If high petrol prices, exorbitant lease payments and the general costs of running your car are starting to look a little daunting, Bellevue Hill businessman Daniel Noble could offer some relief.

Mr Noble and his wife, Marina, have launched Drive My Car, an online marketplace where car owners can lease their vehicles to people looking for short or long-term transportation. For a small fee, owners can list their car, and the times it’s available for lease, on the website.

Prospective drivers then browse the cars online and if a car takes their fancy, they send their RTA driver history to the owner for approval.

Mr Noble said he and his wife concocted the idea for Drive My Car before the credit crunch took hold, but the present financial climate had only made it more attractive to car owners.

“We’ve been swept up by the momentum,” he said.

“A lot of people have high rents at the moment and when they go to work, the car gets left at home. They’re thinking. ‘I can get some of that money back’.”

Mr Noble said the response from luxury car owners had been strong - particularly those who owed money on their vehicles.

“What they owe on the car, compared to what they could get for it, is too much, so they’re trying to get some of that money back,” he said.

“And it’s not just luxury cars. The short-term leases tend to be the luxury vehicles, for a wedding or a weekend away, but there are people out there looking for a Toyota or a Holden to do a regular Monday to Friday.”

Go to http://www.drivemycar.net.au.

 A CURRENT AFFAIR