Frequently Asked Questions
General FAQs
What is Airport Cars Club all about?
How do I contact Airport Cars Club?
What does membership cost?
Why should I join Airport Cars Club?
Do I have to have an “airport car” to join Airport Cars Club?
What are "airport cars"?
How are vehicles reserved?
Do I have to schedule my own vehicle?
My FBO is not registered with Airport Cars Club. What do I do?
My airport doesn’t have an FBO. What do I do?
Who can drive a borrowed car?
What about refueling the cars?
Is there a mileage limit?
What if I have a problem with a borrowed vehicle?
Who is responsible for maintaining the cars?
What if I have an accident with a borrowed car?
What about insurance?
What do I do if my car is damaged by a member?
I want to join, what do I do?
What does a vehicle exchange cost?
Is there a time limit?
Do I need any special software?
FBO FAQs
What are the benefits of an FBO signing up on Airport Cars Club?
Does it cost anything for my free web page??
Pilot FAQs
How do I qualify for Airport Cars Club membership?
General FAQs
What is Airport Cars Club all about?
Airport Cars Club is an internet based club where the owners of "airport cars" can go to schedule the use of other's "airport cars" when flying to other then their usual airport, as long as they allow their car to be used by other members.
How do I contact Airport Cars Club?
Go to Contact Airport Cars Club and use our contact form.
What does membership cost?
The annual membership fee is $50, less then the cost of one day’s car rental. If your car is the first Airport Cars Club car on the airport, you qualify for a free one year membership.
Why should I join Airport Cars Club?
Airport Cars Club can turn your vehicle investment into ground transportation at airports all over the continental U.S. Its more convenient and less expensive then rental cars, and your "airport car" would benefit from more frequent use. Wouldn't your vehcile be more reliable being used more frequently?
Do I have to have an “airport car” to join Airport Cars Club?
Yes, but a good used vehicle costs less then just about anything on an airplane.
What are "airport cars"?
Those cars parked at airports for use by pilots that fly to that airport frequently.
How are vehicles reserved?
Use our airport search feature and go to your destination's reservation page and reserve an available vehicle. If no vehicles are available at your destination our search feature will help you find the nearest airport with a car. Print your reservation to present to the FBO to receive the keys when you arrive.
Do I have to schedule my own vehicle?
Yes, but scheduling is easy. Your home page is your vehicle scheduling page and you have priority scheduling of your own vehicle up to 10 days in advance.
My FBO is not registered with Airport Cars Club. What do I do?
Sign up anyway. Airport Cars Club will contact your FBO to get them to participate. If they will not, Airport Cars Club will send you a lockbox, (no installation required). The combination to the lockbox will appear on the printed reservation form. Only Airport Cars Club members will have the combination, and we will know who they are.
My airport doesn’t have an FBO. What do I do?
Sign up and Airport Cars Club will send you a lockbox. The combination to the lock box will be printed on the reservation form. Only members who reserve your car will have the combination and Airport Cars Club will know who they are.
Who can drive a borrowed car?
Only the Airport Cars Club member may drive the borrowed car.
What about refueling the cars?
Refueling to full is required if the vehicle is driven more than 25 miles. In any event, if the fuel gage reads less then ¾ full, the vehicle must be refueled to full.
All members are required to report to Airport Cars (via the reporting page) any violation of the fueling rules. No one wants to get into a vehicle with an empty fuel tank, and filling a vehicle ¼ full is not going to break the bank for most of us. Sometimes you’ll get lucky and not have to fill up and sometimes not. It should all even out in the end.
Is there a mileage limit?
While there is no mileage limit, as the driver you are responsible for returning the vehicle to the airport (or a location designated by the owner on the vehicle information form). Please don't use the borrowed cars for extended road trips. Vehicle owners can report excessive mileage on the reporting page.
What if I have a problem with a borrowed vehicle?
The borrower of the vehicle is only responsible for returning the car to the airport or another place designated by the owner of the car on the vehicle imformation form.
Airport cars are used cars of little value but they must be reliable and safe. If you borrow a vehicle that is unreliable or unsafe report the condition to Airport Cars Club via the reporting page and the owner will be notified. Any vehicle reported more then once during a membership period may be removed from the club. Unreliable or unsafe vehicles will not be tolerated.
Who is responsible for maintaining the cars?
All maintenance is the responsibility of the vehicle owner. The vehicles must be maintained in a safe and reliable condition. Any breakdown, unsafe or unreliable condition is to be reported by the borrower via the reporting page. More then 1 such report per membership period will result in a penalty or loss of club membership for the owner of the poorly maintained vehicle.
Maintenance should be performed while the vehicle is not scheduled, and the time for maintenance should be scheduled on the scheduling page.
Any inoperable accessories, gages, or warning systems that do not render the vehicle unsafe or unreliable are acceptable, but should be placarded by the owner on the vehicle information form which is kept in the car.
What if I have an accident with a borrowed car?
In the event of an accident involving just vehicle damage, the borrower is responsible for returning the vehicle to the airport if still safely drivable, or for securing the vehicle in a location specified by the vehicle owner on the vehicle information form kept in the car.
Any accident must be reported to the police, or as local law requires, and to Airport Cars Club (via the reporting page).
The borrower of the vehicle is responsible for all expenses involving towing, repair, or disposal of the vehicle, not to exceed the lesser of $1500, or the blue book value of the vehicle. This payment is due upon receipt of an estimate from an auto repair facility and is payable to the owner regardless of whether or not the owner chooses to have the vehicle repaired. The driver of the vehicle is responsible for the full value of any damages caused to the property of all third parties, which are not covered by insurance.
What about insurance?
All vehicles must carry a minimum of bodily injury liability of $100,000 each person and $300,000 each accident.
Because no one pays for the use of each others’ cars, an accident is treated as though you borrowed a friend’s car by the insurance company. The owner of the vehicle must keep insurance information in the vehicle, and the coverage current. The vehicle owner’s insurance is the primary coverage in the event of an accident, followed by the drivers insurance.
What do I do if my car is damaged by a member?
Report any damage to Airport Cars Club via the reporting page. The borrower is responsible to get your car to the airport if still drivable, or a location you designated in advance on your vehicle information form. The borrower must comply with all local laws just as though the car was rented. The owner’s insurance is primary. The borrower is responsible for the cost of the repairs up to the blue book value of the vehicle or $1500, which ever is less, regardless of whether or not you have the car repaired. Provide the borrower and Airport Cars Club with copies of the repair estimate.
The borrower is to make payment directly to the owner of the damaged car, but Airport Cars Club will help, if necessary.
I want to join, what do I do?
Go to the membership page and complete the membership form.
Pay your membership fee with a credit card.
Print out and complete a vehicle information form to keep in your car.
Give your FBO a set of keys to your car.
What does a vehicle exchange cost?
Nothing. Airport Cars Club is a club established for the free exchange of vehicles among members.
Is there a time limit?
15 days per reservation.
Do I need any special software?
No. All you need is an Internet connection and a web browser. However, for the best usability experience, we recommend using Mozilla Firefox. Firefox is an award-winning Web browser. It is faster, more secure, and more web standards compliant than Internet Explorer. Download Mozilla Firefox and install it for free.
FBO FAQs
What are the benefits of an FBO signing up on Airport Cars Club?
Airport Cars Club will turn those seldom used vehicles in your parking lot into ground transportation for General Aviation, driving members to your ramp and relieving you of some of your ground transportation burden.
Does it cost anything for my free web page??
No, just agree to handle the keys to the cars.
Pilot FAQs
How do I qualify for Airport Cars Club membership?
You must be a licensed pilot and place a vehicle into the network. The vehicle must be licensed, safe, reliable, and insured. It may not have a blue book value in excess of $5000.
