MY CAR-OWNERSHIP BUSINESS IDEA AND HOW I KILLED IT

1. The idea: Car-Ownership

This is a business to make two or more strangers come together to own a single property(car).

1. How I came up with the idea

A few days ago, I listened to a radio program and a car seller was complaining of poor business these days. Due to inflation, cars are now expensive and few people can afford them.

I also saw a video on Tiktok where used cars were being sent to the UAE.

I noticed that people would like to own a car for themselves, but they might not have ENOUGH money to buy, to the extend that some UAE citizens, known to be oil rich, are buying used vehicles from other countries.

"what if two strangers put their money together so they can buy a vehicle, when one of these people would not be able to afford it on his own?"

If this concept is possible, then how they can PEACEFULLY own the car together is the problem my business has to solve.

1. Getting feedback

I picked the phone and called a car dealer who had helped me sell my Toyota a few months ago and told him about my idea. He said it would not work, because two strangers would not trust each other.

I spoke with a lawyer I know who also said, there would likely be legal battles between those strangers later and my business might get entangled in endless legal issues.

I spoke with another car dealer who said that is not a good idea at all, and that if you don't have enough money to buy a car for yourself, he thinks its better to wait. Also between the two car owners, assuming they are living apart, who would spend the night with the vehicle?

I proceeded to speak with a policeman I met on the street and he said that it depends. It might be a good idea, but people behave differently when they partner with others and they see that the business is growing.

So assuming two strangers put money together and buy a single bus and use it for transporting passengers. If the bus starts to generate income, one of the owners might start to display his true colors that he did not show earlier, so not worth the partnership.

Finally, I went to buy food at a joint and spoke with the seller, a woman my mother's age. She said she would not patronize in such a business, because people are a problem. And that she would rather go for a loan to buy and own the vehicle herself rather than partner with even a family member.

She also added that naturally, everyone wants to OWN things for HIMSELF and gave me stories where people in the same household failed at partnerships.

1. HOW I KILLED THE IDEA If you have been reading this post up till this point, you noticed that the idea started dying as soon as I started speaking with people.

The food seller's conversation dealt a final blow to the business idea.
In fact, the CAR-OWNERSHIP business idea was dead even before I finished eating the meal. I bought another meal from her to take home for the night, and left the business idea on the table.