RentedWheels

Peer-to-peer car rental marketplace connecting car owners with travelers

Project overview

RentedWheels is a comprehensive peer-to-peer car rental platform that enables car owners to monetize their vehicles while providing travelers with flexible, affordable transportation options. We developed a complete ecosystem including a customer-facing web application, a car owner portal, and a powerful admin dashboard—all backed by a robust real-time backend infrastructure.

Team size: 3-5

Duration: 6+ months

Dev hours: 800+

Services Used

Development Product Design

React 18Redux ToolkitNode.js & ExpressMongoDBSocket.ioFirebase Cloud MessagingGoogle Maps APICoreUIJWT AuthenticationNodemailer

RentedWheels platform on tablet and mobile devices showing car search and listings

What was the problem?

The client wanted to disrupt the traditional car rental market by creating a sharing economy platform where individuals could list their personal vehicles for short-term rentals. They faced the challenge of building trust between strangers, managing complex pricing models (hourly, daily, weekly rates with mileage caps), enabling seamless real-time communication, and ensuring secure payments—all while serving multiple user types with distinct needs: renters, car owners, and platform administrators.

Solution

We architected a multi-tenant platform with role-based access control, implementing separate experiences for renters, car owners, and administrators while sharing a common backend infrastructure for efficiency and consistency.

Built a feature-rich customer web application using React 18, Redux Toolkit, and Ant Design for intuitive car discovery, booking, and account management

Developed a comprehensive car owner portal enabling vehicle listing with flexible pricing models, booking management, and earnings tracking

Implemented real-time bidirectional chat using Socket.io with typing indicators, read receipts, and online/offline status

Created geospatial search functionality using MongoDB 2dsphere indexing integrated with Google Maps for location-based car discovery

Built a powerful admin dashboard using CoreUI with analytics, coupon management, and content administration capabilities

Integrated Firebase Cloud Messaging for cross-platform push notifications with web service worker support

Functionality

The platform delivers a complete car rental marketplace experience with sophisticated features for all user types. Customers can search for vehicles by location, filter by features, communicate with owners in real-time, and manage bookings. Car owners have full control over their listings, pricing, availability, and customer interactions. Administrators oversee platform operations through a comprehensive dashboard with analytics and content tools.

The results of our collaboration:

Secure authentication system with email verification, OTP-based password reset, and JWT token management with role-based access control

Dynamic pricing engine supporting hourly, daily, and weekly rates with configurable mileage caps, overage charges, and delivery fees

Complete booking lifecycle management including availability checking, amount calculation, coupon application, and refundable deposits

Real-time messaging platform with text, image, and document sharing capabilities, plus typing indicators and message read status

Rating and review system enabling customers to provide feedback on rental experiences, building trust within the community

Identity verification workflow allowing users to upload documents for enhanced trust and security

Multi-language support (English and Thai) for regional market expansion

Push notification system for booking updates, messages, and platform alerts

Project results

3 integrated platforms (Web, Owner Portal, Admin)

14+

14+ database collections with geospatial support

50+

50+ RESTful API endpoints

Real-time

Real-time chat with Socket.io

RentedWheels mobile app showing car listings on the go

Car owner portal with dashboard, bookings, and car management

Client Success Stories

Trusted by innovators worldwide

Don't just take our word for it — hear from the founders, teams, and leaders who've built with us.

“They didn't just build us an app — they actually understood why our customers shop the way they do. The whole experience feels natural, and our operations run so much smoother now. Honestly, the platform paid for itself within the first few months.”
Pearl DumnuiCo-founder, Happy Grocers
“We needed branding that said 'modern and trustworthy' without being boring. What we got back was spot on — the designs feel fresh but also serious enough for a digital contracting platform. It gave us the confidence to go out and pitch to investors with a polished identity from day one.”
BuddySign TeamBuddySign
“Our logo needed to speak to young entrepreneurs and seasoned stakeholders at the same time. Not an easy brief. But the final design just works — it's vibrant enough to feel exciting and professional enough to put on government partnership documents. We've gotten more compliments on our branding than anything else.”
Startup Namibia TeamStartup Namibia
“We're an AI-powered platform, so our branding had to feel techy without being intimidating. The logo they designed hits that balance perfectly — clean, modern, and it scales well whether it's on a website header or a tiny app icon. Simple brief, but they executed it really well.”
MyAjarn TeamMyAjarn
“They didn't just build us an app — they actually understood why our customers shop the way they do. The whole experience feels natural, and our operations run so much smoother now. Honestly, the platform paid for itself within the first few months.”
Pearl DumnuiCo-founder, Happy Grocers
“We needed branding that said 'modern and trustworthy' without being boring. What we got back was spot on — the designs feel fresh but also serious enough for a digital contracting platform. It gave us the confidence to go out and pitch to investors with a polished identity from day one.”
BuddySign TeamBuddySign
“Our logo needed to speak to young entrepreneurs and seasoned stakeholders at the same time. Not an easy brief. But the final design just works — it's vibrant enough to feel exciting and professional enough to put on government partnership documents. We've gotten more compliments on our branding than anything else.”
Startup Namibia TeamStartup Namibia
“We're an AI-powered platform, so our branding had to feel techy without being intimidating. The logo they designed hits that balance perfectly — clean, modern, and it scales well whether it's on a website header or a tiny app icon. Simple brief, but they executed it really well.”
MyAjarn TeamMyAjarn

“We came in with a rough idea of what WealthBeeing should be, and left with something far better than we imagined. The team took the time to really learn the financial advisory space before writing a single line of code. That extra effort shows in every corner of the platform — our clients notice the difference.”
Padung SopatvorapongCo-founder & Managing Partner, WealthBeeing
“Cross-border B2B payments in Africa is not a simple problem to design for. There are compliance flows, multi-currency edge cases, and enterprise users who don't have patience for clunky UIs. The team handled all of that and delivered something our pilot clients actually enjoy using — which is rare in fintech.”
AsantePay TeamAsantePay
“The car rental space in Namibia is messy — lots of WhatsApp back-and-forth and zero transparency. I needed a platform that handles both car owners and renters without either side getting confused. They built exactly that, and the agile process meant we could test features with real users and adjust quickly.”
Allen ManaseFounder, RentedWheels
“We came in with a rough idea of what WealthBeeing should be, and left with something far better than we imagined. The team took the time to really learn the financial advisory space before writing a single line of code. That extra effort shows in every corner of the platform — our clients notice the difference.”
Padung SopatvorapongCo-founder & Managing Partner, WealthBeeing
“Cross-border B2B payments in Africa is not a simple problem to design for. There are compliance flows, multi-currency edge cases, and enterprise users who don't have patience for clunky UIs. The team handled all of that and delivered something our pilot clients actually enjoy using — which is rare in fintech.”
AsantePay TeamAsantePay
“The car rental space in Namibia is messy — lots of WhatsApp back-and-forth and zero transparency. I needed a platform that handles both car owners and renters without either side getting confused. They built exactly that, and the agile process meant we could test features with real users and adjust quickly.”
Allen ManaseFounder, RentedWheels

“Building an AI product is tricky because the tech has to feel invisible to the user. They nailed that. Our ghost job detection and warm path features are complex under the hood, but the interface makes it all feel effortless. We've had users tell us Gilji is the first job tool that actually respects their time.”
Gilji TeamGilji, Gilji
“We had a marketplace idea but no clear picture of how it should work technically. They helped us figure out the booking flow, the payment integration, everything — and built it fast. Within weeks of launching, safari operators were onboarding themselves without us having to hold their hand. That's good product design.”
GoTwende TeamGoTwende
“They really got our vibe. The logo captures everything we're about — young, energetic, but still taken seriously. And setting up our Microsoft 365 workspace on top of that? It completely changed how our team collaborates day to day. 10/10 would recommend.”
Olivia NamkombaManaging Director, Youth For Purpose
“Building an AI product is tricky because the tech has to feel invisible to the user. They nailed that. Our ghost job detection and warm path features are complex under the hood, but the interface makes it all feel effortless. We've had users tell us Gilji is the first job tool that actually respects their time.”
Gilji TeamGilji, Gilji
“We had a marketplace idea but no clear picture of how it should work technically. They helped us figure out the booking flow, the payment integration, everything — and built it fast. Within weeks of launching, safari operators were onboarding themselves without us having to hold their hand. That's good product design.”
GoTwende TeamGoTwende
“They really got our vibe. The logo captures everything we're about — young, energetic, but still taken seriously. And setting up our Microsoft 365 workspace on top of that? It completely changed how our team collaborates day to day. 10/10 would recommend.”
Olivia NamkombaManaging Director, Youth For Purpose

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