Anyone with experience of gocar.ie ? (Car Rental by the hour)

Piliger

Hi,

I think this is a better place than the Motoring section .... if that's ok with the Mods ....

I have started to live in Ranelagh without a car for the first time in 25 years ... and really miss it at certain times.

I saw a car outside my place at the weekend with the gocar.ie logo and started looking at the web site.

The pricing is very complicated but the principle is a great one and they have a place in Ranelagh too. They have a fixed cost membership which puts me off in case I don't use it as much as I think.

I cannot imagine how this cannot be a success here in Dublin.

Anyone anything to comment or experience ?

Cookie_Monster

Partners sister and her husband use it the odd time, cheaper than taxi's to come out to our place / parents and more flexible too. Cars seem ok, nothing special but not dirty or rough or anything.

Jev/N

I was thinking of using it as well. Haven't bothered with a car in Dublin so far, more cost and hassle than it's worth for me at the moment so this would be quite handy

Piliger

I have absolutely NO connection with them .. but I cannot imagine how a solution like this would not appeal to a lot of people like me .. and yourself.

I have written to them asking them about clarifying their pricing. I have asked them to put an easy auto calculator for hirings and a phone app which I believe would be good.

Myself .. I have to sit down and try to predict how often I will use it in a year and compare that with their fees.

It is funny I think ... when we own a car we just dole out the car price and then forget about the costs except for petrol. Even though this gocar.ie thing will more than likely save a LOT of money but it also opens our eyes to the actual costs we spend on our cars ... many people in the city and Ranelagh where I love own a car but only seem to use it on occasions.

Cianos

I've been following them for a while now and it seems they're growing at a steady rate, so a lot of people must find them good to use and cost effective. For living in a place like Ranelagh (I also live in Ranelagh), it's most suitable, being so close to the city centre, Luas and bus that you only need a car the odd time.

I calculated the cost for a trip to and from Bray using GoCar and was disappointed it was so high (around 30euro afair), so I'd be sticking to public transportation. But I presume the value increases when the kilometers do, and obviously also in relation to the cost of your alternatives.

I guess it'd be best for people who regularly need a car a few times a month where the alternative options are pricey or inconvenient.

I'd really like to see their prices come down still though.

carlmango11

Cianos wrote: »

I've been following them for a while now and it seems they're growing at a steady rate, so a lot of people must find them good to use and cost effective. For living in a place like Ranelagh (I also live in Ranelagh), it's most suitable, being so close to the city centre, Luas and bus that you only need a car the odd time.

I calculated the cost for a trip to and from Bray using GoCar and was disappointed it was so high (around 30euro afair), so I'd be sticking to public transportation. But I presume the value increases when the kilometers do, and obviously also in relation to the cost of your alternatives.

I guess it'd be best for people who regularly need a car a few times a month where the alternative options are pricey or inconvenient.

I'd really like to see their prices come down still though.

I agree. I got rid of the car just a few months ago in favour of bike/public transport and every now and then would love to be able to use a car but when I looked into GoCar I couldn't seem to find any trips I would make that would end up in any way cost effective.

I started to think that maybe it was more suited to longer trips so I looked at how much it would be for the likes of a weekend drive to Galway and it was ridiculously high. Don't have specific numbers but I remember it being totally uneconomical. It's a pity because it's really a service that I'd love to use.

Piliger

carlmango11 wrote: »

I agree. I got rid of the car just a few months ago in favour of bike/public transport and every now and then would love to be able to use a car but when I looked into GoCar I couldn't seem to find any trips I would make that would end up in any way cost effective.

I started to think that maybe it was more suited to longer trips so I looked at how much it would be for the likes of a weekend drive to Galway and it was ridiculously high. Don't have specific numbers but I remember it being totally uneconomical. It's a pity because it's really a service that I'd love to use.

Well to be fair to them it's not that kind of business. A Hire car is better aimed at a Galway trip.

Overall I think that it shows how our mind sets change when we get rid of the car

When I had a car I paid the money for the car up front, and then never actually calculated the cost of each trip. I imagine that had I done so I would have been equally shocked

When I, myself, am looking at the costs of gocar now I am thinking mostly of hassle value, convenience and things like stuff to carry. Comparing the cost to public transport is not always the best comparison.

carlmango11

Piliger wrote: »

Well to be fair to them it's not that kind of business. A Hire car is better aimed at a Galway trip.

True but I don't find the shorter trips much more economical either. I suppose if I needed to transport something big that I couldn't carry on public transport or needed to go somewhere not possible with public transport or bike and taxis were too expensive it would be useful.

buddy22

I have been using go-car for a couple of months and find it really cost effective.

There is a cost calculator available once you sign-up that gives you an accurate estimate before you book your journey (based on your estimated mileage and time needed).

The cost is basically about 4-5 euro an hour for the hire of the car (depending on what size/type you pick) and about 55c per km on top of that. All fuel, road tax, insurance, toll bridge costs are paid for within these charges. There is also a monthly charge of about 10 euro to hold your account open.

I found it great value when you need to do a large shopping trip or go to Ikea etc. It works out quite expensive though if you need to go to the outskirts of Dublin or beyond.

All in all it is significantly cheaper than running a car that you may only use once a week.

munchkin_utd

buddy22 wrote: »

I have been using go-car for a couple of months and find it really cost effective.

There is a cost calculator available once you sign-up that gives you an accurate estimate before you book your journey (based on your estimated mileage and time needed).

The cost is basically about 4-5 euro an hour for the hire of the car (depending on what size/type you pick) and about 55c per km on top of that. All fuel, road tax, insurance, toll bridge costs are paid for within these charges. There is also a monthly charge of about 10 euro to hold your account open.

I found it great value when you need to do a large shopping trip or go to Ikea etc. It works out quite expensive though if you need to go to the outskirts of Dublin or beyond.

All in all it is significantly cheaper than running a car that you may only use once a week.

yup! many dont actually have the remotest grasp of how much a car costs in real terms.

Say a rich benofactor just GIVES you a car - so the cheapest way of ownership of a car.
Even then : tax + 1 yearly service + insurance could easily be about the 1000 euro a year.
Thats 83 euro a month if you are GIVEN a car for free.

If you only use the car for the weekly shop, thats 20odd euro plus a few cents per km for petrol just to go to tesco once a week.

If you havent a rich benofactor but have savings and say you buy a second hand 12 grand car and keep it for 10 years, thats 1200 a year or 100 a month in capital cost

Your weekly shop now each costs 45Euro + petrol for transport !!

Car share schemes (or even a taxi) are far far cheaper than owning a car if you arent getting the use out of it!

EDIT: €2.50 a week plus a per km charge for the car share is still a lot cheaper than 45euro/ week + petrol to have your own car !

ScottSF

Car share is popular in several major U.S. cities like Boston and San Francisco and I am glad to see it running in Dublin as well. I also do not own a car and do not plan to buy one since public transit here is good enough and the centre city is compact. My personal concern is one of convenience and not cost which I agree can be a bit confusing.

The time it takes to reserve a car online and walk to and from its parking space goes into my savings calculation. Since the population density in Dublin is not so high, proximity to cars could be an issue for many would-be customers. Will it take me 10-15 minutes just to get to the parked car? When I am in a hurry and therefore the bus or train won't do, I would think taxis should be a better option for many short distance trips. Taxis are so plentiful in Dublin and you don't have to do the driving and parking.

BeerNut

ScottSF wrote: »

proximity to cars could be an issue for many would-be customers.

Exactly. Much as I love the idea of GoCar, it doesn't quite fit in the gap between a taxi and full rental (€17 a day -- thank you Enterprise!) The set-up and standing charges mean I'm not even going to try it out, not until there's a depot a short walk from my home at least.

omega666

Not sure how it works out it's cheaper.
It hard to work out thier prices but here's what the first trip would cost as an example i think.


So if for example your taking the car out for 3 hours and travelling 40 kms to
go visit your granny.

1) 50 quid once off registration fee.
2) A time fee (€5.75 per hour) + distance-travelled fee (.45 per km)
3) Monthly fee 10:00

5.75 x 3 = 17.25 euro
.45 x 40 = 18 euro

---

= 35.25 euro
+ 50.00 euro reg fee
+ 10:00 euro monthly fee

---

95.25 euro!!


Obviously the reg fee is only a once off and it will be cheaper after that but you still have to pay it to get started.

buddy22

As far as I know, Go Car has been taken over (or partly at least) by Irish Car Rentals (comprising Eurocar Ireland, National Alamo, Dollar and Thrifty).

So will this be the new model for renting cars to locals by these companies in the future?

Until now there has only been 10 cars to rent in Dublin, so proximity and availability have been a big issue. However, the plan is to bring that number up to 200 cars which should get over that issue.

I can book a car 15 minutes before I need it and the nearest depot is 5 mins walk away, so for me it works very well.

Piliger

omega666 wrote: »

Obviously the reg fee is only a once off and it will be cheaper after that but you still have to pay it to get started.

To be honest that's quite a meaningless way to calculate the cost...

Piliger

buddy22 wrote: »

As far as I know, Go Car has been taken over (or partly at least) by Irish Car Rentals (comprising Eurocar Ireland, National Alamo, Dollar and Thrifty).

That is the worst news - I believe.

They will make sure it doesn't compete against their lucrative car rental business so we can be sure they will keep the cost up.

We need a Gov scheme to encourage this kind of business. I think they should offer a significant tax break for businesses to offer small smart cars or the such.

A service with hundreds of those small cars at a better price, and at more locations, would make a huge difference in traffic in my view.

califano

How does getting the keys and handing them back work as it doesnt say it on the faq's although i suspect the card starts the engine does it?.

Also how does paying for petrol work as this answer in the FAQ's doesnt make it any clearer to me?. Is it the wonder of the card swipe again?

Do I have to pay for fuel myself?

CarSharing is very appropriate during these times of rapidly rising fuel prices!
For obvious reasons GoCar will have to respond from time-to-time to rising fuel costs. However, the transparent nature of our pricing structure makes it clear when this is an expense that would apply to any vehicle, as opposed to GoCars. The money saved with CarSharing can also help to offset such increasing expenses.

Piliger

rounders123 wrote: »

How does getting the keys and handing them back work as it doesnt say it on the faq's although i suspect the card starts the engine does it?.

Also how does paying for petrol work as this answer in the FAQ's doesnt make it any clearer to me?. Is it the wonder of the card swipe again?

Do I have to pay for fuel myself?

CarSharing is very appropriate during these times of rapidly rising fuel prices!
For obvious reasons GoCar will have to respond from time-to-time to rising fuel costs. However, the transparent nature of our pricing structure makes it clear when this is an expense that would apply to any vehicle, as opposed to GoCars. The money saved with CarSharing can also help to offset such increasing expenses.

They say on the site there is a card in the car itself that you use. So you can full up as much as you want.

omega666

Piliger wrote: »

To be honest that's quite a meaningless way to calculate the cost...

Its not really. Its a cost that need to be included.

The whole thing seems quite expensive me and not very convient.
Youd be better of with a rental car if you didnt drive i think.

buddy22

How does getting the keys and handing them back work as it doesnt say it on the faq's although i suspect the card starts the engine does it?.

You receive a card and a pass number. You swipe the card over a machine placed on the dashboard from the outside over the windscreen which unlocks the car. Once inside, you open the glovebox, take out a little device with a keypad and enter your pass number. This then releases the key. When you drop the car back you put the key back into the device in the glovebox.

Also how does paying for petrol work as this answer in the FAQ's doesnt make it any clearer to me?. Is it the wonder of the card swipe again?

Also in the glovebox is a petrol card which can be used in most petrol stations (look out for the 'DCI' logo on outside signage).

With regard to the 50 euro set up charge. If you recommend a friend to the service, you (and me!) will get a free 25 euro worth of credit. This will go someway towards paying this. I happy to recommend anyone who is interested!:D

Cianos

omega666 wrote: »

Not sure how it works out it's cheaper.
It hard to work out thier prices but here's what the first trip would cost as an example i think.


So if for example your taking the car out for 3 hours and travelling 40 kms to
go visit your granny.

1) 50 quid once off registration fee.
2) A time fee (€5.75 per hour) + distance-travelled fee (.45 per km)
3) Monthly fee 10:00

5.75 x 3 = 17.25 euro
.45 x 40 = 18 euro

---

= 35.25 euro
+ 50.00 euro reg fee
+ 10:00 euro monthly fee

---

95.25 euro!!


Obviously the reg fee is only a once off and it will be cheaper after that but you still have to pay it to get started.

This is why I'd love to use it but I can't. Paying 40 quid for a 40km trip is just too much when public transportation is an option. There are obviously a few times when public transportation isn't really an option, but for most I think those times are few and far between. The monthly fee seems a bit excessive for that reason, I don't understand its necessity. I'd be much more inclined to use it if I could just pay as I went.

munchkin_utd

Cianos wrote: »

This is why I'd love to use it but I can't. Paying 40 quid for a 40km trip is just too much when public transportation is an option. There are obviously a few times when public transportation isn't really an option, but for most I think those times are few and far between. The monthly fee seems a bit excessive for that reason, I don't understand its necessity. I'd be much more inclined to use it if I could just pay as I went.

just wait a little and that may come. Dublin is only seeing the start of this Car sharing movement.

Abroad things have moved to the model you are looking for.
In Munich till last year there was a number of schemes like the go car one and most with bonkers conditions like 500euro deposit up front and then your monthly fees similar to go car.

Since last year BMW/ Mini / Sixt car hire have a scheme in Munich akin to the Dublin Bikes system called Drive Now.
https://www.drive-now.com/en/
You register for 30 euro or something and get a small RFID chip stuck onto the back of your driving licence.
After that there's no monthly charge or per km fee and you just pay per minute the car is on the road. When parked (and you want to go back to the car) its then a smaller charge per min.
Or you can simply park up and leave the car and then its up for grabs by anyone else.
Theres also "package" deals if you want to block the car for a number of hours.
They have arrangements with the city council that you can park anywhere in the city for free (they pay the council a flat fee per year) and with multi story car parks too.

Its dearer than the other schemes to use but for occasional users the lack of recurring monthly cost and low signup cost is really attractive.

pab_lowe

Cianos wrote: »

This is why I'd love to use it but I can't. Paying 40 quid for a 40km trip is just too much when public transportation is an option. There are obviously a few times when public transportation isn't really an option, but for most I think those times are few and far between. The monthly fee seems a bit excessive for that reason, I don't understand its necessity. I'd be much more inclined to use it if I could just pay as I went.

I spoke recently to some of the guys behind the scheme and there are different variations of this scheme in operation around the world, each tailored a little differently according to what they want to achieve. While there obviously is a money making side to this, one of the larger drivers is to provide the use of a car as an option amongst a lot of other options to get from A to B. In other words Trip one might make most sense to walk, Trip 2 might make most sense to take a bus but Trip 3 only makes sense if you have a car and this is where GoCar comes in. I don't have any affiliation with the company but I think it is a great idea and would be interested to see if this or some variation of it can be rolled out into less populated areas

leecurlywurly

Cianos wrote: »

This is why I'd love to use it but I can't. Paying 40 quid for a 40km trip is just too much when public transportation is an option. There are obviously a few times when public transportation isn't really an option, but for most I think those times are few and far between. The monthly fee seems a bit excessive for that reason, I don't understand its necessity. I'd be much more inclined to use it if I could just pay as I went.

Reading it up myself, where does it say 10e for monthly fee as on the site it says 5e monthly?

Seems like a good idea for a big food shop as I cycle for food shopping, it's a pain in the arse trying to cram everything in a small bag.

Cianos

leecurlywurly wrote: »

Reading it up myself, where does it say 10e for monthly fee as on the site it says 5e monthly?

Seems like a good idea for a big food shop as I cycle for food shopping, it's a pain in the arse trying to cram everything in a small bag.

Just checked the site. It's €5/month for the occasional plan, €10/month for the regular plan and €15/month for the active plan.

leecurlywurly

Cianos wrote: »

Just checked the site. It's €5/month for the occasional plan, €10/month for the regular plan and €15/month for the active plan.

Oops, didn't notice that. Thanks for pointing that out.