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Is there an online service that connects local residents that are willing to rent out their car to people looking to rent a car?

I'm familiar with such a system in The Netherlands (SnappCar), but was wondering if something similar exists in the US, especially in California.

By renting a car from a private person I hope to lower the costs compared to renting it from a regular company.

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    How do you expect the insurance to work? Quite often, that's actually the bulk of the cost... – Gagravarr Jun 19 '15 at 21:47
  • The SnappCar system I mentioned in my post took care of that when I used it, they charged a fee for that. But even with insurance, renting a vehicle through them was 75% cheaper than using a regular company. – Saaru Lindestøkke Jun 19 '15 at 21:54
  • @BartArondson 75% cheaper, as in the cost was 1/4 of what you would have paid for a normal rental? – phoog Jun 19 '15 at 22:21
  • Yes, the most recent time at least. I paid €30 for a van for a day. A comparable van would've cost me €110 using a normal rental (ok, that's 72%). Given these questions, I'm starting to get the feeling that this concept is not very widespread though... I guess my chances are slim in finding something similar in the US, but I think the questions fits travel, so I'll leave it here. – Saaru Lindestøkke Jun 20 '15 at 0:35
  • There is FlightCar (flightcar.com), which is not exactly what you're looking for, as you are still renting from the company, but you are renting private cars that people parked there. – user102008 Jun 23 '15 at 2:49
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You can certainly rent from private parties their Relay Rides is the site that allows you to do exactly that.

Insurance is something else entirely. Normally insurers in the US want to cover the driver long term 6+ months. I have been in a situation like this looking for a short term insurance for someone and I've not had much luck. Relay Rides doesn't specify if they provide insurance for the car you're renting from a 3rd party.

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  • It seems that Relay Rides does provide insurance, if I understand the article they posted correctly. – Saaru Lindestøkke Jun 21 '15 at 13:41
  • Most likely the case since insurance regulations are per state. – Karlson Jun 21 '15 at 13:43

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