Simone, 45, from East London has been sharing her Vauxhall Mokka with Karshare since July 2022, earning over £2,700 so far! “I’m a business support administrator at a housing association in South London and have been doing that for 7 years now. But when lockdown came I’ve been working from home ever since.”
What made you want to start car sharing?
“I’d sold my previous car and I remember one day a family member was talking about renting their car out. So I was like.. ‘What do you mean you rent your car out?!’ and they explained you rent it out to people who need your car and you can get paid for it! But at the time I didn’t have a car so I thought nothing of it.”
“Then during lockdown I wanted to do fostering, so I thought I’m gonna need a car because this child is going to need to get around! I was lucky enough to be in a position to buy a car and I looked at my dad’s Vauxhall Mokka and thought… ‘that’s a bad boy car, I want a white one.’”
“When I bought the white Mokka that was when I had my foster child, so everything fell into place. I was driving him to school, which is why the car was needed at the time. After the temporary fostering was over and he went back home, I was left with this car that wasn’t being used much.”
“My car was literally sitting looking at me and after seeing a Karshare ad I was like… let me give it a go! And as they say, the rest is history.”
Were you concerned about sharing your car?
“I did think to myself… ‘okay so I’m going to give you my car keys?! How can I guarantee that we’re giving it to decent people! Am I going to see my car again?’ But I remember when the engineer came out - very lovely guy - he was able to talk to me, answer all of my questions that I had. He was very kind and reassured me that any renters are vetted and so I felt at peace that the due diligence was done to a T.”
“Every time I needed him or anyone from Karshare, someone has always been there to answer my questions, so I’ve always felt at peace.”
Was it easy listing your car on the platform?
To list your car on Karshare, a spare key is needed to install our keyless KarshareGo technology. “After I gave him my spare key it literally happened within the day or two, it was so quick. At first I didn’t know what to price my car at, so I looked on the app and saw the recommended price and was told to set it at that as long as I’m comfortable with it myself.”
“The £195 fee for the KarshareGo installation was cleared within the first month of me having my car on the platform.”
How have the additional earnings from Karshare helped you?
“It’s helped me to clear some debts, it’s allowed me to sort out my office that I’m doing up in my house. It’s allowed me to buy a new tv, buy a laptop, buy the desk and chair - you know, just allowed me to be comfortable because I have extra money coming in. It really does help.”
“It was my son’s 21st birthday in August and I wanted to give him something financially rewarding. With Karshare I was able to give him £1000, because that’s what I earned in that month since joining in July.”
What would you say to someone thinking about renting out their car?
“At the end of the day, not everyone’s going to treat the car the way you would and that’s facts. Sometimes it might not come back as clean as it came out, but I would say to anyone - you have to take your feelings out of it. One time I rented a car out to a family and there was popcorn left in the car, but it’s business so you just treat it as such. If you’re going to sit down and think about it too much then you might not want to do it, but then you definitely aren’t going to get that extra income!”
“I clean and wash my car as much as I can and people walk by and are like ‘ooh your car’s nice’, because I keep her [the car] immaculate. I’m grateful that people want my car and I’m just grateful for Karshare.”
Are you happy with the amount of rentals you get?
“Summertime my car is on demand. Winter time, people don’t want to leave their house as much, so I see the difference but I still earn good money in winter time - it’s still rewarding.”
“I like to keep a book as well as the Karshare app to keep records for my own report, so I can look back and see clearly say 10-12 people booked my car in July. Some take it for longer, some take it just for the day. It’s cool to see that say 15 people have driven the car that month!”
“It’s nice because I’ve got what they need and I know that I’m helping because my car would just sit there and look pretty otherwise!”
Rent Simone's Vauxhall Mokka in London
If you're interested in renting Simone's car in East London using the Karshare app, you can rent it here!
Share your car with Karshare
If you own a car yourself and are keen to joining Simone from East London in turning your car into some extra income, check your car’s eligibility here.
