You may have heard rumors that you may get paid to drive your car, or in some cases get a car to use for free. While participation is limited and it takes luck as well as living in the right place for a particular campaign, you might get paid to have your car (or a car delivered to you) become a moving ad. If you drive 800 miles or more a month along densely populated routes in your normal driving habits, you may want to check out companies that offer car wraps.

The concept is quite simple. Advertising space on billboards along busy roads and highways is limited and in some places not allowed at all. However, it is possible to reach many of these people in another way. Companies advertise on the outside of cars to reach those same people. The problem is that buying an entire fleet of cars for an advertising campaign can be too expensive, so a solution was developed.

Instead of buying their own cars, companies sometimes “rent” space in private citizens’ cars. In exchange for allowing a company to “wrap” your car with their ad, they will pay you a monthly fee. Rates can be as high as $400 per month for a full car wrap and lesser amounts for a partial car wrap or window wrap.

Another option that some of these companies offer instead of car wraps is to give you a free car with ads already included. You are not usually paid on this offer and you do not get to choose the type of car provided, but you do receive free use of the car during the campaign period. Your only costs are gas and insurance, which means you get transportation at a fraction of the cost of owning your own car. There are some rare cases where you can get paid upon receiving a free car. Some companies will pay you to drive the cars for free along certain specific routes each day.

So what’s the catch? The main one is that there are many more drivers who want the positions than advertising campaigns available. If you don’t drive a lot of miles or live in a highly populated area (big college campuses seem like an ideal location) where your ad will be seen by a population that advertisers crave, your chances of being targeted are slim. Most companies require that you drive a minimum of 800 miles per month. Not driving enough miles can void the contract, and most companies use global positioning systems (GPS) in your car to track the miles and places you visit each month.

Most programs require you to be 18 years of age, have a clean driving record, and have your own auto insurance. In most cases, traffic violations will prevent you from being considered. Contracts vary in duration and amount paid depending on the type of advertising in the campaign in question. Most companies don’t let you choose the advertiser, but will let you back out if the advertiser goes against your moral values ​​(cigarettes, alcohol, and sex).

With the concept, there is a growing number of websites that do not actually offer car wraps, but claim to be a database for advertisers to find people willing to advertise their cars. Many offer free registration, but then encourage you to purchase a “premium package” that is supposed to move your name further up the list. The fact is, you’re highly unlikely to be chosen from these services, so it’s not worth the time (and definitely not the money) to sign up with them.

While the chances of being chosen are slim, they are better than playing the lottery. If you qualify and live in an area that you think would be desirable to advertisers, it might be worth your time to complete the online forms in 15-30 minutes. If you’re lucky and chosen, it will significantly reduce your handling costs with little effort on your part.