Should you rent a car with Turo?

Turo is the Airbnb for cars. Instead of renting from a car rental company like Hertz or Budget, you rent from individuals. The prices are usually lower, sometimes much lower. This may attract some people on a budget to consider Turo especially when car rental prices are very high. However, just like Airbnb hasn’t put hotels out of business, Turo hasn’t put car rental companies out of business either. There’s a number of things to consider.

Please note that while I will be referring to Turo rentals throughout this article, the generic term is peer-to-peer car sharing. Thus, whether you go through Turo or you rent a car through an individual through some other means, the general principles in this article should be the same.

Price and other charges

As I just mentioned, the initial price is usually cheaper than a regular car rental. However, much like Airbnb’s dreaded cleaning fee, Turo has a number of fees that will be or can be added on to your total price. This may make the discount a lot less than you thought it was. Be sure to consider the total prices of a Turo car and a regular rental for a real apples to apples comparison. For example, there will be a trip fee which is the fee charged by Turo. There may also be pet fees, young driver fees, insurance fees (see below), mileage fees (see below), etc.

Insurance issues

While your car insurance may cover you if you drive a regular rental car, it may not include coverage for your Turo rental. For example, Progressive excluded Turo rentals: https://www.progressive.com/answers/peer-to-peer-car-insurance/

The same goes for Geico and Allstate. Thus, you’ll either be completely responsible for any damages or you’ll have to spend more money to buy a policy from Turo. This could put a dent into the cost savings.

Credit card coverage

With cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Chase Sapphire Preferred, you’re usually covered in the event of any damage or other issues with your car rental. These cards, and others that offer rental car covered exclude Turo. So again, you’re either on the hook personally or you have to buy Turo’s insurance.

Mileage

Most rental cars in the United States these days include unlimited mileage. It’s been at least 5 years since I’ve seen a rental that had a mileage limit. However, most cars on Turo have a mileage limit and you’ll be charged if you go over it. That’s something to keep in mind if you’ll be driving a lot. Different hosts have different limits.

Car selection and availability

With a rental car company, you cannot choose the car you’re gonna rent. But wait, I selected a mid-size the last time I rented a car, what are you talking about? Well with a rental car you are only selecting your preferred type of car. The car you are shown may not be the actual car you get. In fact, you might not get that type of car anyway. Unlike a hotel room where you are reserved a room and you know it will be there (almost always anyway) when you show up, with a car rental, that’s not always the case. Normally you don’t have an issue but there’s been times where people have waited more than a day to get any car at all. Type in “Seinfeld car rental” into Youtube to see what I’m talking about.

With Turo, you know the exact car you’re getting. That’s your car and it will there just for you.

Car condition

Most rental cars are fairly new, in good condition and have low mileage. With Turo, they could be brand new or very old. Hopefully the condition will be disclosed properly. I did have one car that I rented on Turo that was really bad. Seemed right out of a junkyard. That was several years ago though so hopefully a lot of those people have weeded themselves out.

Reviews aren’t always spot on

If you ever stayed at an Airbnb that got good reviews, you may have wondered what type of standards these people have. I’m convinced some people are like “well the roof didn’t collapse on me so I’m giving it 5 stars”. I’d had to see what they consider a bad rental. Well Turo can kind of be the same way. You can have all these people say the car is great and you get there and it’s pretty bad. Unlike a regular car rental company, you can’t just refuse the rental and choose another car. You also can’t walk to the counter next door and rent with another company. Perhaps you could find another last minute rental but it’s not going to be right there. You might be stuck with what you get.

Location

The vast majority of people rent cars from airports. Doesn’t get more convenient than that. Turo cars are located all over the place. This goes both ways. If you need a car at an airport, you may have to pay more money to get to the car or have the car brought to you. Some hosts will have the car at the airport at no cost but these may cost more than cars that are off airport. Cars may also be located in rural areas far away from regular car rental companies. That makes things a lot easier in that scenario.

Damages and reimbursements

When you turn in a rental car, there is usually someone there to take the car back from you. They check it for damage and they are usually pretty good with not nitpicking everything. With Turo, it could go either way. If someone has a lot of good reviews, they are probably not going to do that to you. Although reviews about the condition of the car might not always be spot on, if the host was trying to get more money for small scratches, someone would probably mention it. If they don’t have many reviews at all, then you never know what they will do. Turo also allows the host to seek reimbursement from you after you turn the car in. If they side with the host, you could pay for all sorts of things including administrative fees.

Rakuten

Due to all of the fees and taxes, you aren’t going to get a ton of money back on Rakuten with a rental car but you’ll get something. Even if it’s just $5, it’s still makes the rental car $5 cheaper than it was. Turo is not on Rakuten.

Tolls

Rental car companies give you a few different options for tolls and none of them are usually good. You can either rent a toll pass or you could just have them bill you which will include an administrative fee. Either way, you’re paying more money than you should have. With Turo, many hosts will include a toll pass in the car and then just charge you for the exact amount that you use.

So when should you use Turo?

This is a bit of a personal decision but my suggestion is to use Turo when the price difference is significant. I wouldn’t do it to save $10. There’s just too much that can go wrong. I would want to save at least $100. I really like using Turo for long term rentals. If you were going to rent a car for a month, it could cost you $3,000. On Turo, it could be $1,200. Even if you get dinged with a $300 fee for damages, you are still coming out way ahead.

Other times, the car may be more convenient for you. If you are going to an airport that is notorious for long lines at the car rental desk, having a car waiting there for you might make sense. If the price with the insurance is the same, then you shouldn’t have much to worry about.

Just like Airbnb, some people love Turo, some hate it and others will use it on occasion. I can usually get good deals on car rentals so I don’t rent from Turo much but for long term rentals, it’s definitely my go to choice.

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