Getaround: Your Complete Guide to the Car-Sharing Service

We’re living in a revolutionary time for personal transportation.

New technologies have converged to create a sharing economy that makes even traditional ideas such as car ownership unnecessary for some people.

At the same time, new income opportunities exist due to platforms such as Uber, Lyft, and food delivery apps.

One part of this technological and transportation revolution is the increasing prevalence of peer-to-peer car-sharing apps.

In previous articles, we’ve looked at Turo and Zipcar, which both offer different ways to get on-demand daily or hourly vehicle rental.

In this article, we’re going to take a look at another entrant into the car-sharing market: Getaround.

We’ll look at what the service is, where it’s available, and how it can benefit both car renters and owners.

What Is Getaround?

Getaround is a car-sharing app founded in 2009 by Sam Zaid, Jessica Scorpio, and Elliot Kroo.

Designed as an alternative to the traditional rental car market, the app has expanded to serve a dozen cities across the United States, and the company plans to keep expanding.

The best way to understand how Getaround works is to think of it like the “Airbnb of car-sharing.”

The app connects car owners directly with car renters, who can rent out their vehicles at a price they set.

Rentals are available by the hour, by the day, or even by the week.

It’s all up to the terms that the car owner sets.

While Getaround is a useful alternative to rental cars for those who are traveling, it also aims to help reduce emissions and gridlock in cities.

Overall, Getaround represents an exciting opportunity for people who want to rent cars for short-term use, car owners who want to earn some extra money renting out their unused vehicles, and city governments looking for ways to reduce traffic, air pollution, and strain on existing infrastructure.

Where Is Getaround Available?

From its founding in San Francisco, California, Getaround expanded to serve Portland, Oregon.

Today, the company serves a dozen markets across the U.S., including the following:

1. Berkeley
2. Boston
3. Chicago
4. Los Angeles
5. Miami
6. New Jersey
7. Oakland
8. Philadelphia
9. Portland
10. San Francisco
11. Seattle
12. Washington, D.C.

To learn more about the cities that Getaround serves, take a look at their website.

How Does Getaround Work for Renters?

Now that you understand what Getaround is and where it’s available, let’s look at how it works for car renters.

Signing up for the service is easy.

It’s free to join, and rentals start at just $5 per hour.

To get started with the service, visit the homepage on Getaround.com.

Once you’re there, click where it says “Join for free”:

You’ll need a Facebook account to sign up.

This is annoying (what about potential users who don’t have Facebook?), but it’s a reality of the service.

Once you give Getaround permission to use your Facebook credentials, you’ll see a screen like the one below:

You’ll need to fill in the following information:

• First name
• Last name
• Email address
• Country of citizenship (you can use Getaround if you’re not a U.S. citizen, as long as you have a license that allows you to drive in the U.S.)
• ZIP code
• How you found the company
• If you have a car you’d like to share

Once you’ve filled in these options, click “Finish signup.”

After that, you’ll immediately be able to browse and reserve cars on the company’s website.

If you prefer, you can also download the Getaround app for iPhone or Android and browse cars there.

Here’s an example of what it looks like when you’re browsing available cars.

In this case, we’ve chosen to look for cars in Chicago:

To book a car, follow these steps:

1. Click on the “Find cars” text at the top of the screen.

2. Enter your address into the search bar (if the location that Getaround has automatically detected isn’t correct).

3. Select your pickup and return times. This will show you cars that are available during the times you’ve selected.

4. Click the “Filter” button below just below the times you’ve selected. Choose any of the filters you like to narrow your results.

You can filter by things like price, make, category, class, and transmission type.

The list of available cars will automatically update with each filter you set.

5. Click on a map pin or a car in the list of results. This will show you basic info about the car.

6. Click on the car’s name to visit a page where you can see more details about the car.

7. Once you’ve chosen a car and clicked “Rent,” you will be guided through entering your payment information, driver’s license information, and finally booking the car instantly.

Note that you’ll need to pay a one-time verification fee of $10 when you book your first car.

This covers the cost of verifying your driver’s license information and ensuring that you’re eligible to rent a car.

You’ll also notice that Getaround charges a booking fee, which helps cover the cost of operating their platform.

Pro Tip: If you’re a new user, this booking fee can be reduced by applying a Getaround promo code at signup.

How Does Getaround Work for Car Owners?

If you already own a car, then Getaround might not seem like a service you should care about.

This couldn’t be further from the truth.

While you might not want to use Getaround to rent cars, you could use it to make extra income renting out a car you already have.

If you have a vehicle that you don’t use often, then the rest of the time it’s just sitting around gathering dust and probably costing you money in car payments.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could make some money off this car to help pay it off or even put extra money in your pocket?

This is what you get when you rent your car on Getaround.

We understand that you might be hesitant to do this.

After all, what do you do if someone wrecks the car?

You shouldn’t worry.

Getaround insures every rental up to $1 million.

This means that no matter how fancy a car you’re renting, you can rest easy knowing you’ll get reimbursed if it’s damaged or totaled.

Furthermore, renting your car through the platform requires minimal work on your part.

You have to set the car’s available hours and respond to rental inquiries, but beyond that, Getaround handles the rest.

All it takes is a little bit of set up work up front.

You can rent any car on Getaround, provided it meets the following criteria:

• Mileage of less than 125,000
• Model year 2006 or newer
• Seats no more than 8 passengers and is a private passenger vehicle with at least 4 wheels
• The car is in safe, drivable condition

To start the process of listing your car on Getaround, visit Getaround.com/list.

From there, you’ll see a screen like the one below:

You’ll need to fill in the following info:

• Car model year
• Is the car’s mileage under 125,000 miles? (the answer needs to be “Yes” for you to list your car)
• First name
• Last name
• Email
• Phone number
• ZIP code
• How you found Getaround

From there, a Getaround Product Evangelist will be in touch to help direct you through the rest of the sign-up process.

Note that you’ll need a Facebook account in order to list your car on Getaround.

Getaround FAQ

Now that we’ve covered the basics of how to use Getaround as both a renter and a car owner, let’s address some common questions people have about the service.

Getaround Town on Your Terms

We hope you now see the fantastic opportunity that Getaround offers to both car renters and owners.

From a consumer perspective, it offers a more affordable, flexible alternative to traditional car rental companies.

As a car owner, it represents a chance to earn extra money renting out a vehicle you already own.

If you live in or are planning to travel to a market where Getaround operates, we recommend checking the service out.

It could save (or make) you a lot of money.