Lyft or rent? Now, you can sorta do both... Lyft already changed taxis. Yesterday it launched a rental car service starting in LA and SF. As little as $35 a day gets you wheels for a weekend getaway, right through the app. Here's how Lyft is competing with rental OGs like Enterprise and Hertz:
- Car-to-Car service: Lyft will actually pay for your rides (up to $20 each) to and from the rental car lot.
- Lower age: You have to be 25 to rent a car in the US (or pay extra) — Lyft is ok with 22-year-olds and up.
- Tank-friendly: You don't have to give away your firstborn child to fill up your tank. Lyft will top-off your tank post-Napa weekend, charging just the local gas price (no fee).
- Clean machine: Lyft also has a leg up over car-share startups like Getaround and Turo, since you're not getting someone else's car (and forced to endure their BO).
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is... With all these perks at low costs, we're guessing this car rental scheme won't be profitable. Long-term, if they successfully snag your loyalty from Avis or Hertz, Lyft can increase prices to turn a profit. That's also the general plan for its core rides business... which is still unprofitable.
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