CRI听力:Car Leasing A New Way to Make Ends Meet

People enjoy the convenience of having their own car, but they have to afford fuel which costs a lot each month. Now they have found new ways of making ends meet by leasing their car to wedding service agencies and car rental companies.



Zhang Wan finds out.

What do you do with your own car? Driving to work? Or driving out for fun at the weekend? If that's all, you probably have not made full use of your car.

Nowadays some people are finding new ways to make ends meet when they have to pay for their car's routine consumption of fuel: They lease their car.

Li Zhe from Hebei province is one of them.

"Through leasing my car as a wedding car to my friends, I get some return to pay for my car's daily consumption of gas."

In China, well-decorated cars are definite part of a wedding ceremony. 28 year old Tang Zheng has just held her wedding ceremony. She says wedding cars have cost her a lot.

"I rent six cars. I paid about 500 for each car. And you have to pay extra, if the distance you require is much longer. Especially if you hold your wedding ceremony at peak season, which means the auspicious days Chinese people believe, you have to pay more for the cars."

When Li Zhe realized this was a good way to pay for his car's daily use, he decided to lease his car to wedding service agencies so that he could get a commission.

"I would get 800 or 1000 yuan sometimes, but usually 400 or 500 yuan for leasing my car, I think the price is very reasonable, as I have to pay about 1000 yuan a month for the car's gas bill, therefore, leasing can pay for half of that."

In the capital city of Hebei province Shijiazhuang, more and more people have started to make full use of their private cars by leasing. Whenever these car owners don't need their car, they lease it to wedding service agencies or car rental companies to make some money.

Some people even put advertisements on their cars.

However, legal expert says private car owners should be aware of the risks behind this way of making money, which has yet to be under the protection of the law. Zhao Zhefeng is a lawyer.

"I suggest private car owners come to the traffic administration to ask what business you are allowed to do. For business prohibited by law, you should stop right away. For the business yet specified by l

aw, I advise car owners sign contracts with those agencies, so that their rights and obligations can be specified."

For China Drive, I am Zhang Wan.