Courtesy car management system

A system for managing use of a plurality of vehicles, the system comprising:

• a plurality of vehicles;
• at least one reader associated with each vehicle of the plurality of vehicles;
• a plurality of authentication objects readable by the readers;
• a server device comprising a processor, transceiver, and memory, the server device being in communication with the readers through the transceiver of the server device;
• and
• an advisor device comprising a processor and transceiver, the advisor device being in communication with the server device through the transceiver of the advisor device;
• wherein the advisor device creates a reservation in the memory of the server device and associates an authentication object with the reservation, without associating the reservation with a vehicle of the plurality of vehicles, and
• wherein the authentication object, when brought within a range of one of the plurality of readers, associates, in the memory of the server device, the reservation associated with the authentication object with the vehicle associated with the reader.

A method of processing the return of a lent or rented vehicle, comprising:

• (a) examining a series of present diagnostic parameters related to a lent or rented vehicle;
• (b) comparing present diagnostic parameters to previous diagnostic parameters in a diagnostic history;
• and
• (c) in the case where a change between present diagnostic parameters and previous diagnostic parameters is noted, updating the diagnostic history to reflect the change.

A system for managing the return of a lent or rented vehicle, the system comprising:

• one or more vehicles;
• a server device comprising a processor, transceiver, and memory;
• and
• a porter device comprising a processor and transceiver, the porter device being in communication with the server device through the transceiver of the porter device, wherein:
• the porter device processes a checklist documenting one or more diagnostic parameters relating to the vehicle,
• the server device receives and stores the checklist from the porter device, and
• the porter device compares the checklist to one or more previous checklists stored on the server device.

A method of granting use of a vehicle of one or more vehicles, the method comprising:

• (a) receiving identifying information from a user;
• (b) storing reservation data of a reservation, including the identifying information, within a computer memory;
• (c) associating a vehicle of the one or more vehicles with the reservation in the computer memory;
• (d) creating a reservation of the vehicle for the user for a specific period of time;
• (e) creating and executing a contract agreeing to the reservation.

A system for managing use of one or more vehicles, the system comprising:

• one or more vehicles;
• at least one reader associated with each vehicle of the one or more vehicles;
• a plurality of authentication objects readable by the readers;
• a server device comprising a processor, transceiver, and memory, the server device being in communication with the readers through the transceiver of the server device;
• and
• an advisor device comprising a processor and transceiver, the advisor device being in communication with the server device through the transceiver of the advisor device,
• wherein the advisor device creates a reservation in the memory of the server device, associates a vehicle with the reservation, and creates a contract describing the reservation, and
• wherein the server device stores data regarding the one or more vehicles, the data regarding each vehicle comprising a present state.