Author Topic: Turo: rent out your car  (Read 26014 times)

cube.37

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Turo: rent out your car
« on: March 10, 2016, 02:32:14 PM »
Has anyone had any experience with Turo? It's the airbnb for cars - people can upload their cars to a database, and people looking to rent cars will contact you.

My fiancee and I are thinking about registering our car to the database since we use it 2-3 times a month for grocery shopping, but can go for weeks without using it if needed.

Website:
https://turo.com/list-your-car

Curious to see if anyone has had positive or negative experiences with listing/borrowing a car.

Smevans

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2016, 03:56:59 PM »
Interesting. I need to look into that. I am stuck with one of those stupid TDI's that lost all its value and is unsellable right now. I have driven it maybe 3 times since November. This could help offset its payment.

Cassie

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2016, 04:23:05 PM »
YOu would have to check with your car insurance because I bet that would be considered a business.  We had friends that wanted to rent our RV but our insurance said they would not cover it if there was an accident.  When I asked how much extra I could pay to have it covered they said none.

Carless

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #3 on: March 11, 2016, 11:00:01 AM »
If you use your car that seldom, can you sell it?  I was using mine similarly and I found that even if I needed to use a taxi occasionally instead the savings on insurance would more than make up the difference.  Even before parking and maintenance came into the picture.  I bought a bike cargo trailer and used that instead. It's worth checking the math on this, because I imagine you'll pocket more money removing the car than adding rental income.

zephyr911

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #4 on: March 11, 2016, 11:01:18 AM »
I've been thinking about this too. Interesting possibility.

MsPeacock

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #5 on: March 11, 2016, 03:00:31 PM »
I would be far too concerned about the insurance and liability issue and my general distrust of the random public to rent out my car (or rooms in my house like Airbnb). If you use your car that infrequently why not just Uber or rental car when needed?

Papa Mustache

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2016, 01:29:20 PM »
Share a car with a neighbor. Split the cost.

I've ridden with enough people in their own cars to see the many ways they use and abuse their cars. Door slammers, hard drivers, people who fidget with the switches and wear window motors out for fun, and people who won't avoid holes in the road tearing up tires and suspension parts.

No way would I rent out a car that I liked.

The repair bills from accelerated wear might consume any profits that you make.

And insurance as several folks mentioned.

If you have high vehicle costs, why not buy a $1500 Chevy/Buick/whatever that nobody loves (thus low resale value) and is in good condition, plenty comfortable enough, etc. Run basic liability insurance insurance on it. Keep it out of the weather so it isn't aging away while it's waiting to be used.

cjshay

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #7 on: March 13, 2016, 07:35:59 PM »
I rented out my 2012 Honda Fit for the last 8 or so months.

I would recommend it with reservations. People generally treat the car well, but I have had a couple mishaps.

One guy did some damage but told me about it and offered to pay for it.

The biggest issue is the mileage put into the car. I bought it at 26K miles in June 2015 and now have 45K miles on it.

All in all things went well. I made on average $400/month which covered my loan plus insurance payment and sometimes a little more. I recently had a renter get into a small wreck but because of the expense of fixing it totalled the car. This was good in a way because they paid for everything. I would have lost a thousand or two when I sold it but the car being totalled means that I broke even all year.

I did it as an experiment to understand car sharing better (I use turo, zipcar, uber, and pretty much everything.) PM me if you have more specific questions.

HipGnosis

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #8 on: March 14, 2016, 01:06:17 PM »
Turo is the new name (I just found out) of RelayRides.
I found out about it when I was looking into Uber & Lyft - I found a post on a driver forum that a driver rented a car from RelayRides when his car was out of service after an accident.

They're not the only P2P-carshare co. out there.

I'm pretty sure that I could buy an older (but it can only be so old) used car and get all my investment back in the first year.  After that, all income would be 'profit', but it will be offset by  the substantial erosion of the value of the car due to mileage.
It helps that I do my own maintenance (and simple repairs).

I wonder why they changed the name.   I wonder if they've re-structured. 





Apostrophe

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #9 on: March 14, 2016, 03:23:06 PM »
I've done this for the last 2 years.

My math has been as follows.

1) $4,250 - 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid
2) $8,750 - income over two years
3) $2,500 - rough value of the Civic now, which is currently rented out and at the Grand Canyon or somewhere
4) My Civic has 197,000 miles on it now and brings in a remarkably consistent $400 per month

I've had mostly excellent experiences. Some less so.

1) One renter left the car a total mess. Just a disaster all around. I charged him a $50 cleaning fee. No biggie.
2) One renter kept the car two days past the rental period, and Turo almost involved the police to recover it. I charged him a $200 late fee and a $50 cleaning fee. No biggie.
3) One renter dropped the car off inexplicably at an address 2 miles away from my house half a day late. I charged her a $100 late fee. No biggie.

All in all, it's been hugely rewarding for me. Fun stuff. :)
« Last Edit: March 14, 2016, 03:39:49 PM by Apostrophe »

Syonyk

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #10 on: March 14, 2016, 05:45:14 PM »
All in all things went well. I made on average $400/month which covered my loan plus insurance payment and sometimes a little more. I recently had a renter get into a small wreck but because of the expense of fixing it totalled the car. This was good in a way because they paid for everything. I would have lost a thousand or two when I sold it but the car being totalled means that I broke even all year.

I'm sorry, "Things went well" but your car got totaled?  That wouldn't fit my definition of things going well.

Cassie

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #11 on: March 14, 2016, 05:58:49 PM »
Our car insurance won't cover this type of thing if you rent it out. Do you carry special insurance?

Apostrophe

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #12 on: March 14, 2016, 06:21:00 PM »
Not sure what your insurance has to do with this.

During any rental period, my car is covered by Turo's insurance policy. When I had a renter get rear ended in my car last year, I had a check from Turo within a few days to cover the estimate I sent them. Easy as pie.

cjshay

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #13 on: March 15, 2016, 09:58:19 PM »
All in all things went well. I made on average $400/month which covered my loan plus insurance payment and sometimes a little more. I recently had a renter get into a small wreck but because of the expense of fixing it totalled the car. This was good in a way because they paid for everything. I would have lost a thousand or two when I sold it but the car being totalled means that I broke even all year.

I'm sorry, "Things went well" but your car got totaled?  That wouldn't fit my definition of things going well.

Yeah, everything went well, even when the car got totalled turo handled everything, paying the full sum my car was worth was was more than the full amount of my loan.

So I made no car payments or insurance payments for 8-9 months, was still able to use my car when I needed it, and the total happened but I got a full insurance pay out.

cyumadbro

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #14 on: March 17, 2016, 12:45:10 AM »
Been reading posts on here for a few about 8 months and never felt compelled to register in order to comment, until now.

I have been doing Turo with multiple car for a few years.   Heres my take:

-If you like your car at all don't rent it out. Nobody waxes a rental. I have cars brought back where somebody puked into the heater vents (yes really), and to this day I can smell it.

-Ive had two cars completely totaled as well as 5 cars with major body damage (usually the renter is dishonest and doesn't mention/disclose it, or even tries to hide it with bondo).

-One guy filled the fuel tank up with water so it would appear that he replaced the gas he used.

-People will call you all hours of the night as if you are their personal AAA every time they leave a dome light on and kill a battery or run over a nail and get a felt tire. Not to mention having to get your car out of impound because the renter gets cited for DUI.

-Trust me when I say that most of the people who rent  from you don't have a car at all ( there is a reason for that).

-No matter how much you tell people not to smoke of transport pets in your car they go right ahead and do it.

-Toll road evasions and parking tickets are all I deal with constantly and they get sent to you and are attached to your DMV records not the driver.

-If your insurance finds out about Turo you will be dropped immediately, Geico dropped me like a bad habit after 15 years with zero accidents.

-People constantly try to haggle you down on the price even though they have nothing to bargain with.

-You will be washing/vaccuming out cars constantly.  People don't give a shit about eating in your car. Im floored at the disgusting messes people have left in my cars.

All in all, I can't say for certain if it was worth the headaches at this point. The income is anything but passive.

Syonyk

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #15 on: March 17, 2016, 10:55:07 AM »
Of course you've used multiple cars.  You've had two totaled!

Sorry, that doesn't sound like it's worth "making a bit of extra cash on the side with a car when I'm not using it."

I prefer my vehicles non-totaled, without major body damage (unless I've done it and there's a good story), not smelling of vomit, and filled with proper fuel.  And I'm not in the habit of car shopping to replace totaled cars.

That sounds like hell.  Seriously.

Apostrophe

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #16 on: March 17, 2016, 11:47:04 AM »
I have been doing Turo with multiple car for a few years.   Heres my take:

All in all, I can't say for certain if it was worth the headaches at this point. The income is anything but passive.

Tough experiences. When you're in the service industry, you may actually need to do some customer service sometimes.

Most of these points can be summed up with "report the behavior/damage to Turo, cash the check, and move on with your life."

Here is my car: https://turo.com/car-rental/peoria/honda-civic/21098

True story that some people don't have their own vehicles, and that's why they use Turo. But I rent out a Civic at the bottom of the price range, and far and away most of my rentals have been great. I enjoy the little interactions with renters and making their trip work out smoothly. Takes a few mins of time, but has been totally worth it for me. I've rented my car out to 52 different renters.

Cars are just cars, at the end of the day. If my Civic were totaled, it would be no problem to find another one in an hour. They're a dime a dozen. If you have a car that is special to you? Yeah, Turo probably isn't the place to conduct an experiment in human nature.

Anecdotal evidence, blah blah blah, ymmv. Good luck. :)
« Last Edit: March 17, 2016, 11:57:38 AM by Apostrophe »

HipGnosis

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #17 on: March 17, 2016, 12:42:31 PM »
I have been doing Turo with multiple car for a few years.   Heres my take:

All in all, I can't say for certain if it was worth the headaches at this point. The income is anything but passive.
A local radio talk-guy has a saying that fits you perfectly; "Life is tuff, get a helmet".
But....  How much MONEY have you MADE in those few years and how much has it cost you to wash and vacuum out those cars??

Apostrophe

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #18 on: June 14, 2016, 02:32:16 PM »
After 2 years of renting out my Civic, I recently paid cash for a 2006 Prius.

Now that both cars are rented out, I average about $725/month in gross income. In about a year I will have enough cash built up to buy a third car, and I'll keep adding to the fleet.

It has been a great side hustle for me.

Referral code to save on your first trip... https://turo.com/referral?code=67132rfEf41 (Thanks!)

HipGnosis

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #19 on: June 15, 2016, 12:06:59 PM »
After 2 years of renting out my Civic, I recently paid cash for a 2006 Prius.

Now that both cars are rented out, I average about $725/month in gross income. In about a year I will have enough cash built up to buy a third car, and I'll keep adding to the fleet.

It has been a great side hustle for me.

Referral code to save on your first trip... https://turo.com/referral?code=67132rfEf41 (Thanks!)
Gosh dangit!!   I coulda used that referral last month!  My car had to go in the shop - and they couldn't even look at it for 3 days so I rented a turo.   Turned out the rental cost more than the repair.

vegasdude

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #20 on: June 15, 2016, 01:11:22 PM »
If you really like your car and want to keep it spotless, don't do this. If your car has a few dings already, go ahead. I've been doing this two years with 3 cheap cars. The money is great considering the value of the cars and the time I put in. If you can do the maintenance yourself you can make much more. With a few hours of work per week the car earns 80%-100% per year of it's value after expenses. It helps to be near the center of a major city.

Just accept that most renters will not clean it at all. Some will leave the car seriously dirty. It's pretty easy to get reimbursed for things like tool road use and missing gas if you document everything. Turo takes a tough stance on renters that break the rules and has been extremely responsive to the few damage claims I've made. If I tell Turo that a renter has smoked in the car, they will pay the bill to have it detailed and de-smoked. Follow the rules exactly and document each trip with photos. If damage occurs document and report it within 24 hours.







MoonShadow

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #21 on: June 15, 2016, 01:41:43 PM »
Interesting. I need to look into that. I am stuck with one of those stupid TDI's that lost all its value and is unsellable right now. I have driven it maybe 3 times since November. This could help offset its payment.

If you were closer than Oregon, I'd be happy to pay that full value you just assigned it.

zombiehunter

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #22 on: June 15, 2016, 02:20:53 PM »
Curious, for people who have rented out their cars on Turo, which insurance plan do you go with?  https://support.turo.com/hc/en-us/articles/217043898

There are 3 options, for which you keep either 85%, 75% or 65% of the rental proceeds (the rest is kept by Turo as payment for the insurance). 

The premium option (you keep only 65%) seems like the best option as it covers Exterior wear and tear.  (what does that even mean, exterior wear and tear? a minor fender bender? a pebble to the windshield? a minor cosmetic scratch?).

None of the plans cover interior wear and tear.  How have renters gotten away with charging cleaning fees for smoke, pet hair, or vom in the vents? 

I will likely have to purchase a car next year when moving to a city without major public transport.  Seems like a used 2014 Elantra, Civic or Corolla (and other similar) would be the best options as costs could easily be offset with (i) Uber/Lyft and (ii) Turo. 

What sort of maintenance/handiwork that can be performed by yourself is most beneficial (other than oil changes)?  What's the tax treatment here -- I assume proceeds are taxable at income, but wondering if there are decent offsetting options (insurance fees? depreciation? mileage?)
« Last Edit: June 15, 2016, 02:25:46 PM by zombiehunter »

Apostrophe

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #23 on: June 15, 2016, 05:16:24 PM »
The three options for coverage as an owner are new in the last couple of months. Before that it was a standard 75%, which is the plan I chose to keep.

When a car comes back lightly used: crumbs here and there, the odd receipt or straw wrapper left in the cup holder, and some fingerprints everywhere, I just clean it and move on.
When a car comes back filthy: spilled liquid, lots of food wrappers, etc, then I take pictures of the carnage and charge a $50 cleaning fee.
When a car comes back smoked in: take pictures of the evidence such as ash, butts, etc, and have it detailed. Turo honors the detailing reimbursement.

I do my own oil and filter changes, brakes, wiper blades, but really nothing else. I like having a shop receipt to fall back on if anything were to happen while somebody else is in my car. I wouldn't want to be found liable (or worse, actually BE liable) if my sloppy suspension repair caused an accident or an injury.

Cory151

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #24 on: February 16, 2017, 12:29:51 AM »


All in all, it's been hugely rewarding for me. Fun stuff. :)


Ive been doing Turo far longer and with 8x as many cars as you. Your experience doesn't count for anymore than mine. So based off of your region and vehicle description, I looked up your micro fleet and they appear absolute trash heaps. It cannot inspire confidence in your customer base to settle into their grand canyon trip in a 200k mile vehicle. If I woke up in your shoes Id sell em all and use that capitol to buy one 30k, 2011 or newer car. It can be luring to by the cheapest car you can find within the age requirements and throw it up on the app, but in the long run this comes back to bite you, eventually. Just my 2 cents.

People leaving your car a mess is one thing, and sometimes its laughable compared to the situation you could find yourself in.  Are you aware that any vehicle with more than 130K miles at the time of listing or a salvage title will 100% denied all insurance claims though Turo? They'll run a Carfax before they pay you a dime.  I was told that because they are being sued by their insurance provider, that they are trying everything they can to NOT pay damage claims. They are trying to protect their float, at all costs. I had a whopping 63% reduction in number of claims paid out by Turo to me in 2016 (claim denial). This is money for damages that the owner of the car is liable for and left holding the bag. It gets much worse heaven forbid someone is injured though.

When someone is seriously injured/damaged by a car you are the registered owner of you will not escape litigation if Turo denies your claim, as someone must pay medical, property damages and legal fees. Turo has no long term interest in backing up owners in court (extremely unprofitable). I recommend re-reading the Turo terms of service to find out how powerless you actually are when you click the "Agree" box. There is a reason rental car companies, across the board, do not rent to under 25 year olds....Risk.  Turo has zero issue with renting to anybody with a fresh license and a head.

If you are going to do this I recommend your cars are put in the name of a solid LLC, otherwise you are opening your precious 401k/Savings, fire money, err whatever you own to being judged against should the car you personally own causes loss. What Im describing is a perfect storm scenario in which there is serious loss. If in such case Turo denies the  claim do to what they deem "exceeded mechanical/mileage limits",  or "title status" your screwed. Once your personal insurance company becomes aware you were not the driver, but in fact renting the vehicle they will also immediately deny the claim and drop you completely.  The insurance of the injured/damaged is now going to seek compensation for the damages from whatever personal wealth you have now or may earn in the future.  Insurance companies are not your buddy or pals and 6 months to a years worth of legal fees and civil court appearances will drive this point home.

 Turo makes it easy to sign up and doesn't even want to know the VIN of the vehicle they are supposedly insuring (no other insurance underwriter  on earth cuts you a policy without verifying a VIN first), just a couple of pictures,  and the address of where your car gets rented from and boom... making money in your sleep.   People rarely factor in the management of risk into scenarios when they are handing over the keys of a 4,000 lbs. missile (with there name on it) to a 19 year old complete stranger. Its much easier to be blinded by dollar signs.

Dave1442397

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #25 on: February 16, 2017, 04:51:31 AM »
Interesting article here:

http://jalopnik.com/here-s-what-happens-when-someone-on-turo-crashes-your-a-1792048817

Turo sounded tempting to me, as I work from home a lot and the car just sits in the garage, but after reading up on it, I decided against it.

Syonyk

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #26 on: February 16, 2017, 08:35:55 AM »
The gig economy at its best. You provide the resource, they take a good cut for cheduling, and at the end, you hold the bag!

Optimiser

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #27 on: February 16, 2017, 09:37:28 AM »
I rented out my car on Turo back when it was Relay Rides. I was in school and needed any extra money I could get. I probably only rented it out about 5 or 6 times, but I had nothing but good experiences.

Ultimately I found it too stressful for me, once I didn't need the money. I drive a 1990 Miata (with a fair amount of performance parts), and I love it way to much to think about someone else damaging it only to have an insurance company decide it was totalled.  If I had a more generic and easy to replace car, like a newish Prius or Civic I'd still rent it out.

Octotat

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #28 on: February 16, 2017, 12:26:56 PM »
I'm planning on living out of the country, but would leave a car here in the US.  Can this be managed without being with your car?

Syonyk

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #29 on: February 16, 2017, 12:33:13 PM »
I'm planning on living out of the country, but would leave a car here in the US.  Can this be managed without being with your car?

Probably not - someone would have to inspect it for damage/clean it/etc.  Just sell your car before you leave and buy another one when you get back.

Apostrophe

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #30 on: February 16, 2017, 01:13:41 PM »
Ive been doing Turo far longer and with 8x as many cars as you. Your experience doesn't count for anymore than mine. So based off of your region and vehicle description, I looked up your micro fleet and they appear absolute trash heaps. It cannot inspire confidence in your customer base to settle into their grand canyon trip in a 200k mile vehicle. If I woke up in your shoes Id sell em all and use that capitol to buy one 30k, 2011 or newer car. It can be luring to by the cheapest car you can find within the age requirements and throw it up on the app, but in the long run this comes back to bite you, eventually. Just my 2 cents.

People leaving your car a mess is one thing, and sometimes its laughable compared to the situation you could find yourself in.  Are you aware that any vehicle with more than 130K miles at the time of listing or a salvage title will 100% denied all insurance claims though Turo? They'll run a Carfax before they pay you a dime.  I was told that because they are being sued by their insurance provider, that they are trying everything they can to NOT pay damage claims. They are trying to protect their float, at all costs. I had a whopping 63% reduction in number of claims paid out by Turo to me in 2016 (claim denial). This is money for damages that the owner of the car is liable for and left holding the bag. It gets much worse heaven forbid someone is injured though.

When someone is seriously injured/damaged by a car you are the registered owner of you will not escape litigation if Turo denies your claim, as someone must pay medical, property damages and legal fees. Turo has no long term interest in backing up owners in court (extremely unprofitable). I recommend re-reading the Turo terms of service to find out how powerless you actually are when you click the "Agree" box. There is a reason rental car companies, across the board, do not rent to under 25 year olds....Risk.  Turo has zero issue with renting to anybody with a fresh license and a head.

If you are going to do this I recommend your cars are put in the name of a solid LLC, otherwise you are opening your precious 401k/Savings, fire money, err whatever you own to being judged against should the car you personally own causes loss. What Im describing is a perfect storm scenario in which there is serious loss. If in such case Turo denies the  claim do to what they deem "exceeded mechanical/mileage limits",  or "title status" your screwed. Once your personal insurance company becomes aware you were not the driver, but in fact renting the vehicle they will also immediately deny the claim and drop you completely.  The insurance of the injured/damaged is now going to seek compensation for the damages from whatever personal wealth you have now or may earn in the future.  Insurance companies are not your buddy or pals and 6 months to a years worth of legal fees and civil court appearances will drive this point home.

 Turo makes it easy to sign up and doesn't even want to know the VIN of the vehicle they are supposedly insuring (no other insurance underwriter  on earth cuts you a policy without verifying a VIN first), just a couple of pictures,  and the address of where your car gets rented from and boom... making money in your sleep.   People rarely factor in the management of risk into scenarios when they are handing over the keys of a 4,000 lbs. missile (with there name on it) to a 19 year old complete stranger. Its much easier to be blinded by dollar signs.

Old thread, but deserves an update and some clarification.

To think I did not read the ToS is absurd, and both of my cars were within all specs at the time of listing. They were rentals, man - rentals.

My experience ended with Turo a few months after last year's post because of the following experience:

A renter (I'll call him Jim) picked up the Prius and had it for a few days when he texted to let me know it had been in a wreck. But Jim wasn't driving. Jim had let his co-worker (I'll call him Bob) drive the car, and Bob had side-swiped a truck while changing lanes. With no rental agreement, no insurance of his own, and a suspended license, Bob was arrested and the Prius was impounded. I had to personally visit the Police station for an impound release, visit the impound lot to pull the car out, and then have Turo arrange for the tow to a repair shop. To effect the impound release, I had to sign a document saying I would not allow another person to drive my car without insurance or I would personally be responsible. Without a way to prevent the same thing from happening in the future, I decided Turo was not worth the risk for me. It is now 5 months later, and while Turo paid the repairs on the Prius, they are refusing to pay for the repairs to the truck that Bob hit. The other insurance company still mails me letters with a bill for those damages, with the most recent letter coming just this week.

It wasn't an issue until it was an issue; but with that much risk? I'll pass. The age of the car doesn't matter - that experience could happen to any car with any mileage.




Apostrophe

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #31 on: February 16, 2017, 01:25:38 PM »
So based off of your region and vehicle description, I looked up your micro fleet and they appear absolute trash heaps.

Not sure how you'd see my cars - they haven't been listed since last August. Maybe you found somebody else's pride and joy?

Roothy

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #32 on: February 16, 2017, 03:30:54 PM »
I just took a look at a few listings... is it just me, or are these cars really expensive?  I pay less finding the cheapest deal at a mainstream rental company.  I'm trying to figure out why renters would use it.  Is it mainly people who are younger than 25, or don't have a credit card, or something like that that makes it impossible to rent from, like, Dollar or Budget?

FranckDG

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #33 on: April 23, 2017, 09:46:31 PM »
I've been renting out my 2005 Porsche 911 S on Turo in LA since last October at $149/day. At the time, I was the lowest 911 S on the market. I did not rent it at all from October to February and it suddenly picked up in March. I made about $700 in March and I am on target to make $1200 in April. However, no reservations after April. I checked and noticed that I was undercut by two other 911S at $109/day and $119/day. I am probably going to lower my price but this seems to be a race to the bottom. All my renters were very respectful of the car although some went way over the mileage and I had to charge them extra. I require the drivers to be 30yo+ and to have at least one Turo rental under their belt. I am still not sure if this is something I am going to do in the long run... It seems to me that there is/was some money to be made in the early Turo market but as time goes by, the competition will probably drive the prices lower than I am willing to go for the risk and trouble.

TuroMaybe

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #34 on: May 21, 2017, 10:48:09 PM »

Old thread, but deserves an update and some clarification.

To think I did not read the ToS is absurd, and both of my cars were within all specs at the time of listing. They were rentals, man - rentals.

My experience ended with Turo a few months after last year's post because of the following experience:

A renter (I'll call him Jim) picked up the Prius and had it for a few days when he texted to let me know it had been in a wreck. But Jim wasn't driving. Jim had let his co-worker (I'll call him Bob) drive the car, and Bob had side-swiped a truck while changing lanes. With no rental agreement, no insurance of his own, and a suspended license, Bob was arrested and the Prius was impounded. I had to personally visit the Police station for an impound release, visit the impound lot to pull the car out, and then have Turo arrange for the tow to a repair shop. To effect the impound release, I had to sign a document saying I would not allow another person to drive my car without insurance or I would personally be responsible. Without a way to prevent the same thing from happening in the future, I decided Turo was not worth the risk for me. It is now 5 months later, and while Turo paid the repairs on the Prius, they are refusing to pay for the repairs to the truck that Bob hit. The other insurance company still mails me letters with a bill for those damages, with the most recent letter coming just this week.

It wasn't an issue until it was an issue; but with that much risk? I'll pass. The age of the car doesn't matter - that experience could happen to any car with any mileage.



Well, shit. I had a LLC almost registered ready to go. Was hunting for insurance on my 3rd car that I barely use. I was going to list on Turo next week.

Then I read your post. God damn that sounds like a nightmare. Were your cars under a LLC? Why did Turo decline to pay for the truck damages?

« Last Edit: May 22, 2017, 11:10:14 PM by TuroMaybe »

Syonyk

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #35 on: May 21, 2017, 11:18:11 PM »
Presumably because the renter wasn't operating under the terms of the rental agreement.

Welcome to the shit end of "the sharing economy."

Cory151

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #36 on: May 22, 2017, 09:31:35 PM »
I have been doing Turo with multiple car for a few years.   Heres my take:

All in all, I can't say for certain if it was worth the headaches at this point. The income is anything but passive.

Tough experiences. When you're in the service industry, you may actually need to do some customer service sometimes.


Anecdotal evidence, blah blah blah, ymmv. Good luck. :)


I hate to say I told you sold, I do recall you having a rather caviler attitude about it all, even saying something to the effect of "life's tough, get a helmet" (though that seems to have been edited out of the original post). 

 I recommend you lawyer up as they will stop at nothing to recoup the financial loss they believe you have caused them. The letters they are sending you are just the beginning. I'd also start shopping for new personal insurance, as soon as your current provider finds out the details (from the other insurance company), your policy will be terminated. 

TuroMaybe

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #37 on: June 01, 2017, 09:39:07 PM »
Another member asked me what I ended up deciding. Here was response; figured it would help others make a more informed decision.


Well I decided not to go through with TURO. It is just seems i am too late to the party, Turo seems to take no responsibility on the liability side especially the 2 examples from that thread. You would need to get to at least 5 or 6 cars without encountering any issues. Then you would have cash reserves to deal with any issues. Even then it could wipe out all profits.


Actually, I  talked my lawyer about the two cases of turo owners from that thread. Here was his response:

Quote
I have reviewed the website for Turo, and I’m a little concerned that they do not provide access to the actual insurance policy (that I found anyway) but rather rely on a series of articles to explain how it all works.  I’m not thrilled about that.
 
The situation described in the second scenario in your email is not covered by any of the descriptions in the Turo website.  My thought is that the person who rents the car should be personally liable for any damages caused by any person other than him who is allowed to drive the car.  However, enforcing that will be difficult at best as it would require a lawsuit and if the amount of the damage is low then a lawsuit would be more expensive and troublesome than it’s worth.
 
The Terms of Service incorporate a list of prohibited uses, the first one of which is allowing someone not authorized to drive the car.  However,
 
I note that Turo’s commercial policy specifically disclaims uninsured motorist coverage.
 
I note that in the event there is a lawsuit between you and Turo, the terms of service require the court action to be heard in Maricopa County, Arizona, so there would be travel expenses associated with going to court, etc., not to mention the attorney’s fees.  Having said that, there is a mandatory arbitration clause for claims of $25,000 or less.
 
So, my opinion at the end of the day is that in that second example case you would be in the situation just as described.  How do you protect yourself?  That’s an excellent question and there may simply not be a good answer.

That finalized it for me; about not doing it.

Here is another case were the Turo driver died in a car. I can't even imagine the headache that would cause.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/14/your-money/relayrides-accident-raises-questions-on-liabilities-of-car-sharing.html

If I was younger and had really no assets to my name. I would probably take the risk.

If you end up doing it. I would definitely set up a LLC and transfer your car title to the LLC. And my insurance broker said GEICO was probably the easiest to get car insurance for a LLC. Which I would switch the car from your personal insurance. At least it will shield you personally.

Hope that helps.


HipGnosis

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #38 on: January 10, 2018, 10:39:37 AM »
I hope it's OK to resurrect an old thread...

I'm looking at buying a hybrid car.  Which started with looking for a mid-size, 4 door car to use to drive/work for a local senior-concierge service (taxi, errands, delivery, etc.).
Because the service is all city driving, a hybrid seems best.
Because senior-concierge service is fairly new (but has high growth potential), I'm looking at what else I could do with a mid-size 4 door.
I went on Turo.com to see how much I might rent it for.  $50-65 per day, the 'income' is 25% less.  There's no way to know how often it would be rented.
I was more interested in a local renter - he has 9 vehicles on Turo.  Most of them quite nice (>$100/day).  He offers free Uber to pick up a car.  He will deliver the car to an airport w/in 75 miles (either free or $13).  He offers car seats, bike and ski racks.
He has 70 5 star ratings.
I may rent a car from him, just to talk with him...  I'd sure like to know how he's doing it all.

Incidentally; Glassdoor.com says Lyft drivers average $36K annually!   But they don't say if that's for regular, premium or Lux (like Uber X or black).   I deduce that it's all full time drivers.
 

nemesis

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #39 on: January 10, 2018, 01:53:22 PM »
Interesting article here:

http://jalopnik.com/here-s-what-happens-when-someone-on-turo-crashes-your-a-1792048817

Turo sounded tempting to me, as I work from home a lot and the car just sits in the garage, but after reading up on it, I decided against it.
Holy cow... only an idiot, and I mean a real idiot, would rent out an expensive car like this to anyone off the street.  I'm also astounded at the guy renting out the 2005 Porsche 911 in Los Angeles.  If any of those renters should injure or kill someone...they will be paying dearly.

Some people are just crazy or stupidly naive!

Just Joe

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #40 on: January 11, 2018, 11:19:15 AM »
After watching a ton of YouTube videos with my teenager who is in love with anything sporty - I'd endlessly worry that my Turo exotic would be one of those cars fishtailing out of control, or whose driver's were bouncing the tach needle off of the rev limiter, or racing anything that moves. I don't want my car trashed, don't want the liability either.

Sounds like a great gig but I can't reconcile the liability. They might do something stupid and expensive and my insurance company might say NOPE and we'd lose everything.

Tides

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #41 on: June 24, 2019, 08:07:18 PM »
A question for you experienced with Turo. A big draw back for me personally is that Turo sounds like a time consuming job. The check in and and checkout process, delivery can really eat up a lot of time and tie you up. To mitigate a lot of that, I read there is "remote check in". This is where the host can grant the renter remote access to their vehicle, either through a key lock box or other more advanced means. Any pitfalls to lookout for that one should be aware of if going that route that experienced hosts have encountered? I'm wondering why everyone wouldn't use that if it's more convenient in many situations.

Another question, somewhat unrelated, ppl seen concerned with the insurance aspect of Turo. If one got commercial rental vehicle insurance ("commercial host"), Turo "only" takes 10%, and you don't run the risk of not being covered should the renter do something stupid. Only drawback I see is that this type of insurance is expensive. I'm in a unique position where anyone in my jurisdiction is required to have commercial insurance to list on Turo, thus there isn't any significant cost advantages/discrepancies between hosts, at least in terms of insurance.

Thanks

Reynolds531

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #42 on: June 24, 2019, 08:19:52 PM »
I recently took a job at a dealership. We get rentals from enterprise in for warranty and repair work.

After my experience I would never buy a rental or rent my car out. Literally off road demolition derby type bs.

Tides

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Re: Turo: rent out your car
« Reply #43 on: June 25, 2019, 11:34:24 PM »
I recently took a job at a dealership. We get rentals from enterprise in for warranty and repair work.

After my experience I would never buy a rental or rent my car out. Literally off road demolition derby type bs.

You don't get to see all the cars that don't get demolished.