HyreCar filed for bankruptcy and wound down its rideshare rental marketplace, leaving Chicago drivers mid-week without a car and without support. GonzoCar is a direct replacement: one company, one weekly price, our own fleet of Toyota hybrids already approved for Uber, Lyft and DoorDash in Chicago — no host to negotiate with and no listing that disappears overnight.
HyreCar was a peer-to-peer marketplace: individual car owners listed vehicles, and drivers rented them week to week. When the company wound down, those listings and the insurance that sat behind them went with it. That left drivers with three problems at once — no vehicle, no rideshare-grade insurance, and no one to call when something broke. A fleet operator solves all three, because the car, the insurance and the maintenance all come from the same place.
On a marketplace you were matched with a stranger's car: unknown maintenance history, mileage caps set per listing, deposits that varied host to host, and a vehicle that could be pulled back the moment the owner changed their mind. With GonzoCar you rent from our own fleet at $319 a week. Commercial rideshare insurance, scheduled maintenance and unlimited miles are included in that number, and the car stays yours for as long as you keep the weekly payment current.
A valid US driver's license held at least one year, a clean enough record for the platforms, and your first week's payment plus a portion of the security deposit ($150-$200). That's it — no credit check and no long-term contract. If you already have an active Uber or Lyft account from your HyreCar days, you keep it. We add the vehicle to your profile so you can go back online as soon as you pick up.
Applications take about 90 seconds and most are answered the same day. Pickup in Chicago is usually within 48 hours of approval, which means a driver who applies Monday is normally earning again before the weekend surge.