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GaragePointer: a new kind of Airbnb?

GaragePointer hopes to connect car owners with little storage space to individuals who have extra garage space to rent out.

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Kevin Seifert/Invision for MWPR/AP/File
A car sits in the garage of a man in Kernersville, N.C.

One of the biggest factors limiting would-be car collectors from amassing a fleet of their own is often storage—but it is one that GaragePointer hopes to help owners overcome.

If you live in a city, or even on a quarter acre suburban lot, parking more than a couple of cars at home may be a challenge. That's where GaragePointer comes in.

Something of an Airbnb (the service that allows people to rent out their homes) for car owners, it's designed to connect homeowners with a spare covered parking spot with those in need of a place to stash their car.

GaragePointer is a peer-to-peer service that, so far, connects people in California, Oregon and Washington but will spread nationwide later this summer. GaragePointer doesn't set rental fees; instead, it collects $20 from each successful deal. Garage owners and car owners gain the comfort of insurance backing the deal, something they wouldn't get on Next Door or Craigslist, for instance.

The site advertises itself mainly for collector car owners in urban areas—it was started in the Washington, D.C. area—but the service could apply to anyone looking for covered, off street parking for their car. The folks at GaragePointer could be onto something...

This article first appeared at MotorAuthority.

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