Anyone ever rented from Turo?

Going to the beach in a few months and noticed rental car prices are through the roof now.  Turo seems to be a decent alternative and much cheaper to rent a bigger vehicle.  Anyone used them before for that and if so comment?

I rented a Fiat 500 a couple of years ago from Turo for the day.  Just needed a car with A/C for job interviews.

Wife dropped me off at the owner's house.  He had a lockbox (he had emailed me the code) to get the key for the car.  Used the Turo app on my phone to go through the pickup process.  The app directed me to take multiple pictures of the car before driving off.  Once that was done, I hopped in and drove off.

Drop off was just as easy, I used the app to note I had dropped it off, took pictures of it again and locked the key back in the lock box.  Just like a retail rental, I had topped off the gas tank before returning it.

Overall, a very seamless and easy process.  I would confirm the ones you're looking at will give you the mileage you'll need for the trip.  Some renters have 200 miles a day limits and others have only 50.  Around here, the cars offered for rent seem to have gone more towards higher and prices have risen on them enough, they're not any cheaper than the retail rental places. 

-Rob

We have rented a couple times.  In one instance the renter met us at the exit of the airport.  Right when we walked out he pulled up.  Did a video walk around, grabbed the keys and we were off.  Met us at the airport for drop off too.  Super convenient.  Another occasion, the renter gave us directions to the car in a lot at the airport . Car was unlocked with key and parking ticket on the visor. We dropped the car off in the same location.  Both were fantastic experiences.  The option of selecting exactly what car you would like is a big plus too IMO.  

Both if these were in '21.  

Thanks guys. Upon looking there is a guy 5 min from my house that has one to rent which would make it super convenient.  What are the insurance extra charges? Or is the price on the app the price you pay?

It's really awkward when you show up to a track day in a car off of Turo and the owner is there in one of his other cars. I do not recommend it for those purposes. 

Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:

It's really awkward when you show up to a track day in a car off of Turo and the owner is there in one of his other cars. I do not recommend it for those purposes. 

Personal experience or did a 'friend' tell you about the situation?  

In reply to Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :

Note to self: Don't rent track capable cars to Captdownshift.

Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:

It's really awkward when you show up to a track day in a car off of Turo and the owner is there in one of his other cars. I do not recommend it for those purposes. 

I rented a Type R - went well but the guy left the required Illinois front plate off so we had a verbal agreement that he would pay any missing front plate tickets.   All was good and I took the insurance just in case.  Oddly the longer I drove it the more cautious and conservative I became.  Started to worry I might crunch it up.

Biggest hassle was I couldn't leave my truck so I had family drop me off and pick me up.   I'm now interested in a 2 day rental where I'm wanting to drive it to Road America Vintage races for the day in July - no racing - just watching.  There was a Focus RS that is now missing so now I might rent a WRX STi.    
 

The plan - Road America is 180 miles away - might be close on the 400 free miles   

In reply to BoxheadTim :

Every car is track capable, especially if it's a rental, they're the fastest cars in the world for a reason. 

Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to BoxheadTim :

Every car is track capable, especially if it's a rental, they're the fastest cars in the world for a reason. 

Funny. My first time on track I could tell I wasn't really pushing it. Halfway thru the heat I gave myself a pep talk: "TREAT IT LIKE A RENTAL CAR!!" Then the fun commenced

Also +1 on using Turo AND what's the story about seeing the owner at the track?? Did you beat him?

My understanding is Turo's insurance is a mess. You buy insurance from them, but they self insure and chase your personal policy whenever they can. A quick google gets you lots of complicated stories.

Based upon the info in a Hawaii travel group I'm in your personal insurance doesn't cover Turo

I used Toro last year while in Orlando. Rented a Lexus ES Sedan for the day. Owner dropped the car off at the hotel for start and finish of day. No issues and I didn't get the extra insurance.

I opted to add the minimal insurance which upped the total about $140.  Driving it over 5 hours one way I figured it may be worth the bit of extra coverage. 

carguy123 said:

Based upon the info in a Hawaii travel group I'm in your personal insurance doesn't cover Turo

 

This is dependent on each persons policy.  Mine does. 

Also, learned the hard way-  Even if you communicate pickup/dropoff times directly with the vehicle owner, the rental times are CONCRETE.  We dropped an hour late, which was agreed upon by the owner days in advance, and got dinged $220 for an extra day... Tried fighting it, even sent text message screenshots as proof, to no avail. 

It sort of soured me to the whole thing... like, seriously?!  1 hour? Otherwise, the transaction was fine, although we did buy insurance through Turo and thankfully never had to use it. 

APEowner said:

carguy123 said:

Based upon the info in a Hawaii travel group I'm in your personal insurance doesn't cover Turo

 

This is dependent on each persons policy.  Mine does. 

But it is a good point to look into it. They're not treated as rentals IIRC.

I've heard some nightmare experiences with Turo that make me very wary. Owners have 30 days to claim damage and sketchy owners can (and do!) use old photos to document the "before" condition then claim new damage and charge you massive amounts of money for damage you didn't do. Since they can wait weeks to make the claim, they can still have 100% positive feedback as their renters have already left feedback by then. Turo has no boots on the ground and no interest in backing you up, so people can be stuck with hundreds in damage claims for damage they didn't do. I'm sure the opposite happens, too, but looking at it as a renter I'd be realllly careful if I actually did rent from them.

One case I read, the car's owner claimed damage underneath the car. So even if you took detailed photos and video all around and inside the car, you'd still have no proof to fight them on a claim like that.

And golfduke's experience is also typical. The app has no leeway for changes, stick to what it says or you're getting shafted.

I plan to crawl all over it and take lots of pics and video before I move it out of their driveway.  I don't think it will be as much concern with a van but you never know.  Being local to the guy I would think should help as well.

dculberson said:

I've heard some nightmare experiences with Turo that make me very wary. Owners have 30 days to claim damage and sketchy owners can (and do!) use old photos to document the "before" condition then claim new damage and charge you massive amounts of money for damage you didn't do. Since they can wait weeks to make the claim, they can still have 100% positive feedback as their renters have already left feedback by then. Turo has no boots on the ground and no interest in backing you up, so people can be stuck with hundreds in damage claims for damage they didn't do. I'm sure the opposite happens, too, but looking at it as a renter I'd be realllly careful if I actually did rent from them.

One case I read, the car's owner claimed damage underneath the car. So even if you took detailed photos and video all around and inside the car, you'd still have no proof to fight them on a claim like that.

And golfduke's experience is also typical. The app has no leeway for changes, stick to what it says or you're getting shafted.

They changed the damage policy 1/1/22 for that specific reason- 

Report damage and choose a resolution path

You must report damage no more than 24 hours after the trip ends to start the resolution process. Damage reports received past this deadline may not be eligible for coverage under a protection plan provided by Turo and may make it difficult to resolve damage with your guest.  When you report damage, you must provide photos of the damaged area(s) taken no more than 24 hours before trip start and no more than 24 hours after trip end. If you don’t have photos, you may not be eligible for physical damage reimbursement. We waive the post-trip photo requirement in cases of mechanical damage or if your car was towed or otherwise unavailable for you to photograph.

https://support.turo.com/hc/en-us/articles/203990640-Reporting-and-resolving-damage-US-hosts

In reply to golfduke :

Excellent! I'm sure it doesn't completely eliminate shady "hosts," but it should go a long way to help.

We opted for the Turo insurance because I called my credit card company and insurance company and both said they don't cover Turo. 
Sometimes I'll take a slow-mo video to get lots of detail

I've got a longish trip soon and I was thinking of grabbing a Tesla from Turo for fun since I've never driven one.

Tesla aren't the best for a longish trip cause you have to add in the charging time for stops.  Daily use though they are awesome.  If you were local I would take you for a spin