Carhood: The Australian car sharing  revolution

Are you traveling soon out of Melbourne airport? I have good news, with Carhood you can now park your car for free and EARN money from it while you’re gone. Also, If you’re traveling to Melbourne and want to rent a car, they are guaranteed 25% cheaper than any of the big car rental companies at the airport.

What’s the catch? There is none. The company is Carhood and it is an Australian revolution surrounding car sharing (in which we are totally behind the eight ball compared to the US and Europe).

I used their services for the first time recently and was so impressed that I wanted to spread the word and recommend it to fellow travelers on a budget. In a time where traveling is becoming more accessible and flights are becoming cheaper, paying $57 a day in airport parking is no longer a valid option, and this is where these guys come in.

My car on its way to Carhood!

How does it work?

You drop your car off at their premises next to the airport and receive a free limo service to your terminal. While you’re gone, your car is stored safely and may be rented out. If it is, you receive 25% of the profits as well as free parking at Carhood for the entire time. When you return, you are picked up and taken back to your car, which has been washed and detailed for you!

For those listing their car, I hear your skepticism; what if someone rents my car and crashes or damages it? Every apprehension you could have, Carhood have thought of. Your vehicle is insured under their policy for the entire time it is there, which covers other people driving it, so you have nothing to worry about.

For renters, this insurance is included in the daily rental price, as opposed to other companies where you pay an additional daily fee.

Also, if you leave your car with Carhood for 30 days or more you are guaranteed to make $250 a month. So if you’re planning to travel overseas for an extended period of time, drop it off at Carhood, cancel your insurance for that period and rake in the cash!

Customer service at its finest

What made this service stand out to me, aside from its incredibly smart yet previously untouched business model, was its phenomenal customer service.

Before dropping my car off I had been in contact with them several times with queries and always received prompt and personal responses. This goes a long way with consumers, especially given we are accustomed to large service companies, communicating with an automated message detailing unhelpful or vague responses.

I dropped my car off at 6am and was greeted with smiles and cheerful conversation, despite me embarrassingly forgetting to clean some cobwebs off my car beforehand. The check in process took 5 minutes and then I was dropped directly to my terminal.

Upon arrival, I called them to say I was ready and within minutes I was picked up by one of the co-founders Christian Schaefer. If i compare this ride to one I would usually take in a taxi going home, the difference would be astronomical. The latter usually involves small talk of “So have you had a busy night?” followed by the driver talking on their phone the entire time. However, the former consisted of extremely friendly, down to earth and attentive conversation about travel. It seemed more like I had just been picked up by a friend than an employee!

We returned to my car and all was well (in fact it was remarkably cleaner than before). For those skeptics, there were no scratches or dints from renters and we both conducted a thorough inspection of the car before I left. I was extremely impressed by Carhood and am glad to know I will never pay for airport parking again!

Go for it!

So jump on http://www.carhood.com.au and either list your car for the next time you’re going to the airport, or rent one for the best price in Australia. Use the promo code ‘BIGBUDGY’ as a reference and you receive 2 free days rental!