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Startup Idea: Used Car Leasing

blog.kirigin.com

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Re: Startup Idea: Used Car Leasing

#21
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I'm not sure there is a large underutilized fleet of cheap, high value vehicles out there. (High value meaning predictable/reliable/etc, not necessarily sticker price)

Where do rental cars go after they're two or three years old? I've always wondered, but they seem like a stock of well maintained vehicles ready for leasing.

According to a friend of mine who works at one of the big US rental companies, they go to car auctions and sell for very low prices.

Re: Startup Idea: Used Car Leasing

#22
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I'm not sure there is a large underutilized fleet of cheap, high value vehicles out there. (High value meaning predictable/reliable/etc, not necessarily sticker price)

Where do rental cars go after they're two or three years old? I've always wondered, but they seem like a stock of well maintained vehicles ready for leasing.

They go to the sales lot. A lot of rental car companies have their sales divisions and dealerships to specifically get rid of old fleet cars.

Re: Startup Idea: Used Car Leasing

#24
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Issue is lemons and adverse selection. New cars have probabilistic risk of defects. Used cars, not so much. Leasing depends (mathematically) on correct and reliable modeling of residual values. Once you get a starting pool of unknown risk [1], somebody is playing a fools game. Just a couple things to think about. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_selection Edit: [1] State l…

Modeling failure of a used car doesn't seem that different to me than a new car. There is a distribution, probably more expensive for slightly used cars. It can be modeled and incorporated into price.

It can be modeled and incorporated into price.

I don't have evidence, but I expect once you correctly account for the risk in your cost model, your pricing will be wildly unattractive.

Re: Startup Idea: Used Car Leasing

#26

A local company comes to mind, Lej et Lig (translated from Danish): http://translate.google.dk/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev... Literal translation: rent-a-corpse. You pay about $50 a day, choose your type (van, personal, etc.). They're mainly used when people move by themselves, have to take stuff to the junkyard and such. The down-side is, typically, that you can get a lousy car (playground for lemons). On the…

Yes, the English term is rent-a-wreck, stemming from the company with the same name[1], founded in the sixties.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-a-Wreck

Re: Startup Idea: Used Car Leasing

#27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modeling failure of a used car doesn't seem that different to me than a new car. There is a distribution, probably more expensive for slightly used cars. It can be modeled and incorporated into price.

It can be modeled and incorporated into price. I don't have evidence, but I expect once you correctly account for the risk in your cost model, your pricing will be wildly unattractive.

Yep, I haven't modeled this out. If anyone wants to do the legwork, compare the cost of a 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011 basic package honda civic, and the maintenance cost estimate for the next year of each. I'd expect the depreciation from 2-3 years in life to be a small fraction of 0-1 years, with slightly higher maintenance.

Re: Startup Idea: Used Car Leasing

#28
This has actually crossed my mind lately, i looked into leasing a van for business purposes and i did "back of the napkin" calculations on hypothetically starting my own used van leasing company. I couldnt make it worth the hassle. Does anyone have any of their own basic business model calculations?

Re: Startup Idea: Used Car Leasing

#29

A local company comes to mind, Lej et Lig (translated from Danish): http://translate.google.dk/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev... Literal translation: rent-a-corpse. You pay about $50 a day, choose your type (van, personal, etc.). They're mainly used when people move by themselves, have to take stuff to the junkyard and such. The down-side is, typically, that you can get a lousy car (playground for lemons). On the…

US has a similar company with correspondingly similar alliteration, Rent a Wreck (http://www.rentawreck.com/). Despite the name, they seem to rent newer model vehicles at market rates.
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