Why hop a plane or a train when you can drive someone else's car to your cross-country destination? Once you're there, just drop off the keys and the car with the grateful owner and get on with the rest of your holiday.

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You get to enjoy the sights and the scenery of a long-distance road trip without putting heavy mileage on your own car or paying hefty car rental fees.

"It's like having a free rental car," says John J. Muller, a franchisee of Auto Driveaway Co. in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The only expenses you pay out of your own pocket are food, gas and lodging. And some drive-away services will even spot you the first full tank of gas.

And if the car you're entrusted with for your trek is an upscale luxury car, it's an even sweeter deal. Who wouldn't want to wheel around the country for a few days in a stylish luxury car?

You never know what kind of car could be headed to your vacation destination.

"It could be anything," Muller says. "We might have a Geo going to Dallas or we might have a Jaguar going to New York. You just never know."

Many overseas travelers use drive-away car services to hopscotch around America for months at a time.

"We get a lot of Australian and English and French and German drivers who come over for the summer," says John Hill, executive vice president of sales for Auto Driveaway Co., which has more than 50 offices across the U.S. and Canada.

Finding a drive-away car
The easiest way to become a drive-away driver is to contact a company that connects drivers with customers that need cars driven, such as Auto Driveaway Co. and Schultz International.

You may be able to find a drive-away car service in your area by flipping open the Yellow Pages and checking under "Automobiles -- Transporters and Drive-away Companies."

These days, many companies use trucks to transport vehicles across the country for business and individual clients. So you may have to do some digging.

Don't forget to check the classifieds section of your local paper. You may just find a drive-away car headed toward your vacation destination.

Before a company will approve you as a driver, you must complete an application, which includes references. You'll also need to supply a copy of your passport or driver's license.

If you're 21 or older with a good driving record and your references check out, there's a good chance you'll be approved as a drive-away driver.

Driving with a friend? They'll need to be approved as well.

"We want to know everybody that's going to be in the vehicle," Hill says.

At Schultz International all drivers in the company's Across America Driveaway program are also fingerprinted and photographed.

Once you and your friend are approved as drivers, it's just a matter of finding a car with a destination you like.

"Call us a couple days or a week before and talk to the agent in the area you're leaving from," Hill says. "See if they have a vehicle going where you're going."