I rented a vehicle through Turo. AMA?

I just back from a Trip to LA, and while planning said trip many weeks ago, I decided to try and rent a vehicle from Turo, instead of going to the rental counter at LAX.

I wanted something that could carry me, my wife, my kid, all the stuff that the kid needs, and still have room to accommodate the two people we were visiting.

So, here's what I rented, a 2021 Kia Telluride. Yeah, a little big for LA, but we made it work.

Since it was the first time I ever used Turo, I figured I would post and see if anyone has any questions about the rental process (if you have a y questions about the Telluride, I can answer those, too).

I have a friend in the military who rents from Turo every time he comes home to visit family.

Here's the twist: He rents the absolute cheapest car available every time. It's basically a game at this point to see how bad of a car he can get. This usually means he's in a 15-year-old Honda with some door dings, but he did pick a base model Fiat 500 once which was pretty funny. IIRC he trys to pay about about $20/day. And maybe this is just because he's renting crappy cars, but the owners just park them at the airport, unlocked, with the keys in the glovebox.

How much was the Kia? And how was the pickup experience?

A few years ago a friend and I went to another friend's wedding out in seattle. Apparently the west coast had a rental car shortage or something, and as usual we were organizing everything somewhat last minute, so normal rental cars were hard to find and expensive. We had already paid more than we wanted to for plane tickets, so we weren't excited about paying a premium for a rental car. So we looked at turo and rented the cheapest thing they had to offer. IIRC it was a late 90s tacoma, for something like $20/day. When we landed my friend had a message from the turo guy...apparently the last person who rented it had taken it off roading or something and basically trashed the front suspension, so we got upgraded to one of his fleet of first gen priuses for free. The guy was pretty cool, he picked us up from the airport, and along the way told us about how people are so rough on the cars that basically the only way to do it and make any real money is to have a fleet of identical cars that you can steal parts from to keep most of them running at the same time.

In reply to Tom Suddard :

In total, it came in at just under $1000 for roughly six days, but I also opted for a few add-ons, plus I had to add time to the trip last minute because the airline changed our return flight on us. Here's the breakdown:

• Trip price: $824 (6 days at $139/day)
• Turo's "minimum" protection: $127.60 (6 days at $21.27/day)
• Trip fee: $42.54 (6 days at $7.09/day)
• 3+ day discount: -$83.40
• Early Bird discount: -$41.70
• Delivery fee (I chose to have the Kia delivered to us at LAX): $120
• 1500 total miles: $0
• Trip extension: $146.52
• Trip total: $999.04

So maybe not the most cost-effective rental we could have gotten, but the whole process was pretty straightforward and working with the vehicle's host/owner was easy.

Pickup was simple because it was delivered to us, the host handed us the keys and we were on our way. (I'll admit it became a little stressful because I suddenly had to figure out how to drive the Telluride in the pickup and drop-off lanes at LAX, though.) Drop off was just as easy, drive up, hand the host the keys, and we were on our way to the TSA line.

Before you are allowed to rent a vehicle, however, you do have to go through an easy screening process that ensures you are who you say you are and lets the host decide whether or not they will lend you their vehicle.

Depending on the city, there is a wide selection of options, from the most basic like you mentioned all the way to things like brand-new BMW M models and plenty of Teslas.

In reply to Tom Suddard :

As far as the Telluride, it took me a little getting sued to driving a larger vehicle than my Fit or my wife's Accent, but we both fell in love with, partly because it was such a great vehicle and partly because it was a larger vehicle that could actually hold everything we needed in a day (who knew kids added so much stuff into your life?)

Looks like yours was straight forward but any experience with arranging different pickup-drop off locations? I'm looking to catch a train out of downtown Chicago next month and will be flying into Midway the day before. All of the regular places don't seem to want to let me drop off anywhere different without a huge fee. It crossed my mind I could rent through Turo (also possibly treat my dad to a day with a Tesla for giggles) but didn't see any option for anywhere other than the original location for return.

In reply to johndej :

Some hosts don't offer the option, but, if I remember correctly, I could have had the car dropped off to us at LAX and dropped it off at a separate location.

Really, it depends on the host, and it's my understanding that at least some of them are flexible.

In reply to Colin Wood :

I have a question about the approval process. Is there any identifying information exchanged?  For example name or ID?  Asking because of something that was said recently.

I have a workhorse, Super Duty truck and a fleet of Gen2 Prius.  It had once crossed my mind that these might be good for renting out in the Turo system but.... 

Lifted for the turo website, here are the requirements:

Universal requirements for listing a vehicle on Turo

To list a vehicle on Turo, you must: 

• List only eligible passenger vehicles that are registered to you or to an owner who’s authorized you to list
• List only vehicles that are registered and located in the US (except New York), the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec, the UK, and certain other countries
• Ensure your vehicle meets all legal requirements for your region
• Maintain your vehicle and continue to meet our maintenance and safety standards as your vehicle ages
• Abide by our Exclusivity policy, which states that any vehicle you list on Turo must be exclusively shared on Turo and can’t appear on another car sharing platform.

Vehicle listing requirements for the US

Besides meeting the universal requirements listed above, vehicles in the US must:

• Be registered in any state except New York*
• Be no more than 12 years old (see below for exceptions for “specialty” vehicles)
• Meet our insurance requirements
• Have a fair market value of up to $150,000**
• Have fewer than 130,000 miles***
• Have a clean (e.g. not a “branded” or “salvage”) title*** 
• Have never been declared a total loss

To list a “Specialty” or “classic” car in the United States, that car must:

• Be model year 1990 or older (special considerations for vehicles more than 12 years old but newer than model year 1990)
• Have a fair market value of up to $85,000
• Be in excellent mechanical and physical condition and have working seat belts 
• Be subject to additional review

My failure points were that none of mine are less than 12 years old, none are less than 130k miles and some (most) have previous salvage history. 

In reply to Stampie :

Essentially you provide a photo of your ID and your face.

I can't speak for other hosts–since I've only interacted with one–but some will want to see your ID before handing you the keys.

I rented a Tesla Model S in Austin through Turo a couple of years ago, and it was a good experience. For that particular rental, we had to take a cab out to the owner's house, and then back again when we were done. So, it wouldn't have worked well for a normal trip, but we basically just wanted to try out a Tesla for a day. I definitely would try again for a vacation and an opportunity to drive something cool.

I had planned to use Turo this summer for a 2 week trip to Colorado, reserved a nice Jetta Alltrak with the 1.8T. At the time, rental car prices were crazy and this was a less expensive option. I wound up canceling the Turo and getting a car (Camry ) through a conventional rental place mainly because our itinerary absolutely required us to have a car, and we were driving from Denver to fairly remote areas around Ouray/Durango - several hours away. Ultimately, I didn't want to risk that something might happen to the car before our rental and Turo guy would not be able to supply us a car, and also risk that there was a problem with the 75k mile VW in the middle of nowhere and Turo guy might have no way to help us get into another car to complete our trip.

I will say that the pickup and drop off should have been easier than a normal rental. At DEN there was a lot on site where the owner could drop the car with a lockbox, and we could return it to that same lot. Oh, and the place we actually did rent from really sucked. So, maybe I made the wrong choice!

Colin Wood said:

In reply to Stampie :

Essentially you provide a photo of your ID and your face.

I can't speak for other hosts–since I've only interacted with one–but some will want to see your ID before handing you the keys.

That's interesting. That leaves the door wide open for systematic racism. You would think they'd do something like Airbnb with the company providing a layer of anonymity between the parties.

johndej said:

Looks like yours was straight forward but any experience with arranging different pickup-drop off locations? I'm looking to catch a train out of downtown Chicago next month and will be flying into Midway the day before. All of the regular places don't seem to want to let me drop off anywhere different without a huge fee. It crossed my mind I could rent through Turo (also possibly treat my dad to a day with a Tesla for giggles) but didn't see any option for anywhere other than the original location for return.

Downtown Chicago is easily accessible from Midway without a rental car - the L train has a stop right at Midway. Might be easier to do this on transit...

And now I'm wondering how many of the vehicles on Turo are used specifically as investments... a la short term rental real estate.

szeis4cookie (Forum Supporter) said:

johndej said:

Looks like yours was straight forward but any experience with arranging different pickup-drop off locations? I'm looking to catch a train out of downtown Chicago next month and will be flying into Midway the day before. All of the regular places don't seem to want to let me drop off anywhere different without a huge fee. It crossed my mind I could rent through Turo (also possibly treat my dad to a day with a Tesla for giggles) but didn't see any option for anywhere other than the original location for return.

Downtown Chicago is easily accessible from Midway without a rental car - the L train has a stop right at Midway. Might be easier to do this on transit...

Nice! Will look into that, we've got a hotel near the airport that night but just trying to get around to do some site seeing (land at noon Wens. then take the train at 2 pm on Thu from Union Station)

In reply to Stampie :

You know, that's something I didn't consider. I'd like to think your picture and ID only go to Turo, but at the end of the day, the host still has some kind of control over whether they lend you the car, since it recommends having a decent profile picture and starting the conversation with the host with an ice breaker/elevator pitch–like who are and what you plan on using the rental for.

In reply to johndej :

That would be the Orange line from Midway to the Quincy station. Then it's a 6 block walk west IIRC. $2.50 a person. I wouldn't get a car if you can avoid it. The train and a 3 day pass will get you close to most of the landmarks without the $$$$ parking costs. 

STM317 said:

And now I'm wondering how many of the vehicles on Turo are used specifically as investments... a la short term rental real estate.

We spent a week in Maui back in July and Turo'd a VW Tiguan.  I chatted with the vehicles' "manager" and at $200 a day it stays rented more than 3/4 of the time.  The cars owner has a condo there but only is in town one week every few months.   She basically gets $3000 a month and he gets to keep anything over that.  Seems like a win-win for everyone involved.    But it's dependent on living somewhere that commands a premium price and having surplus vehicles.  Here in central KY the model breaks down pretty quickly.

I wonder how you go about dealing with your insurance for a car you rent on Turo.  Here in MA, I am betting that you need commercial insurance.  I think my policy excludes commercial. 

I've had two good Turo experiences out of two.  I got a  6spd NC PRHT Miata in Vegas for a day and drove up to Valley of Fire State Park. When I stopped and looked it over after I got there, I noticed the rear tires were corded. I called the owner who was renting a fleet of $$$ Porsche,  Lambos, etc.  He gave it to me for free so long as I left him a good review.  Other than the tires the experience was great and I ended up buying a Miata, albeit an NB.
The other was a 6 day rental of a turbo 6 speed Mini Convertible in Denver. We drove the snot out of it checking out schools for my son in CO. We exceeded the 150 mi/day limit but we cleaned it much better than we got it ( right after the last rental) and the owner said we'll call it even. Great fun top down blasting through the mountains and canyons
It's a great way to drive a car you'd never own (Mini) or one you might (MX5).

In reply to Stampie :

They sure won't let my black ass rent a car. Though I'm positive it isn't because I'm black lol.

I initially made an account and was good until it wasn't, about 20 minds lol. I had to jump through hoops to verify my identity. And pictures and proof of identity multiple times. Still didn't get verified then they just banned me from having an account at all. No rhyme or reason other than they couldn't verify me/I didn't meet requirements. Crazy because there isn't anyone that shares my name, I have great credit, a great driving record, and one of the highest security clearances you can get.

I've read some reviews and there are a lot of people that complain that they all of a sudden can't use Turo or out of nowhere their account was banned. 

STM317 said:

And now I'm wondering how many of the vehicles on Turo are used specifically as investments... a la short term rental real estate.

I've posted this before and it's a couple years old but it makes you think.  The subject of this podcast leases Chevy Cruzes at crazy low promotional rates and lists them on Turo.

"Imagine leasing a Chevy Cruze for $18 a month and renting it out for $35 a day. You don’t have to imagine it, because that’s pretty much what I’m doing."

https://sidehustleschool.com/episode/32/

johndej said:

szeis4cookie (Forum Supporter) said:

johndej said:

Looks like yours was straight forward but any experience with arranging different pickup-drop off locations? I'm looking to catch a train out of downtown Chicago next month and will be flying into Midway the day before. All of the regular places don't seem to want to let me drop off anywhere different without a huge fee. It crossed my mind I could rent through Turo (also possibly treat my dad to a day with a Tesla for giggles) but didn't see any option for anywhere other than the original location for return.

Downtown Chicago is easily accessible from Midway without a rental car - the L train has a stop right at Midway. Might be easier to do this on transit...

Nice! Will look into that, we've got a hotel near the airport that night but just trying to get around to do some site seeing (land at noon Wens. then take the train at 2 pm on Thu from Union Station)

It's about a half hour subway ride on the L from Midway into downtown Chicago, super easy. I was just there a few weeks ago - service is frequent and clean, and with their unlimited ride pass discounts going on, an incredible value at $5 for a 24 hour pass. If you can swing it and your hotel reservation isn't fully pre-paid, I'd suggest taking what you would have spent on a rental car and putting it into a hotel in the Loop area downtown - this will maximize your ability to sightsee with the limited amount of time you've got in downtown Chicago, and put you right by the train station to leave.

In reply to yupididit :

Yeah it was your comments the other day that made me wonder.

I'm going to be in Orlando in two weeks and looking to rent a car through Turo for a day trip. I signed up on the site and need to contact owners of vehicles to see about possibly getting the vehicle brought to me. Is there a way to contact owners on the site to ask questions before booking?