CCS

This company offers a guide or directory for $39 which purportedly lists other companies who offer free cars, or pay vehicle owners to drive their own car for advertising purposes. The company is not directly offering a free car, or an opportunity for a free car. They sell information only. Although there may be advertising agencies who do make such offers, this company is not one of them. Companies listed in the directory offered may or may not have authorized the listing, and may require additional fees for applications or additional information.

In theory, the advertising company "wraps" the car in an easily-removable paint-safe vinyl film that contains an attractive graphic ad that promotes a client company's product or service. For example, the ad might promote a cell phone service or a new restaurant in town. These arrangements are typically not handled directly by the company selling the product or service, but by a marketing or advertising company hired by the product/service company. Some of these marketing and advertising companies provide brand-new vehicles, some offer almost-new vehicles from their fleet, others may pay you to drive your own car. Some ads might cover the entire vehicle (looks great on SUVs, minivans, PT Cruisers), some only partially, and some only on side or rear windows. Don't worry, you can see just fine through windows that have vinyl ads applied. The company offering the product or service pays the advertising company, who pays you to drive your own car or provides you a car with the advertising already applied.

The amount you get paid, or whether you get a free car, depends primarily on three factors, the number of miles you drive per month, where you drive, and where you park. In other words, you're selected according to the number of people who will potentially see your wrapped vehicle in an average day. If you only drive a few blocks to a part-time job, back and forth to school in the suburbs, or just to church on Sundays, you probably won't qualify for this kind of program. It's not too difficult to figure out whether or not you might qualify for one of these cars-for-free programs when you consider the objectives of the advertisers. They simply want their ads to be seen by as many people as possible in a specific area.

Keep in mind that the car belongs to the advertising company, not you. At the end of the agreement, which could be as much as five years, you give the car back. Competition for free cars is very heavy, outstripping demand in many cases.

We advise against sending money to companies making these kinds of offers. Complaints about other companies engaging in similar types of businesses generally allege that once money is sent, respondents fail to receive the promised guide, or that entries are fictitious or outdated. Most similar offers are made in conjunction with a money-back guarantee, but our experience is that few customers are able to obtain refunds despite the guarantee.