drivesy - Car Subscriptions

This is a great no hassle service especially for those who need a car ASAP and don’t have thousands to put down, or if your credit isn’t the best you can still get a car. The rates are kind of pricey but everything is included. The app is great you can view available cars/rates and change cars if you choose. Customer service here in the PA/NJ area has been great each time I’ve had to contact them everyone has been more than helpful and pleasant. The service really works for me right now.

Most of the negative reviews are about the price for the car. Putting price aside, the app is pretty simple and did what it was supposed to do- let me reserve and pay for a car. With respect to the pricing for the cars, it seems high... but when you if you buy a car for $25,000 then 36 months later decided to sell the car, you’d probably have lost $10,000 in value. So that’s $300/month right there. Add the other stuff they include like insurance probably another $100/month, regular maintenance and repairs, maybe another $50/month, no down payment or interest, probably worth at least another $150/month- you are up to $600+. It seems to make more sense if you don’t want to be married to a specific car. It’s still definitely more expensive than owning one car for 10 years. Guess it depends on what you want.

This is a whopping F for the consumer from a business school perspective. Prices are outrageously high for mediocre cars. A subscription offers an allusion of convenience and simplicity which does not exist if you read the liabilities in the fine print. My car payment for a traditional 5 year loan from lightstream offers competitive interest rates so I can *own* a car at a fraction of the cost of this service. Sure, it depreciates, but I will *own* something when I go to trade it in in a few years. This service seems to be geared toward people with high discretionary incomes or plain idiots who cannot make wise economic choices. I see very little potential here other than a niche service. As a venture funded startup CEO I look for companies that are truly adding value for their customers and investors. This business model is mostly one-sided and stacked against consumers. As a result I don’t see this company’s valuation depreciating as quickly as a car’s. My advice is to “steer” clear of this service and stick to traditional and economically sensible options.