once a month… So you’ll be waiting a while for any fares or reimbursements
Second, the «guarantee” — Getaround will guarantee you are paid $ 5000 for the year if you can assure that your vehicle is available for rentals six weekend days out of each month. That is nearly impossible to do, so if you’re like me, don’t consider that guarantee as being a possibility.
Third, the renters– As with anything like this, including things like Airbnb, you assume some risk on your end. You figure you might end up with some missing gas, or a little bit of garbage in the cupholder, but never did I imagine the level of crap I would have to deal with from the renters. In no particular order I will list occurrences that happened in the few short months that I rented my vehicle and Getaround:
–a $ 60 parking ticket, I had to pay it (STILL awaiting reimbursement from Getaround)
–a 4:00 am phone call from a police officer who had the renter and my vehicle (which was parked illegally) pulled over at a park that was currently closed
–garbage left in the car
–smelling of food
–renters repeatedly returning the car with a low gas tank
–smoking in the car, including getting ashes everywhere
–returning the car to an area not in the described location
–returning the car to an area not legal to park
–renters consistently turning in the vehicle late and not extending their trip times
–renter who turned volume up to max before getting out of the car
Lastly, Getaround customer service– As I mentioned earlier, I’m still waiting for responses from Getaround from mid December. I requested to have my car deactivated then. Today, I just got charged for another month. I’m still waiting on reimbursement for two tanks of gas, parking ticket, and my fares.
On top of that, if you have a horrifying renter, like I have had, you have no way to block this renter in the future. Sure, you can review them, but that only goes to Getaround staff. That same hooligan can rent your car again.
The wait time to hear back from Getaround is ridiculous. We’re talking weeks. I think I’m 5 emails in and 4 weeks on my current issue with Getaround. Honestly, this is a very poorly run company.
Also, there’s no screening that occurs on the renters & there’s nothing there to protect you. The only control you have over your car is WHEN you rent it, and even that has gray area because people drop the car off late frequently.
Just don’t do it. It’s not worth it. The only one «banking» is Getaround.