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I had a minor collision as well within months, as well as two tows. A lot of the renters did not correctly follow GetAround's 24 hour restriction-free street pa

I had a minor collision as well within months, as well as two tows. A lot of the renters did not correctly follow GetAround's 24 hour restriction-free street parking policy as well and so I got a lot of street cleaning tickets. Even when they did, if street cleaning often was in 25-48 hours, so I had to repark my car multiple times per week. The thing that made me leave was that GetAround Connect started drained my car's battery like crazy and started requiring jumpstarts every few days. I think there might have been a short. Meanwhile, GetAround support insisted that this was normal.

pimlottc 9y ago
What was GetAround's support like for these issues? Did they cover the cost of the parking tickets, or the repairs? Were you using GetAround's insurance?
- Hydraulix989 9y ago
  Their support is OKAY, but not great. They are helpful, but not always responsive, so you feel like an engineering manager chasing after your junior direct reports, constantly pinging and babysitting them. I've had to argue with them over points of minor contention in the past before, like one time a renter claimed my car was "dirty" and so I had to record them a video showing its immaculate interior. They also didn't want to help me chase down a renter who didn't refill my gas tank for me, as required by GetAround, but I eventually was able to resolve that as well. GetAround completely covered the cost of parking tickets, repairs, and towing. They also made the process really hassle free. The towing was also handled decently well, but as a renter, I DID have to _notice_ my car got towed (not something I checked every day) before contacting GetAround to have them take care of it. AFAIK, you automatically opt-in to using GA's insurance (but still are required to carry your own personal insurance on the car). Overall, I found that renters just didn't treat my car well enough for me; they treated it like an ordinary rental car rather than borrowing a friend's car. After nearly every trip, there was garbage left behind in the car (straw wrappers, tissues, spills, stains), most did not following the parking rules, and the vast majority just didn't bother getting gas for me like they are required to by GetAround. One renter (I couldn't pinpoint the exact person) stole my mobile phone dashboard mount, my cigarette lighter USB charger (which was there mostly to help the renters!), and my SD card. The brakes also squeal now, so I suspect somebody was driving with a square wave shaped braking pattern.
  - jjawssd 9y ago
    Brake squeal is commonly caused by the lack of anti-squeal compound on the back sides of the brake pads. It might not be correlated with brake pad wear.
  - x0x0 9y ago
    I don't understand people who rent their things out yet are surprised when folks treat them like a rental rather than borrowing something from a friend. The thing is, when I borrow vehicles or skis, or stay in a friend's house, I don't pay them. I may refill the tank or refrigerator, but otherwise, it's free. Once you demand money from someone, it's just a transaction and no you no longer get the friend treatment / stuff treated with kid gloves. Now I (obviously) don't go out of my way to trash rental things, but I certainly don't treat them with as much care as something I borrowed from a friend. When I rent cars, I think it's fine to leave minor messes in them; it's implied as part of the rental service they'll vacuum carpets or recycle a stray bottle or two.
    - Hydraulix989 9y ago
      See cousin comment.
  - paulcole 9y ago
    >they treated it like an ordinary rental car rather than borrowing a friend's car. How is it different from an ordinary rental car?
    - Hydraulix989 9y ago
      I, for one, go our of my way to treat AirBnBs (even) nicer than I treat hotels because its an actual friendly person's house -- not a hotel room owned by a big evil soulless corporation. I don't see why this isn't the case with other people. With GetAround, the whole premise is that you're borrowing your neighbor's car, not getting a late model Prius from Enterprise that has been beaten to hell and back already.
      - 9y ago

pimlottc 9y ago

What was GetAround's support like for these issues? Did they cover the cost of the parking tickets, or the repairs? Were you using GetAround's insurance?

Hydraulix989 9y ago
Their support is OKAY, but not great. They are helpful, but not always responsive, so you feel like an engineering manager chasing after your junior direct reports, constantly pinging and babysitting them. I've had to argue with them over points of minor contention in the past before, like one time a renter claimed my car was "dirty" and so I had to record them a video showing its immaculate interior. They also didn't want to help me chase down a renter who didn't refill my gas tank for me, as required by GetAround, but I eventually was able to resolve that as well. GetAround completely covered the cost of parking tickets, repairs, and towing. They also made the process really hassle free. The towing was also handled decently well, but as a renter, I DID have to _notice_ my car got towed (not something I checked every day) before contacting GetAround to have them take care of it. AFAIK, you automatically opt-in to using GA's insurance (but still are required to carry your own personal insurance on the car). Overall, I found that renters just didn't treat my car well enough for me; they treated it like an ordinary rental car rather than borrowing a friend's car. After nearly every trip, there was garbage left behind in the car (straw wrappers, tissues, spills, stains), most did not following the parking rules, and the vast majority just didn't bother getting gas for me like they are required to by GetAround. One renter (I couldn't pinpoint the exact person) stole my mobile phone dashboard mount, my cigarette lighter USB charger (which was there mostly to help the renters!), and my SD card. The brakes also squeal now, so I suspect somebody was driving with a square wave shaped braking pattern.
- jjawssd 9y ago
  Brake squeal is commonly caused by the lack of anti-squeal compound on the back sides of the brake pads. It might not be correlated with brake pad wear.
- x0x0 9y ago
  I don't understand people who rent their things out yet are surprised when folks treat them like a rental rather than borrowing something from a friend. The thing is, when I borrow vehicles or skis, or stay in a friend's house, I don't pay them. I may refill the tank or refrigerator, but otherwise, it's free. Once you demand money from someone, it's just a transaction and no you no longer get the friend treatment / stuff treated with kid gloves. Now I (obviously) don't go out of my way to trash rental things, but I certainly don't treat them with as much care as something I borrowed from a friend. When I rent cars, I think it's fine to leave minor messes in them; it's implied as part of the rental service they'll vacuum carpets or recycle a stray bottle or two.
  - Hydraulix989 9y ago
    See cousin comment.
- paulcole 9y ago
  >they treated it like an ordinary rental car rather than borrowing a friend's car. How is it different from an ordinary rental car?
  - Hydraulix989 9y ago
    I, for one, go our of my way to treat AirBnBs (even) nicer than I treat hotels because its an actual friendly person's house -- not a hotel room owned by a big evil soulless corporation. I don't see why this isn't the case with other people. With GetAround, the whole premise is that you're borrowing your neighbor's car, not getting a late model Prius from Enterprise that has been beaten to hell and back already.
    - 9y ago