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Let me lead with the fact that I don’t have direct experience with the site offering this one, but I’ve subscribed to their email alerts for a couple of years and think they are likely reputable. Do your own due diligence on this one: imoova.com is offering one-way Audi A4 rentals between select cities for $1 per day. Imoova is known for its 1-way RV relocation deals — this is the first time I’ve seen a car relocation deal deal. Checking the details of a few rentals confirmed what I suspected — you’ll be renting from Silvercar and relocating their Audis. This is potentially a great deal if you’re in the market for a one-way rental that matches up with their needs.
The Deal
- Rent an Audi A4 for $1 per day on select dates and for relocations between the following city pairs:
- Phoenix to San Francisco
- Phoenix to Seattle
- Salt Lake City to Chicago
- Direct link to imoova.com
- Link to the details on an example trip here
Key Details
- Relocation specials are nonrefundable
- Changes incur a fee
- Earliest possible pickup date: April 2, 2019
- Latest possible dropoff date: April 30, 2019
- Maximum rental period: Varies by route, but the longest is 4 days as of the time of writing
- Mileage allowances are not unlimited (but do offer some buffer depending on your route)
- You must have access to a Smartphone as registration and collection is via app.
- NOT INCLUDED: one time toll admin fee of $4.95 for customers that incur toll charges & one time fuel service fee of $9.95 for reservations returned with less than a full tank of gas
- Insurance is (obviously) not included
- See the full terms on imoova.com
Quick Thoughts
Again, I first became aware of imoova.com years ago on Slickdeals as they regularly offer very cheap (often $1 per day) one-way RV rentals. I’ve thought about doing one of those countless times and it just hasn’t worked out with my schedule, so I’ve never booked anything with imoova.
When I saw this deal, I figured they must be Silvercar vehicles. The full terms of a rental confirmed that as it shows the agreement is with Silvercar.
One thing to keep in mind: mileage is not unlimited. For example, Google tells me that Phoenix to San Francisco is about a 753-mile drive. Imoova is only giving you 850 miles included, so you don’t have a huge buffer zone for side trips on that route. Phoenix to Seattle should be about 1,425 miles according to Google and they are offering a mileage allowance of 1,675 miles on that trip, which gives you a 250-mile buffer zone for stops along the way. You’ll want to check details like that before you get involved in one of these.
On that same note, time is not unlimited. The max time is either 3 or 4 days depending on which rental you pick — so you wouldn’t have a lot of time to enjoy the scenery.
Furthermore, insurance isn’t included. The imoova.com site lists the following options:Insurance options available:
- $46/day Everything you need
- $28/day Car
- $6/day You & Your Things
- $12/day Other People & Their Things
- You can also opt to use your personal coverage
NOTE: Applicable standard fees, taxes and charges with apply to your rental
I’ve bolded the line about using your personal coverage. I’m not positive that a card with primary CDW would cover you here, but I imagine it would (at least for that part of the insurance). Paying $46 per day doesn’t sound particularly attractive to me, so you’d want to see what other options you have available.
I encourage you to read through the entire terms at imoova.com to make sure you know what you’re getting into since I don’t have direct experience with this deal.
All that said, if you actually have a use to travel between any of these city pairs this month, doing so in an Audi A4 might beat payinig full price for a Toyota Yaris. No disrespect to the Yaris. One nice thing is that since these are apparently Silvercar rentals, I imagine pick up and drop off are likely at airport locations, which would be convenient for those flying in/out.
If any readers have rented from imoova.com before, please share your experiences in the comments for the benefit of other readers.
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[…] Relocate Silvercar Audi A4’s for $1 per day [Limited dates / cities] (Expires 4/30/19 at the latest) […]
If you click through and read through the agreement, it specifically says Silvercar rental agreement, so it is with Silvercar, any credit card insurance *SHOULD* apply.
The top link doesn’t work. You may what to update. Bottom link does work.
I’d be interested in knowing why Silvercar finds itself in this position. The last time I asked, they said they didn’t do one-way rentals, so I wonder if this reflects a shift in demand. For example, more people are renting in San Francisco and fewer in Phoenix, so go west, young Audi.
Car companies are doing similar ex-Florida right now because of seasonal demand shifts. Presumably this is thus not really a one-way rental but a cheap way to reposition.
Mileage limited. Time limited.
They are getting labor that is willing to pay them to work.
Tom
Would the flat rate Amex insurance cover this?
Good question. Does it usually work with Silvercar?
The reason I ask that is because the term state you need to have a smartphone to download the app for pickup and drop-off. That leads me to assume that imoova is collecting the dollar per day or whatever here and then you’re actually renting with So (my best guess). Assuming you pay that $4.95 fee for tolls or whatever, I assume that charge would come from Silvercar and perhaps trigger that insurance. I’m really not positive, but if you try it, I’d love to hear all about it.
That’s all based on my totally unfounded guess as to the imoova business model. My assumption has always been that the rental company is paying them something for these relocations that costs less than whatever other relocation methods they might normally have. In return, I assume that imoova keeps your dollar per day and then gets to keep any fees for canceling or changing. I bet they make most of their money on those types of fees. But again, that’s based on nothing but my own intuition, and I’m admittedly out of my element in determining the business model of random RV relocation companies.
If I’m right, my guess is that your actual rental will be with Silvercar, so that insurance may very well be an attractive option. But I think the rental company has to charge you something in order to trigger the charge from Amex for that insurance, so I’m not totally sure how that will play out here.
Great post!