Following on last week's post about getting around using a car that you don't own, but a company does - this week's post is about getting around using a car that a random person owns. This is a variation on the 'sharing economy' although 'sharing' when I grew up, never involved exchaning currencies or even favors. It was sharing a toy or a dessert or an experience. I believe when you pay for something it should be called commerce...but I digress.

We tried out a service called RelayRides this summer. The basic premise is you rent someone else's car per hour or by day, if they're not using it. The vehicle owners set the rate and terms and potential speed racers get to bid on the various options. These cars do include fancy models of Mercedes and BMW and I even noticed two Teslas on the list. If you want to pay for a test drive or impress someone by driving a car someone else owns, this is a good option. My wife has always wanted a range rover, but the cost and maintenance meant it was not practical to own. She was able to drive one to the beach for 2 weeks in August and it was cheaper than renting a traditional SUV through Hertz or Avis and inheritly more fun and risky. 

Getaround is the other car 'sharing' service in DC and I am excited to try it out to compare it to RelayRides.

Next week, we'll end our topics on various car commuting options and discuss tips and tricks to park and valet these machines.

***Update*** as of last week. RelayRides changed their name to Turo***