There are good reasons for you to feel attracted to rent out your car, it is ecologic, it can be an extra income, it can help you to pay the car (in Singapore being a car owner can be quite expensive), avoid the need of selling your car if you are abroad, etc., however doing it profitably in Singapore without the knowledge can be an issue and you can have a lot of legal problems like liability claims, fine and even jail for that, if you don’t know how to start is this increasingly common business. There are 8 key guidelines you should follow to rent your car safely and legit.
1. Make Sure You Are Doing It Legally:
In Singapore there are specific laws to rent your private car, the Land Transport Authority or LTA has the Private Car Rental Scheme, which specifically states that is only legal to rent a car registered under the name of a private individual and, with a proper insurance coverage on weekends, from Friday 7pm to the following Monday at 7am and during public holidays from 7pm on the eve of the holiday to 7am on the following working day of the public holiday, other than that can have penalties from a fine of $ 1000 to a 12 months ban and even a maximum of three months of jail. For more information consult the LTA website.
2. Research How Much You Can Charge:
The rates may vary from one vehicle to other, it is important, if you want to successfully rent your car, to know the market rates for your car so the price is fair for you and the hirer. Cars that are 5 years old or more are less likely to find renters.
3. Advertise Your Vehicle:
You can publish your car rental on the newspapers or doing it online through social media or specialized websites in classified advertising are a good option too, if you don’t want your car going too far you can also tell your friends or family who need a car that you are renting yours.
4. Talk to Your Insurer:
In order to have the coverage necessary to legally rent your car, you need to contact your insurer to have all the documents to change your policy, if you don’t you take the risk the company will not accept any renovations and, in the worst case scenario, if something happens with the car you can be facing liability claims and the insurance will not do anything because they will not have the legal responsibility to do so. Third Party is the minimum coverage needed according to the Singaporean law, Limited Protection or Comprehensive Motor Insurance, are recommended too for having a better coverage.
5. Get to Know the Hirer:
Giving your car to a stranger is not exempt from risk, if you rent by yourself make sure to meet in person the hirer, make sure it is the same person you arranged with and check if the person has age and experience to drive your car, those are the only things you can be sure about, you cannot guess the purpose of renting the car, you have to trust the person will not do anything illegal, or will take care of the car like you do, when the driver does not own the car is more likely to be negligent (not avoiding potholes, not paying enough attention to the road and even reckless driving).
You have the option of joining a car sharing club, often before getting a membership the applicants need to pass a strict screening for the safety of the car owners, it could be helpful to reduce the stress of thinking all of the bad things the driver can do when your car is in service and the difficulties of tracking the driver’s background by yourself.
6. Keep Controlled When and Whom You Rent Your Car:
Do not let a third person, even if it is family take control of your car rental, that person can be tempted of getting out of the law for a little more money and might get you into troubles because the liability of the car is on you, and also can be complicated for you to get access to your own car when you want to use it.
7. Be Organized:
If you don’t want the car rental to become a nightmare, keep a schedule of the rentals of the car and plan when you will use it, so you don’t compromise with a client, especially if it is an old one and frequent. If this ever happen you can lose a trustworthy renter and maybe get thought the stress of getting to know a new client and building trust again. Also it is convenient not putting all the eggs in the same basket, you cannot keep just one client because if something happens you might not have rental income until another person shows.
8. Car Rental Companies Are a Good Option:
You can sign a leasing contract with a company that rents the car for you if you don’t use the car at all, this companies always screen their clients, and also the companies may offer convenient features for you. Before leasing your car to a company you should not take the first that shows, try to research deeply several companies, so you find the one who offers conditions and deals that are suitable for you. Once you find the right company, and before signing any documents, make sure that: you understand all the terms and conditions, you are comfortable with the payment the company is offering, it is also very important you have the right insurance coverage and last but not least the background and credibility of the business you are leasing to.
The most important thing to take in account when choosing the method for renting your car is that it fits in your possibilities and time, If you don’t want to spend the weekend worrying about your car, there is a wide range of options for safety and there are also reliable business renting the car for you if you don’t have the time to arrange and meet the renter and still want to be in this trending business.
