subject: Fancy driving your neighbour's new BMW 7 series? WhipCar could make it possible [print this page] Fancy driving your neighbour's new BMW 7 series? WhipCar could make it possible
The world's first neighbour-to-neighbour car rental service had hundreds of drivers registering just a week after launch. WhipCar, aims to make car usage in the UK more efficient and allow cars owners to make money from what might essentially be an "idle asset".
Owners of underused cars can rent their vehicle out for anything from a few hours to week and local drivers, without a car, can benefit from a convenient and affordable rental service. Unlike a traditional car rental service, such as Streetcar (the largest car club in the UK), WhipCar does not need a lot of users to make it work.
That does not stop WhipCar, which is likely to see car owners firstly renting out to family, friends or affiliates, having big ambitions. Founder Vinay Gupta was quoted in The Times as saying: "Our vision is that, in time, someone will be able to step out of their front door and have four or five neighbours' cars within striking distance for hire."
WhipCar take care of security checks, with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, audit cars and provide bespoke insurance. Both parties are protected with a fully comprehensive insurance policy, that does not affect car owner's no claims bonus should the renter have an accident.
But whilst you can rent an Audi A3 sport and Audi A6, and might eventually be able to drive your neighbour's new BMW 7 series, insurance limitations mean that WhipCar has been unable to accept drivers of sports cars, including Porsches, Jaguars and Ferraris.
