Nice Ride, Nice Price

Let's say you want to roll up to that big job interview in style, but you can't afford a Mercedes. Enalux may have wheels for you.

The short-term rental biz was born of desperation. "I had a Mercedes lease that I couldn't afford," says Enalux President Alex Levitsky. "My only two choices were to pay or have the lease company repossess it." To finance his lease payments, Levitsky started renting the car to friends for hot dates, job interviews or joyrides.

"We allow owners of high-end vehicles to rent them out to their peers and other individuals through our safe marketplace," Levitsky says. "The owners have control over the whole process. They put up pictures, set the price, set the days that the car is available, and they can approve or deny the renters."

Daily rates range from $89 for a 2006 Infiniti FX35 to $155 for a 2006 Mercedes-Benz M-Class. Enalux charges an $8.99 booking fee, plus 10 percent of the rental fee.

How does Enalux undercut luxury competitors like Grace Fine Motorcars, where rates range from $129 to $239 a day? "They have a warehouse to store the cars, they have employees, they have a lot of overhead that they have to pay, while our owners are just trying to subsidize their original cost," Levitsky says.

Renters must be at least 21 years old and fully insured, have no DUIs, no felonies and no more than six points on their driver's licenses.

Levitsky says Enalux had 40 cars listed at the beginning of June and plans to roll out nationwide in September.

Reprinted from the July 2011 issue of Columbus C.E.O. Copyright © Columbus C.E.O.