This article was submitted by WeChat reader Zhou Hao. The referral link in this post belongs to the contributor. We welcome submissions from readers.

As everyone knows, the rental car market has been extremely short on cars lately. Besides traditional rental car companies, many people have also started looking at other car-sharing platforms, such as TURO, to rent from third parties. Today, we’ll introduce Avail, a private car-sharing platform.

Avail Sign-Up

If you’re interested in this platform, feel free to use my referral link:

You can also scan the code below >>>

About the Avail Platform

The platform we’re introducing today is another third-party car-sharing platform similar to TURO: Avail, which is backed by an investment from Allstate. Its website is:

Most Avail locations are in park & fly parking lots near airports. Its main features are:

  • It takes in privately owned cars that are being left near the airport for a period of time.
  • It rents those cars out through the platform to people who need them, while providing insurance and intermediary services for those rentals to earn a profit [though the car may not necessarily get rented out].

Simply put, some people drive to the airport, leave their cars in a nearby parking lot, and then take a shuttle to catch their flights. Traditionally, this type of parking costs around $10–$20 per day. Avail’s model works like this:

  • It offers you free parking and a free car wash in exchange for your permission to let your car be rented out.
  • If someone rents your car during the time it is parked there, you can also earn part of the rental income.
  • Even if nobody rents your car during that time, you still get free parking and a free car wash.

So for people who like to drive themselves to the airport, need airport parking, don’t mind others using their car, and would like to make a little extra cash or save on parking while getting a car wash, this is a pretty good option.

The airports currently available are: ATL; AUS; BWI; CLT; MDW; ORD; DAL; DEN; IAH; LAX; MIA; BNA; PHL; PHX; SLC. That covers quite a few airports on both coasts. A full list of locations is here:

Renting a Car

With Avail, you can either rent a car or park your own car and potentially have it rented out. Let’s first talk about the rental side.

Rental Pricing

Compared with today’s sky-high rental car prices, Avail’s rates are still very attractive. Taking a mid-size SUV as an example, in the author’s city, current quotes without any discount code are $89 per day, plus airport concession fees and a series of other charges. But on Avail, the quote is $67 per day, with none of those random extra fees, so it is still fairly competitive.

If you need a car for a trip, these platforms are worth considering. Besides lower prices, you may also get a chance to rent vehicles that traditional rental companies carry less often, including luxury cars. After all, renting Ford, Dodge, and a bunch of Toyota and Nissan models over and over can get old.

Rental Insurance

On the safety side, people listing their cars don’t need to worry, because Avail provides full insurance coverage. Renters, just like with regular rental car companies, can choose whether to purchase insurance. Since the platform is backed by Allstate, this part is relatively reassuring.

Parking Your Car

Avail also lets you park your car and list it on the platform. Avail helps re-rent it and pays you a commission. Of course, your car might not appeal to any renters, but in that case you still get free parking plus a car wash and sanitizing.

What Cars Qualify

Here is the official detailed explanation:

You only need to meet the following requirements:

A few things are especially worth noting:

The Vehicle Eligibility Requirements include certain standards for the car, such as:

  • The vehicle must be model year 2011 or newer.
  • It must have fewer than 125,000 miles.
  • Please check the website for the full requirements.

Limited-Time Bonus

According to Avail, listing your car on the platform can earn an average of $35 per day. If you’re interested in parking your car with them, there was also a promotion at the time: if your vehicle met the Vehicle Eligibility Requirements and you parked between June 7, 2021 and July 7, 2021, you would receive an extra $100 bonus.

User Experience

  • During the pandemic, their sanitation measures were also pretty good. The car was thoroughly washed and disinfected after being returned and before being handed off again, which felt reassuring.
  • This time, the author did not rent a car through the platform, but instead used it for free airport parking, a free car wash, and the experience of leaving the car there to be rented out. Overall, the experience was quite good.
  • The app is also fairly easy to use.

First, you need to choose whether you want to rent a car or park one, and then you can choose where to pick up/drop off your car. The main use case here is the airport locations. You can choose from the airports currently served, but if needed you can also use designated non-airport locations. In that sense, it works similarly to platforms like Turo.

In the app, you need to confirm that your car is eligible. The basic requirements are as follows:

Then you enter your car model and the period during which you need parking / are willing to have the car rented out. After that, you can confirm your parking request and rental authorization:

The author’s 2015 Nissan Rouge could earn $30 per day if rented out, and that included only 150mile/day. Extra mileage could be charged separately. For comparison, on Turo the same car could bring in $35 per day but included 200mile/day, with extra mileage charged at 0.25 per mile. Overall, Avail’s pricing is still pretty reasonable, and the main draw is the free airport parking and free car wash, which makes it much more hassle-free than Turo and similar platforms.

After that, you will receive a confirmation email with a QR code, which you use to enter the parking lot on your departure day. On the day of departure, I deliberately left 30 minutes early, but later found that I was worrying for nothing.

After arriving at the partner parking lot near the airport:

  • Scan the QR code to enter. Follow the route to the designated location, where a staff member will confirm the reservation and inspect the vehicle.
  • After checking the registration, you hand over the key to the staff member, exchange a few final details, and then take the shuttle to catch your flight.
  • While you are away, you can check the app at any time to see whether your car has been rented out.

The author’s car was an SUV, and if rented out it would have generated $35 per day. But the timing may simply not have been ideal, because it was not rented during those days. Still, the main goal was to get free parking and a free car wash, so the author was very satisfied. On the return day, the author took the shuttle back to the lot and saw the car already washed and waiting there. After check-out, the staff expressed regret that the car had not been rented, and the author simply drove away. The entire process went smoothly. Although there was no extra income, the overall experience was still good, and getting more than a week of free parking and a car wash still felt like a win.

So for people who need airport parking and don’t mind others using their car, this is definitely worth recommending. Unfortunately, there are no photos from this part because the phone got water-damaged and stopped working during the trip.

Avail Sign-Up

If you’re interested in this platform, feel free to use my referral link:

You can also scan the code below >>>

Editor’s Note

This platform looks pretty solid. Renting someone else’s personal car, with mileage and model-year requirements plus washing and sanitizing, seems fairly appealing. If you’re willing to park your own car there, you may even come out ahead a bit; at minimum, you get free parking plus washing and sanitizing. It is especially suitable for people taking a trip before returning to their home country, or for those who were already planning to sell their car and just need somewhere to leave it temporarily. Even just using the sign-up offer is not bad, since you can rent a car at a lower cost.