Free Car Media

Free Car Media is a company that provides "paid to drive" programs. These are those near mythical programs that we've all heard about but never really quite managed to pin down. You know, you get a free car plastered with ads and you get the car for free just for driving it around?

The strange thing is these offers, "paid to drive" really do exist and Free Car Media (their website ismyfreecar.com) is one of the companies that offers them. A few things you should know about these paid to drive offers though.

1) There aren't all that many of them. Free Car Media usually has, at any one time, 800 to 1,000 cars on the road. In a country of 300 million people that just isn't all that many.

2) It's no longer true that you get a free car. That business model is pretty much over. What usually happens in a paid to drive program is that you'll get an auto wrap (a vinyl decal with the ad on it) which you put on your car.

3) Paid to drive doesn't usually mean that you just get to drive as you normally do. The advertiser will want a certain amount of time in certain types of places and may well track you by GPS to make sure you're providing that time.

4) As above, Free Car Media and the other companies are not providing free cars any more. However, the compensation will be in the $400-$800 a month range for the few months of the paid to drive program. That'll cover most car payments and maintenance bills for that period.

5) It isn't all that easy to get on one of the paid to drive programs. It's not just that there are only a few at any one time. They will also be looking for specific vehicle types and specific demographics. Only if you meet those will you be made an offer. Suburban soccer moms with new large cars are a good bet, you or I in our 15 year old clunkers not a good one.

6) You should never have to pay to sign up for or get information about these paid to drive schemes. All of the reputable companies are free to sign up for: they make their money from the advertiser, not the people aiming to do the advertising.