Car rental in New York · iPhone

Rent a car by the week, from someone who owns it.

Find a car near you, agree a weekly price with its owner, and pick it up. The same amount is charged every 7 days for as long as you keep it. There is no fixed end date and no contract to get out of — return the car in the app and the charges stop.

  • $260–$290 a week is the usual range today
  • Every 7 days, charged a day before each week starts
  • Return any day — unused days are refunded
Get it on iPhone See how it works

What the app actually does

  1. Browsing cars in the DriveBai app: four available cars, each with a photo, a weekly price and the neighbourhood it is kept in.

    01

    Find a car near you

    Browse every car without an account. Each listing shows the weekly price, the deposit, the neighbourhood it is kept in, and how long you need to have held a licence.

  2. A car's page: a 2022 Hyundai Elantra at $280 per week, with the button reading “Rent — renews weekly, charged every week until you return the car”.

    02

    See what you are agreeing to

    The price is per week and it renews. The app says so on the button itself — charged every week until you return the car — before you ask for anything.

  3. A sent rental request showing $280.00 a week, renewing weekly until the car is returned, the first week's amount, and that unused days are refunded.

    03

    Ask the owner

    Your request states the weekly amount, the first week, and that unused days are refunded. The owner sees your licence and decides. Nothing is charged until they accept and you pay.

  4. The rental card: paid through Friday 9 October, renewing weekly, the next charge on Thursday 8 October, and the card it will be taken from.

    04

    Then it just runs

    One card, one amount, every 7 days. The app shows what you have paid through and what the next charge is, with a reminder two days before it. The amount cannot change unless you agree to a new one.

  5. Payment history: four weeks paid at $280.00 each, $1120.00 in total, with the dates each week covered.

    05

    Every week, on the record

    Each week that was collected, when, and for which dates. If a charge fails you are told, you keep the car while we retry, and you can pay in the app.

  6. A conversation with the car's owner about when the car is free and where to hand it over.

    06

    Talk to the person, not a company

    Arranging the pickup, asking about the tyres, agreeing where to hand it back — that is a conversation with the owner, in the app, kept with the rental.

The parts people find out too late

These are in the agreement you sign. They are here too, because finding them later is worse.

DriveBai does not insure the car

Insurance, registration, fuel, tickets and tolls are yours. If you need cover, arrange it before you pick the car up.

The owner is paid what you pay, less 10%

DriveBai's service fee is 10% of the weekly rent. The owner receives the rest, released as the week is used.

If a payment fails, you are told — and you keep the car

The card is retried across the first two days of the week. Pay in the app and the rental carries on exactly as before.

Days you used and did not pay for are still owed

They become a balance in the app. Until it is cleared you cannot start another rental, and closing your account does not clear it.

DriveBai does not recover vehicles

If a car is not returned we give the owner the rental record and help the two of you reach each other. We do not take cars back and have no way to do it.

Returning the car is the exit

Any day, no notice. The unused days of the week you have paid for are refunded once the owner confirms they have the car.

If it is your car

List it, set a weekly price, and see who is asking — their name, their licence, and how long they have held it — before you hand over the keys. You are paid as each week is used, less DriveBai's 10% fee, into your own Stripe account.

DriveBai does not pay you for rent it cannot collect from a driver. There is no guarantee and no minimum. That is stated plainly in the owner agreement, and it is why the fee is what it is.

Available on iPhone

Browse without an account.

You only need an email to sign up, and a licence and a card when you actually rent something.

Download on the App Store