# renting a car with your timeshare



## A.Win (Aug 26, 2014)

I think timeshares should offer the option of having a 1 week car rental with your timeshare week. It makes lots of sense, especially in locations where having a car is essential. I think the HOA should buy a few cars, then offer to rent them to people that are staying there that week. They could possibly make money this way. And the traveler could save money, assuming the rental price is a bit lower than the competition.

Does anyone thing this is a good idea? Why couldn't it work?


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## Luanne (Aug 26, 2014)

I know our timeshare works with a car rental agency.  We always have the option of renting through them.  So far we haven't.


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## LisaRex (Aug 26, 2014)

I think this might work with fractional (e.g. 1/12) ownerships.  But beyond that, there's too much that could go wrong.  

Let's say I rent a car the week I'm coming, and the driver who has it the week before me wrecks it.  Then what?  The TS company wouldn't have the inventory to make me whole, so I'm stuck renting a car at the last minute.

Who would be in charge of booking the cars?  Cleaning the cars?  Registering the cars? Licensing the cars? Last minute cancellations?  Servicing the cars? Billing drivers who wreck or dent the car? Billing drivers who don't fill up the tank?  What if an uninsured, underinsured, underage, inebriated driver gets into a wreck and hurts someone? Would the TS be liable? 

Blech.  I'd say leave the car rentals to the professionals.


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## Passepartout (Aug 26, 2014)

At many of the direct home swaps, where you trade residences, cars, pets, everything with someone else, oops, I already said it- the car gets traded too. Like: HomeExchange.com/Home-Swap or, GuesttoGuest.com or, a whole bunch of sites here: www.top20sites.com/house-swap

This said, I have no experience with any of them. Not that I wouldn't (with references), but who'd want to spend much time in Twin Falls, Idaho? We're trying to keep it a secret.

Jim


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## czar (Aug 26, 2014)

There's a fractional on St John that offers Jeep (and I think boat) packages for members. I can only imagine it's going to end in a mess.


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## pacodemountainside (Aug 27, 2014)

Bad idea!

Would probably require SA to buy.

Who would manage? How  could they possibly do cheaper than  rental car company?  

Upset owners who get no availability.

One would have to pay  cab  fare, shuttle, etc. to get to and from resort.

Enterprise will  delivery car to resort.


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## csxjohn (Aug 27, 2014)

HOAs do not exist to make money, and I'm sure this would be a losing proposition.  

With all the competition in the field now, how would a relatively small operation compete?

Many HOAs are having a hard enough time keeping the resort run properly without another hassle.

IMO a very bad idea.


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## DeniseM (Aug 27, 2014)

The big rental companies can do it better and cheaper - this would be a burden for the resort, and I would not want to support it with my MF.

I am not in favor of adding a lot of extra "for pay" services that the HOA has to manage.  The big resorts all have concierges, and they can book a car, or anything else for you, if you can't do it yourself, and the small resorts aren't staffed to handle things like this.


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## sjsharkie (Aug 27, 2014)

Bad idea.  I can't imagine an HOA ever managing a car rental fleet (small or not) at a profit better than a car rental company.

Why do you think there is so much consolidation in the car rental companies these days? (e.g. Avis/Budget, Alamo/National, Dollar/Thrifty, Hertz/Advantage)

-ryan


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## A.Win (Aug 30, 2014)

You guys raise some good points and I'm sure you're right. But I'm trying to think outside of the box. Let's take a look at the numbers.

Resort buys a $10,000 car. Resort sells it for $5,000 after a couple years and upgrades to another $10,000 car. Assuming 50 use weeks a year, Year 1 cost = $200, Year 2 cost = $0, Year 3 cost = $100, Year 4 = $0, etc. etc.

So you can see that it can be a big savings (even after considering insurance and taxes and maintenance) IF it is well managed. Because you are part owner of the timeshare and the car, you will take good care of it. You avoid the type of renter that will abuse the car. 

This might seem like a crazy idea now, but it could happen. I bet 30 years ago, people thought sites like ebay, zipcar, airbnb, and uber would never work too. We are increasingly living in a shared economy, and that requires trust in others to some extent. The idea is to trust each other and minimize the fee to the middlemen (retailers & travel agents & taxi companies).

People thought timesharing would never work. And that home exchanges and timeshare exchanges would never work. But we all know that those skeptics have been proven to be wrong.


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## Rent_Share (Aug 30, 2014)

Fleet Management is not a core competency of an HOA

 Just rented a car through Costco Travel/Avis for a week

 $ 126 All In (W/O $ 15 / Day  $ 5475 annual Rate insurance)

 How do you suppose someone get to the timeshare to pick up the car ?


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## am1 (Aug 30, 2014)

In theory it may work. If people can share a living space then why not a car?  I would think it might work better if day uses or hourly use was available.  If most people did not always want access to a car when at the timeshare.  

Also may work where mandatory insurance of $30/day or more is charged by the rental companies for basic coverage.  My insurance is about $600 for the year.  

Would be great to start it at fractionals first.

Overall it could be cheaper then using car rental companies but some would win more than others and people do not like that.  

This is all in theory though.


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## VegasBella (Aug 30, 2014)

I think an option that might work out well for everyone would be if timeshares rented a couple parking spaces to car sharing companies/organizations like ZipCar. 

That way there would be a number of benefits:
1. people who stay at the resort who wanted a rental car could have easy access to the car, 
2. the HOA could profit from the parking rental fee without taking on a cumbersome burden of managing car rentals/sharing, 
3. it would benefit the local community by reducing the need for auto ownership as well as the environmental costs therein, 
4. if used by a timeshare owner who might otherwise rent a car it wouldn't be a loss in parking space inventory,
5. it would generate an additional revenue stream from the parking inventory, thus potentially reducing MF for all owners.



Rent_Share said:


> How do you suppose someone get to the timeshare to pick up the car ?


Many timeshares offer shuttles to/from airports. 
We're all capable of using taxis, buses, trains aren't we?
Some timeshares are within walking distance of a train depot or airport.

The more I think about it, the more I like this idea. I think any way that an HOA can increase revenue with little cost/time spent, the better. Added profit means lower MF.


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## Chrispee (Aug 30, 2014)

let's not forget that in most cases a zip car or  car to go  costs more than a rental car if you use it for a day.


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## VegasBella (Aug 30, 2014)

Chrispee said:


> let's not forget that in most cases a zip car or  car to go  costs more than a rental car if you use it for a day.


Perhaps. But maybe some people don't need a whole week's worth of car rental and prefer to spend a day or two staying at the resort or within walking distance of the resort. Those people would end up paying less total even if their car rental rate is higher per day. But the per day rate may be competitive, depending on the location and desired car.


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## A.Win (Aug 31, 2014)

I love VegasBella's idea. It could realistically be implemented at several places. My idea is probably many many years away from being realistic. 

Some HOAs have free bikes and kayaks for guests to use. Why not scooters, golf carts, and eventually small cars? It will take many more years for car prices and car maintenance costs to drop. Once that happens, it would be simpler for HOAs to manage.


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## DeniseM (Aug 31, 2014)

Many large resorts to have a rental desk at their facility that they contract out.  Whether it's cars, or zip cars, this makes far more sense than adding another duty to the HOA/Mgmt.'s plate - most of them are barely doing an adequate job now, and really don't need more responsibilities to juggle.


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## csxjohn (Aug 31, 2014)

A.Win said:


> I love VegasBella's idea. It could realistically be implemented at several places. My idea is probably many many years away from being realistic.
> 
> Some HOAs have free bikes and kayaks for guests to use. Why not scooters, golf carts, and eventually small cars? It will take many more years for car prices and car maintenance costs to drop. Once that happens, it would be simpler for HOAs to manage.



OK, now I have to ask, what are you smoking??:rofl::hysterical::rofl:


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## Timeshare Von (Aug 31, 2014)

A.Win said:


> I think timeshares should offer the option of having a 1 week car rental with your timeshare week. It makes lots of sense, especially in locations where having a car is essential. I think the HOA should buy a few cars, then offer to rent them to people that are staying there that week. They could possibly make money this way. And the traveler could save money, assuming the rental price is a bit lower than the competition.
> 
> Does anyone thing this is a good idea? Why couldn't it work?



I would NEVER want my HOA/POA to buy & own cars . . . NO WAY!!!


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## Timeshare Von (Aug 31, 2014)

A.Win said:


> You guys raise some good points and I'm sure you're right. But I'm trying to think outside of the box. Let's take a look at the numbers.
> 
> Resort buys a $10,000 car. Resort sells it for $5,000 after a couple years and upgrades to another $10,000 car. Assuming 50 use weeks a year, Year 1 cost = $200, Year 2 cost = $0, Year 3 cost = $100, Year 4 = $0, etc. etc.
> 
> ...



Using some of that logic is probably going to get you in a pickle, buying MORE timeshares at retail.

And much of timeshare "works" because of a sketchy industry with a lot of people operating on the fringes making money.


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## Timeshare Von (Aug 31, 2014)

Rent_Share said:


> Fleet Management is not a core competency of an HOA



Running a timeshare has proven to not be a core competency of some HOA's as well


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