REVscene Automotive Forum - Portfolio by Openroad Review

Did a quick search and didn’t see anything other than a few comments prior to its release. I’m actually inside my car waiting for a new delivery so thought I’d comment for those who may be interested.

I rarely post and I’m not sure if this forum is even an appropriate place to post since I don’t consider this an enthusiast service as much as it is a business convenience.

For those that want a recap, the service allows the user to select from approximately 30 different cars delivered to your door with a half dozen switches allowed per month with a km cap of 2500 monthly.

Upside:

The customer service itself is really good. There is an app and subscribers can also text to communication.

Responses have been quick, personable, and professional. I’ve been able to drop off and pick up cars at YVR which is a nice. I really do not enjoy cleaning my car and I’m far too busy to care so having someone show up with a spotless car inside and out with water/tissue inside, is a pleasant gesture.

One feature that makes this service extremely cost effective for someone like me is the ability to pause and resume service. I’m often in Vancouver one month, away one month. A traditional lease and insurance would continue regardless of my being here.

I also get to change cars which is nice as there are times where it’s nice to have 3 rows of seats, or a convertible etc.

One major advantage of this service that you get a chance to really test and experience the cars. I’ve had a chance to drive a few cars that I initially enjoyed and may have considered buying during a few test drives. After driving them for a week, I hated them. Sometimes there are quirks in a car that a driver may not be able to work out in the span of a 30 minute test drive.

I know of this exact issue with a few people who have paid $300k+ for cars they now don’t like all too much. People will test inexpensive items more than they would a car or even a home before purchase.

I’ve worked out the cost on a few of the cars I frequently use, at the same trim level, and the annual expenses after taxes would be around $31,000 a year. With my current service I’m paying about $2800 including tax per month but since I’m using 8 months out of the year due to travel my annual cost is below $23,000.

Downsides:

It’s a shared fleet, so sometimes when I ask for a specific car, they don’t have it. They are generally very accommodating and try to find something similar. It’s not a perfect system but it’s good enough.

Some might say price is a downside but for my situation, it’s good value. I save money over a traditional lease due to my extensive travel and ability to pause the service. I also run the service through one of my companies and it’s not subject to some of the lease restriction requirements because it’s listed as a service.

I will reluctantly say that another downside is the car selection. While the pricing I’ve shown can makes sense on some models such as an RS5, F-type, Range Rover etc, it makes no sense at all for other models such as an M2, or SQ5.

If you don’t run this service through a company I think it’s obscenely expensive as the service plus gas would suck up an entire salary of $55k a year pretax!

Porsche has a service similar to this and payments adjust based on the type of vehicle. We will see more and more services over time to compete in this space. While it’s a big mental shift for many of us, the subscription model is being implemented almost everywhere.

It would be interesting to see more companies offer this service and see if it catches on. As I get older, as a huge car enthusiast, I find myself only seeing value in buying cars that either have massive sentimental value or have the ability to appreciate.

Hope this review was helpful.

I’m undecided if I will continue the service after this fiscal year