Mind Blowing: What People Will Pay to Rent a Car in Montana

I have a relative that I was talking to the other day about the lack of rental cars right now. Some of her friends were going to capitalize on this by buying an Audi SUV and renting it out. They are hoping to get $300 per day.

Well, for starters, I had to look up Audi SUV prices. I know nothing about this brand of vehicle. A 2020 Audi Q3 goes for about $35,000. Though the Audi RS Q8 can be had for $113,000, so somewhere in that price range.

I don't personally know the folks that are attempting this business venture. I don't know the tax advantages of this type of venture. So, let's say they bought an Audi in the $50,000 range. That's going to make your payment somewhere north of $700 a month based on a seventy-two-month loan. Then you have to put license plates on it and insure it.

Now, prepare yourself to hand the keys over to some random person who has a credit card. Yep. that's the requirement.

I'm one of those people who doesn't even let his friends drive his cars. If you need a pickup on moving day, you can use mine. But, rest assured, I'll be driving it. I'm sure that you'll be careful. But you won't be as careful as I will be.

This just blows my mind. So, I went to the website for Turo, where you can rent other people's cars. I'm looking at renting a 2014 Lincoln Navigator to drive around Kalispell next month. With my $53, three-day discount, and my $53 early bird booking, that vehicle will cost me $954.

And apparently, people are paying it.