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How to earn £100s from your car

Paloma Kubiak
Written By:
Paloma Kubiak
Posted:
Updated:
15/01/2018

Whether you’re an infrequent car user or use it for most of your travel, you can make £100s with your motor. Here are five ways to help cut the cost of running your car.

The average car owner only drives 4% of the time and there are an estimated 800,000 car owners in the UK who drive one hour a week or less.

But for others, the car is a lifeline; getting them to the train station, visiting family and friends up and down the country and doing the big weekly shop.

If you’re a car owner wanting to offset the rising cost of car insurance and petrol, here are five ways to make money from your car:

TV and advert shoots

Many cars you see on the big screen and in adverts are signed up to special agencies. If you have a common car, you’re unlikely to get much interest but if you have a classic or unusual car, you may be able to make much more money.

Agencies such as Star Car Hire and Film Cars say the amount you can make really varies on the nature of the job, for example a TV ad shoot or for weddings, as well as how far the car will travel so you could earn £200 or £500 on any given day and job.

However, it’s important for anyone considering this to think about insurance – Star Car Hire says it’s up to the individual to sort out the insurance cover. And when going ahead with such listings, make sure you can sign up for free. You shouldn’t be charged to be on the agency’s books as the money should come from the TV and film companies, not the people whose cars it’s using.

Rent out your car

Registering your motor with sites such as easyCar Club, Drivy and Hiyacar enables others to use your car when you don’t need it.

According to easyCar Club – the biggest player in the market – the average car owner can earn around £32.50 per day and £125 per month. It’s usually free to sign up to these sites but you’ll pay commission on what you make, plus VAT.

The sharing economy rental firms have separate or third party insurance cover so your existing policy is unaffected if the person renting out your car has an accident. Anyone renting out your car will also undergo a comprehensive vetting exercise which should put you at ease that your car won’t be used by a boy racer.

Alternatively, new kid on the block, Sharemine, takes the car renting idea further, allowing people to set up a business or community to rent out their car or other drivers’ cars to local people, whether for the mums at school, your book club colleagues or people in your local neighbourhood.

There are different packages you can sign up to, depending on how many cars you want to rent out and to how many people. For instance, it’s free to sign up to if you want one management account, up to 50 users and one car (though you’ll face a 3% transaction fee), while the friends and family package costs £29 a month, allowing you two management accounts, 1,000 users and 10 vehicles for rent (1.5% transaction fee).

Launched in October, Sharemine says renting out your car three or four times a week could net you between £200 and £400 per month.

Ad wrapping on your car

By allowing companies to advertise on your vehicle, you could earn between £50 and £100 per month, according to Car Quids. You’re in the driving seat as you get to decide which companies can advertise on your car and the good thing is that it’s not permanent. You’ll have vinyl stickers applied to your motor, usually on the bonnet and sides. It’s free to register with Car Quids as it makes money through the brands and advertisers. You need to own your own car and it needs to be in good shape, from 2009 or newer.

If this is up your street, it’s worth contacting your insurer to see if you’re covered for having the ads on your car.

Deliver parcels en route

If you do a regular commute, your journey may be of interest to a courier company. Anyvan.com will help cover your fuel costs. As well as earning some money, the courier company will probably be able to charge its client less and it also reduces the amount of CO2 emitted by having one less van or car on the road.

Share your commute

While this isn’t a money-making scheme, it can help you save money on the cost of fuel (think of it in the same light as Uber Pool where you share a journey with a stranger heading the same way to cut down your cab bill).

Car sharing is becoming more popular and the platform BlaBlaCar puts you in contact with other people looking to travel to the same destination. The carpooling site verifies members and your ride is fully insured by AXA. There’s a ladies only option as well as an instant approval or manual approval for passengers. Once you upload your journey, a suggested price (fuel to cover the journey) will pop up and the money will be transferred to your account. With people prepared to pay around £30 for a London to Manchester trip, you can really cut down on the price of your journeys.