Hi @Snowbird,
(Number 5)my mistake about the automatic/gear question, it is still a requirement for UK drivers.
Both our cars are automatic but if I had a car with gears, I may feel a little wary about lending it to a non uk driver who had never driven one before. Not only could they be dealing with driving on the left, which for some is the opposite side and new or different road signs, they would also have to negotiate gears and a clutch.
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@Sally1959 Thatās exactly how l feel about driving in Europe! I was fine driving an auto in the US, all
I had to concentrate on was driving on the right, but throw in driving a manual and especially winter when I usually travel - my blood pressure couldnāt handle it lol. Iād probably be okay doing a short trip on a quiet country road to start with! Even before hire prices went up an auto in Europe is about 4 times as expensiveā¦.if you can get one!
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Hi @Sally1959 I totally understand and agree with how you feel about wanting to know the driving experience of anyone who might use your vehicle. Itās a point Iāve mentioned in posts before. I think itās important that questions be asked about all equipment, and not just cars, although that is the topic here.
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Hi @Snowbird, thats a good point about other equipment, our kitchen could be a minefieldš
I shall have a good search in the forum. 
A flight (ok, 4 to be specific) & car rental from NZ to 
are the same price 
ā¦Iām trying to do back to back sits & some airbnb to avoid a budget blowout.
Some great sits in the Eastern US in Oct but def need vehicles for them.
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And in the US itās just the opposite, most cars, especially newer ones, are automatic. Sitters could use my car but itās manual transmission. Younger folks donāt even think to ask about that. Thankfully I live in a city with good public transportation.
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I am going to ask 2 questions directed at homeowners. Iām not expanding on them because I donāt want to influence the answers at this point.
Question 1: Why do you add āsitter needs a carā in your listing?
Question 2: Would you consider accepting a sitter who does not wish to use a car?
Some sits are isolated and may not have regular/reliable transit. The home owner is letting you know that in order to get groceries or reach other amenities, you will likely need a vehicle or use a taxi service. They are assuming itās too far to walk for the average person.
Obviously this can be somewhat subjective, so it could be something a sitter might ask about if they think they might be able to manage without a car.
I think the only time a home owner would choose not to accept a sitter without a car, is if they are concerned that there is no other option for getting their pet to vet. Many taxis will not allow animals.
I should note, I am a sitter, not a home owner, but if you do a search, youāll find this has been discussed in a number of other threads.
Hello @Jilly and welcome to the forum. As well as the responses before you in this post, you might want to also look at Car needed?, which is in the sitter question section.
Each time a sitter asks this question of homeowners, it hopefully makes them pause for thought on this point, as each tag added limits their reach to what might otherwise be suitable sitters.
I am a sitter and HO here.
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I donāt put 'sitter needs a car" on my listing because I have grocery store, coffee shops, restaurants, etc a few blocks from the house. I live in a large US city with poor public transport, but there is a bus stop a few yards away. A car would make it much easier, but is not essential.
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Yes, but I just have one healthy cat. It would be easy to get Lyft to my vet in the unlikely event that he needed a vet.
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Thanks for your reply. I think the most important point you make is, āThey are assummingā.
I found the other questions and answers on the forum about this so Iām having a read.
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I would put ācar neededā if I had a listing. I live in the suburbs of a mid-size city. The nearest major grocery store is about 7km away although there is a small (expensive) shop about 3 km away. There is a bus that goes by near the house and if you plan things properly, you can get to the big grocery store and back. It leaves every hour most days and has one change, so it takes about an hour to get there and an hour to get back.
We have a beautiful lake (3+ km walk down a steep hill) and tons of beautiful parks and hikes (many inaccessible without a car). There is nothing to do in my neighbourhood so if you didnāt have a car, you would see very little of our beautiful city unless you spent a lot of money on taxis. We donāt have Lyft or Uber. Our saving grace is that once you are down the hill, you can rent an e-bike (also pricey) and ride it around, or even ride it home. But you wouldnāt be able to have a dog with you obviously.
SO - you donāt NEED a car where I live, but I personally wouldnāt want to do the the sit if I didnāt have any easy way to get out of the neighbourhood.
Home owners base the clicking of āNeeds a carā on their own experience and needs. Savvy sitters who are used to getting around without wheels, normally ask the home owner to elaborate on it during their interview to see if it might work for them anyway.
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Good morning!
With the soaring cost of rental cars (if you can even find one) and airfare, we are now applying only to sits that include a car. In addition we are now limited to lowcost air carriers because of the exorbiant fares. We are lucky to have Allegiant nearby but the destinations are limited.
We are in the midwest but I like sits on the west coast because I grew up there. A recent check of airfare from St. Louis to Seattle was $1400 R/T! Normally it would be less that $500.
So with that said, a suggestion to HOs who are having problems booking a sitter is to include a car in their listings.
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@MissChef - You can search for listings that way,. It is one of the filters you can select.
Okay! Clearly time for more coffee for me. Iāll delete my entry if youāll delete yours 
I havenāt gone anywhere besides about 5 hours from my house, and Iāve always drivenā¦ But I thought that was something people were complaining about before?
Not new to TrustedHousesitters but the first time Iāve included my car in the deal. Unfortunately, damage occurred and I contacted TH about the Contents/Damage reimbursement and cars are apparently not included. I do want to include my car again as I feel it makes our sit that much more attractive but not if minor damage will cost me out of pocket. Yes, my car insurance covers this damage but it will also result in a skyrocket increase in my premium.
Does anybody have a ācar contractā they can share? I have been doing home exchanging for years and we often use a āLetter of Confirmationā to confirm all the things we have agreed to, how to handle minor damage, etc. I assume the same exists within this community related to carsā¦which I guess you are on your own about.
Would love to hear others experience with a car agreement, how you handled any damage, gas, etc. Thanks in advance!
@huttpl Hi there, not sure how these forums work, my post was deleted and moved into this thread so Iām not sure if Iāll get any answers. With that said, you are in the USā¦ do you have an example ācar contractā you are asked to agree to when doing a sit that includes a car? For the first time, we included our car and it was damaged. THS doesnāt provide any support or help for car damage and so if I want to keep offering my car (because itās helpful and because rentals are so expensive right now), I need ot figure out how to do this more effectively. Yes, I already contacted my insurance company so know they were fine with the sitter using itā¦but the damage incurred will be more than $1,000 and if I claim it, my rates will skyrocket. So trying to find a happy medium.
@Els I think car insurance varies wildly country by country. You mention not being willing to split costs, but if you damaged a car as part of a sit, what do you feel is reasonable as your share? Iām grappling with this right nowā¦canāt do anything other than fix my damaged car (I do not expect my sitter to pay anything because I should have had a better plan going into loaning my car. I did check with my insurance company and the car is covered but my rates will go up if I claim the damage). I want to offer my car again but have now learned that THS do not provide any support to damaged carsā¦ you are on your own. I am now seeking to include a ācar contractā for potential sitters and am curious to know what sitters would consider fair. I want to offer my car but wonāt be able to if I am potentially taking on the liability of thousands of dollars to fix/increase my premiums if a problem happens again.
We are generally offered the use of a car at most of our sits. We have never entered into a contract, but have agreed to pay the excess should there be an accident. Luckily we have never had an accident.
i think the car complaint related to whether a car is needed or not. Sitters want to be able to search for ācar not neededā. There is also a tendency for HOs to say āsitters need a carā when they are not providing a car, not always because a car really is essential.