Renting to reduce cost of ownership

OK, first post so please be gentle!...

Hello I'm pinging this question out to anyone who hires out their bay. I think there are a few of you on here: T24Fun, Tallulah...

Having 'lurked' on this forum for some months, I thought it was time to register and ask for some advice. I've been considering a Kombi purchase for some time and and am now doing the sums to decide if I can afford it. To help with the costs, the intention would be to make it available for hire.

Would any of you be prepared to share any of your experiences? What are the pitfalls? What number of days / weeks hire can you expect per year? My background is web / Internet, so producing a suitable site won't be an issue.

Thanks, in advance

Jon

Hi Jon. We have a few customers that do this after buying their new Danbury. Like any business it takes time to get established but works for most people and is a great way to help pay for the costs..One lady has bought 2 campers from us now and is just about to buy a 3rd...If a monthly finance agreement was say £300 - £400 and she gets £700 - £800 a week for renting she only needs to do approx one week every 2 months to get the vehicle paid for...You also get to meet some great people both in and out the scene so it can be good fun too! Obviously you need a good web site, insurance and someone to valet the vehicle(s) etc but starting with one camper is a great way of adding additional income aswell as owning some cool transport for you :-) Good luck and feel free to call and discuss if you need help...Jason

Jon - where to start....

We picked up Tallulah in March last year and pretty much from a standing start, rented her out 7 times through the summer, a total of 34 nights. We also managed 27 nights in her ourselves and decided not to hire over the Christmas/NY period as we had people staying so could use the extra space.

We've had 5 or 6 reasonable enquiries already this year although none of them have been confirmed.

It's not all plain sailing however, there's lots to sort out before and after each hire - paperwork, payment, security deposit, insurance, cleaning, gas etc etc - and it's always quite difficult watching your van drive away, but we simply couldn't afford to own one without hiring out.

If you have any specific questions then send me a PM and I'll tell you everything I know.

Keith.

I reckon this is an excellent way to fund your BraziBay if you have no other option.

Go into it with your eyes open though and prepare for the worst possible renter ... eventhough they'll probably never materialise.

Having looked into the wedding hire area, self drive hire insurance is less expensive compatitively han the full business insurance you will need to drive the van yourself and receive payment for it.

You can achieve better rates on combined self drive hire and business insurance, but it means paying a much larger annual premium - £1500 to £2000 - as opposed to regular private use insurance - £250 to £350 - and daily rate self drive hire - £25 to £30 per day.

You will need to do a few weddings to just cover the insurance.

Many thanks for the replies.

Tallulah - Your feedback is really appreciated... If it's OK with you, I'll drop you a PM in due course with a couple of other questions.

Thanks again

No probs, happy to help.

Tallulah - which insurer do you use? Have you tried Compucar?

We use A1 Motorhome Insurance who offer a daily rate for hires (no annual premium) with a very fast turnaround and, as the name suggests, are specialists in the area. Haven't tried Compucar but I will investigate.

Also dealing with Alan Boswell Insurance at the moment, looking at quotes for an annual 'all in' policy so I can do some comparisons. The daily rate route was definitely better for our first year, maybe not this year if we get more hires.

So, the better half and I are off to Danbury on Monday.

Would welcome any feedback or suggestions from other owners as to what options to consider - there seem to be a lot!

There's a whole thread on options:

Significant Options

My advice is to set a budget and prioritise the options you really want. It just too easy to keep adding, the total just keeps going up!

Cats4Gold said
"Would welcome any feedback or suggestions from other owners as to what options to consider - there seem to be a lot! "

Suggest that you use the Search function on the Home Page and enter the word Options. You should find a lot of views and a Poll on what's most important.

osg

Yup, been working my way through the forum for the last few weeks