Rent-a-Wreck

eoghandeegan

I don't have cash to fund a new car, but don't want to get stuck with a 10 year old car with all the problems that go with it

Anyone know of a garage that does a rent-a-wreck type deal.....say rent a 04/05 car (long term) for a set amount a week/month that would be cheaper than renting a new car (ie, paying of the depreciation and maintenance fee) and take out the hassle of me having to keep it on the road?

I know of 1 guy in meath called Danny that does it but he has say a 02 car priced for sell at approx 2k or rental of €60pw....which to me does not make econimcal sense as say 1 year rental is 1.5 times the cost of the car and service charges/tax does not cover this, especially when on a car that age the depreciation is minor and after 1 year the car can still be sold for say 80% of the 2k asking price

Any ideas anyone.....I would love to give it a try?

kirving

Well, if you look at the bangernomics thread, I'm sure you'll find something decent. In 2002 manufacturing standards were pretty high, and most cars will be reliable if looked after.

Renting is never going to be cheaper in the long term than buying the car and running it yourself as the garage would have to make a profit, and account for any problems which may occur.

kerten

What is your current car and problems with it ?

I think you just need a 10 years old car without problems assuming you mean mechanical problems not the tear and wear due to age.

I guess everyone would rent if it is feasible long term.

Just go for a simple cheap japanese make cars that will not cost too high to run.

eoghandeegan

In England and the US they do have these rent-a-wreck companies....where basically you pay the depreciation + maintenance charges + % profit.....

So the econmics of it would be say a 04 1.6 petrol Zafira (I'm in a 00 now) would cost on average 3.5k....(this is my paddy-economics based on a garage doing the rental)

Depreciation is approx 800 for the year + twice annual service charges approx 300 + tyres 100 + tax (1.6) 478 + wear and tear items of say 500 for a year - that would be approx 2178. Allow for a profit margin of approx 20% to round it up to 2650 a year.....or say 50 a week?

Now.....compared that to what your man in meath has with a 02 focus (depreciation would be very small).....he is charing 60 a week?

Say on my own zafira....purchased in August 2011 for 1600....in the last year I have paid out, including a service, 1400 euro (petrol pump, tyres, bushels, suspension for NCT....all with a garage so half of the bill is labour charges)

My car being a 00 something else is more than likely to go wrong with it....:(.....

Even another idea would be like a weekly maintenace plan to take away the expense of the big ticket items and have like a weekly payment to cover all likely expenses and servicing over the year on an old car?

but43r

eoghandeegan wrote: »

Say on my own zafira....purchased in August 2011 for 1600....in the last year I have paid out, including a service, 1400 euro (petrol pump, tyres, bushels, suspension for NCT....all with a garage so half of the bill is labour charges)

That's like saying mechanic should work for free on the car that he is renting out.

eoghandeegan wrote: »

Depreciation is approx 800 for the year + twice annual service charges approx 300 + tyres 100 + tax (1.6) 478 + wear and tear items of say 500 for a year - that would be approx 2178. Allow for a profit margin of approx 20% to round it up to 2650 a year.....or say 50 a week?

What about advertising, staff, the time when the car is not rented out (thus not making any money), any taxes that a business have to pay?

It just doesn't work that way. Any business is out there to maximize their profit and if there is demand for the vehicle at 60 euro per week why would he charge less?
Renting a car will never be cheaper than running one yourself - it just makes no sense from business point of view.

eoghandeegan

Its not saying that a mechanic works for free......its saying that a mechanic charges 40ph when the salary + ee costs is more along the lines of 25 on average for a top end mechanic

Costs therefore are reduced.

Advertising / Staff - Advertising on done deal is €3 euro a go. Staff charges, assuming its a garage, are already there.

Who said there is a demand for a car for €60 a week??

Point is not cost reduction in the long term etc etc. Point is if I can go from a 00 car with age related problems and getting caught out on large ticket items (that eat into a holiday fund etc) to a newer car (04 up) with a weekly payment plan including servicing (rental, lease or otherwise).....I would be a happy bunny and could budget more affectively.......so to my original question......does anyone know of somewhere that does it??

Sleepy

The garage would be forgoing having that mechanic working on another car at the €40ph in order to have him working on the car they're renting so the cost of his maintenance of that car is the retail price of the hour's labour rather than the nominal €25 they're actually paying him.

There's just no margin in this for a garage imho.

I know there are car leasing companies in the UK but it tends to be higher end and it's never been popular in Ireland as far as I've seen.

I did have Advance pitstop at the door offering an "all your maintenance for the year for €100" type deal lately and have certainly seen ads for extended warranties on cars, maybe something like that could cover what you need?

eoghandeegan

Thats an interesting deal from Advance pitstop?? Though I wonder what it includes?

I think you have prob hit the nail on the head @Sleepy

"Its never been popular in Ireland" - I reckon, but I stand to be argued with, that this is becuase the Irish have an weird "sense of ownership" that you don't get in europe or the US.....hence why things like this are popular and common in the US and to a lesser extent Ireland......

Look, I'm not here to argue about how much a garage earns etc....I was just giving the examples of what I would think a charge breakdown would be.....but if anyone knows of anywhere doing it let me know

Victor Meldrew

I remember renting 14 to 23 year old cars in the US for cash.

Cars were heaps and could not do long distances. but we did not need a credit card, so it was cool. Plus we got to drive old American land yachts, which is always fun..

The economics of this are terrible, especially on a long term basis.

Have you insurance issues or just cashflow?