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Comment by ebbv | Hacker News Reader

$10 in gas cards per day seems like low compensation for putting my vehicle at risk. I realize they have insurance but anyone who's had a car get damaged and repaired knows it's never the same as before the damage, especially if it's suspension/steering related.

I wish them the best, though, if any industry is stagnant and in need of being overhauled it's the terrible car rental industry.

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The main appeal for users is actually the free parking. Long term parking at SFO is $18/day.

This is the second time you commented free parking is the main appeal.

I have to say your single sentences can get my mind racing at a hundred mph. Example, Why institute the sharing (AirBnB model) if it is less about sharing and more about not paying for parking? Does this mean there is room for a purely valet model, where one drives to the airport and a valet drives it back their home instead of parking at the airport? Is it going to be a common practice for people to be the AirBnB of "this and that", making the marketing more important than the service, especially when sharing is not the main appeal?

I take what I can from your comments, like your perspective on the sharing model above, but it makes me think getting a YC interview would be bitter-sweet because really I would want to interview you.

Sharing pays for the free parking.

pg nailed it. In the model you described above, you're still shelling out dollars from your bank account rather than leveraging an under utilized asset of your's.

I think this only works if the benefits outweigh the potential costs. Crashing a car, getting a rental, and purchasing a new car are all unwanted headaches that are more likely in this model vs some screwing up a room in the airbnb model.

As to the model, honestly it was just one quick thought in a stream of conscience purposely meant to be a contrast to the sharing model, or leveraging an under utilized asset - nice phrasing.

A company out to get me free parking is a company after my own heart. In no way was I challenging the AirBnB/sharing/your model, I agree with you and pg the model I describe would not work specifically b/c "shelling out dollars", yet there is value if a valet model cost $18 once and a trip was longer than 48 hours, which sounds like your not meeting a demand so much as your making one.

Keep working on great things.

On the damage front, I'd be a lot more worried about cosmetic damage than steering/suspension. Hard parts (steering, suspension) are perfectly replaceable and, IME, the result is generally perfect, assuming you used quality parts and installed them correctly. Even crash damage that affects the pickup points CAN be correctly repaired (but often isn't, because someone cheaps out).

In contrast, I've never seen a respray that was perfect, even high-dollar work on high-dollar cars.

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