vMany people dream of having their own classic car. But not everyone has the courage to make their wish come true. Or maybe one or two euros are missing. Well, old cars can also be rented. You can try out whether the car you want to drive might not be a bit of a pickle and it’s better to stay away from it. There are a number of professional classic car rental companies with more or less large fleets and have been around for three years ottochrom.dean online marketplace that sells from private to private over the Internet, almost 1,900 cars are now on offer nationwide.
Behind Ottochrom are Harald Piendl and Dirk Salomon from Augsburg, neither of them young founders, but already 50 plus. They had the idea and, according to their own statements, fought hard until they found an insurance company that was willing to accept their business model. Finally, the classic car insurance company OCC, a subsidiary of Provinzial, agreed to undertake the experiment. Every individual rental is insured, up to a vehicle value of 150,000 euros. However, the tenant is not allowed on the motorway; only city motorways up to 80 km/h are permitted. The tenant must be at least 23 years old and have had a driving license for five years; the landlord can increase this five years to up to 20 years.
Trips abroad are permitted
There have now been more than 5,000 incidents and, as Harald Piendl points out, nothing has ever happened. But he knows that, according to the law of large numbers, it will happen at some point. The oldie owner gets 75 percent of the rent, with daily rents averaging 300 to 500 euros. This is determined by the classic car owner. Ottochrom itself is not yet profitable, but not far from it. 15 percent of the individual rent goes to the portal, 10 percent goes to the insurance.
The portal is controlled from Berlin. According to Piendl, the goal is to have 4,000 to 5,000 vehicles in stock; an expansion to Austria has already been announced. Anyone living in the EU or Switzerland can rent. Trips to neighboring countries are permitted.
Of the almost 1,900 cars currently on offer, for example, 378 are Mercedes-Benz, 277 Volkswagen, 109 Porsche, 70 Citroën, 37 Rolls-Royce, 26 Volvo, 25 Opel, but also ten Ferrari. The selection is large, almost all common brands can be found, as well as exotic ones such as Studebaker, Autobianchi or Hummer. There are also a few campers there. Pre-war cars are deliberately not offered because they are too difficult to handle, they say at Ottochrom. And younger than 2002 is not possible either, for insurance reasons. You can search not only by brand, but also by region: If you enter your city, you will receive the offer within a certain radius. There are only 42 cars in Frankfurt and the surrounding area, 70 in Cologne, 101 in Munich, 186 in Hamburg and 256 in Berlin.
Mustang and Porsche 911 most popular
We put it to the test and rent a 1967 Ford Mustang in Lich, Hesse. In general, the Mustang is the most popular car, and not the Porsche 911. For Mustang owner Martin (Ottochrom is known) it is the first time and he is correspondingly excited. You have to bring a 500 euro deposit in cash, there is some paperwork, the Mustang has to be photographed, the pictures have to be sent to the portal in Berlin, then you can get started. The American sled offers the expected V8 glory with a three-speed automatic, sloppy steering and a great sound. Unfortunately there are only lap belts, which we hadn’t considered before. Because we are keeping the Mustang for two nights, it has to be stored safely at night, which is also part of the contractual conditions. 150 kilometers are free, 250 for two days, additional kilometers cost extra. A cleaning fee of 19 euros is also due. And of course you have to fill up the tank again. The Mustang consumed 19 liters per 100 kilometers, not bad. Maybe next time a duck? It’s so sweet and only costs 179 euros at Hallil in Munich.
Martin has now rented out his Mustang five more times and has had a good experience each time. Everyone approached the topic sensibly and treated their oldie with care. Ottochrom co-owner Piendl explains that there have been virtually no accidents or difficulties so far, citing the private level on which everything takes place. If something happens, you have to answer to the owner personally and not to any rental company. This probably leads to everyone being almost overly cautious.
Piendl knows that he cannot reach all classic car owners with his offer. Many people simply don’t want strangers driving their cars, despite the income. And of course it is complex. Handover, return, you simply have to be ready. The more than a dozen classic car owners we ask all wave it off. But apparently some still dare to do it. Incidentally, the income is taxable, and that should also be taken into account.
#Borrow #classic #automobiles #privately