The joys and sorrows of self-drive car rental

(Baonghean) -According to statistics from the authorities, currently in our province there are nearly 40 establishments renting “self-driving cars” with nearly 300 cars of many different types and models. There are also many concerns surrounding the issue of rental owners and renters.

A few years ago, seeing that the real estate business seemed to be "stagnant" for a long time, Mr. Nguyen Van Binh (Quan Bau ward - Vinh city) switched to the "self-driving car rental" business. At that time, in his eyes, this profession had a chance to "prosper". The reason was that in Vinh city, there were up to 7 driving training centers where students were always crowded. Furthermore, through "surveys", he realized one thing, out of 10 "guys" with a driver's license, at best, only 1 or 2 people could afford to buy a car right after that. Of the remaining, up to half of them got addicted to the steering wheel after the driving course. And they did not hesitate to spend money to rent a car to drive to ease their "missing the job"; or to solve "the problem of prestige" when necessary. At that time, there were quite a few car rental businesses in the area, but Mr. Binh thought that this profession could still be profitable if they knew how.

A self-drive car rental location on Nguyen Du Street (Vinh City). Photo: Canh Nam

After several months of hunting, Mr. Binh bought 5 used cars of the popular "system" such as Matiz, Kia Moming, Hundai Gez, Zaze. Next, he "touched up" and "painted" the body and interior. With prices ranging from 300,000 to 700,000 VND depending on the number of seats plus a few reasonable promotions, his company often had a situation of "running out of cars". And on holidays, it goes without saying. Thanks to that, in just a few years, he had 5 cars for free. He would have recouped his capital sooner if a few months earlier, a customer who didn't know how to drive crashed into an electric pole on Hong Bang Street, the front of the car was damaged, and the customer was seriously injured and had to go all the way to Hanoi for treatment. That time, he lost more than 100 million VND because he hadn't had time to buy insurance.

Although he has encountered "bad luck" a few times, the car rental business like Mr. Binh's is still considered to be a smooth business. The case of Mr. Pham Van Khanh in Ben Thuy ward is different. After retiring after more than 20 years of working as a driver in an administrative agency, in 2010, he decided to mortgage his red book to the bank to borrow nearly half a billion VND plus his house equity, buying two cars from a "tycoon" in Ha Tinh to sell at a loss to pay off the debt. He hung up the "Car rental for self-drive" sign the day before, and the next day, customers came to rent. Business was going smoothly until before the recent Quy Ty Tet, he encountered "bad luck". That day, two young customers came to rent two cars at the same time.

The contract, the agreement, complete and neat as always. Unexpectedly, not only was it overdue, but nearly half a month later both the car and the customer disappeared. Panicked, he reported to the police. It turned out that his two cars were in two pawnshops. The two "regular customers" were in the detention house of Vinh City Police for gambling. Needless to say, the car owner had to work hard both in terms of time and money to get the two cars back.

Later, he realized that he was still lucky, because there were car owners who suffered much more because after renting a car, they pawned it at a pawn shop with fake ID cards. When everything was revealed, getting the car home was also "scratched to pieces".

A customer of a self-drive car rental shop confirmed: Some owners of self-drive car rental shops are also very formidable. Once he was fined by the police for not using the turn signal when turning. After checking, it turned out that the light was broken. However, the owner insisted that the renter was the one who damaged the car. Not to mention scratches or minor damages. Renting a car without checking carefully is considered to be a bad deal. Moreover, most renters are inexperienced drivers. While many rental cars have a good exterior, the engine is weak, so accidents or violations are very likely to happen. Especially if there is an accident, the car owner will be compensated by the insurance agency and the renter will pay for the repair, which is a good deal. Even better, if the car violates traffic safety and is detained by the police, the longer the car owner benefits. Because according to the contract, the customer just has to pay. Whether the car is on the road or at the police station, the car owner does not need to know.

Viet Long