Turo - An Alternative to Rental Car Companies

If you’re looking to save some money or if you are looking for a unique car to rent, look no further than Turo. I recently used Turo for the first time to rent a Tesla Model 3 and found the experience to be painless.

By Shainur Ahsan

What is Turo?

Turo is an app that lets regular car owners rent out their vehicles for days or weeks at a time. Owners set the schedule of when the car is available to be rented out. Likewise, renters search by dates and locations to find the rental best for them.

Turo’s interface is similar to what you would expect from traditional rental car companies if you are looking to rent a car. You can filter by type of vehicle (sedan, SUV, etc.) and you can view instructions within the listing about pick up and drop off. However, you can filter down to find a specific vehicle that suits your needs.

I recently used Turo for the first time to rent a Tesla Model 3. Read about my experience driving the Model 3 here.

Benefits of Turo

Getting Started with Turo

Creating your Turo profile is relatively simple. You will need a valid driver’s license and need to provide the information to the app. You do not need to provide your own car insurance as Turo provides insurance through Liberty Mutual. Note that your credit card benefits may not cover rentals through Turo. It is recommended to at least use the basic level of insurance among the three choices Turo presents you.

Selecting A Rental

With your profile set up, you can search listings and book a vehicle of your choosing. I found the filters to be descriptive allowing you to really narrow down vehicles by specific features. You can also search for particular makes which is something that rental companies typically do not let you do. This made it easy to find Tesla Model 3’s in the area available for rent. I found most prices to be reasonable for more everyday vehicles. Prices for luxury and exotic cars can vary. Be aware that cleaning fees, insurance, prepaid fuel, and taxes are added on top of the daily rental fee listed in the app. For my one day rental, these costs added on nearly $70.

One unique aspect about Turo is being able to rent non-mainstream vehicles. Although offered by some traditional companies like Enterprise, many companies have small luxury and exotic collections and even then only at select locations. Although I wouldn’t consider the Model 3 to be rare, it’s still not main-stream enough to be carried by traditional rental car companies which is why I turned to Turo. The Model 3 I chose had a base rental cost of $129 per day.

For luxury and exotic cars, you may have to do some research on what the fair rental rate should be as owners set their own prices. Most of the time, they set prices in order to effectively compete each other, but you may see a listing that is way overpriced. For an extreme example, I found an original Tesla Roadster for rent in my local area for $2000/day. Be sure to try to compare rental rates for at least two or three cars of the same model to make sure you’re getting the best price.

You can book the vehicle after you’ve made your choice. You enter your payment method through the app which is used for all the fees. At the time of booking, you can start communicating with the owner through the app.

Picking up the Rental

Photo by Negative Space from Pexels

At the time of booking, you can select where you will pick up the car. The owner typically will list the pickup location as the general area they keep the car and may offer to drop the car off for you at the airport. Other owners may be generous to drop the car off within a set distance from their location.

For my trip, I offered to pick the car up from the owner’s workplace and just took an Uber to get there. You should consider location when booking as you don’t want to have to go out of your way just to have to pick up and drop off a car.

For my rental, the owner stayed with me for a good half hour to explain the unique features and behaviors of the Tesla Model 3 I was renting. I’m sure other owners would spend a little time with you to quickly familiarize you with their car.

In the app, it asks you to perform a check-in. A prompt asks you to take front, side, rear, and interior photos and to note any damage. The app also asks you to take a picture of the odometer. After you’ve documented the car’s condition, you can finish checking-in and be off on your way. At this point, it would be good to confirm with the owner what to do before dropping the car off and where you will meet them.

If any issues come up during your rental, you can message the owner through the app. I did not have an issues during my trip, but I’m sure I would have been well taken care of. I found my host to be very responsive prior to pick up and drop off of the car.

Dropping off the Rental

Dropping off the car was just as simple as the pickup. The app again asks you to take photos of the car and to note anything that may have changed during your trip. After submitting the pictures through the app, you are set and ready to leave. The owner may contact you afterwards for reimbursement for refueling or tolls which can be done through the app.

From my experience, the owner was able to meet us right on time at their workplace. She quickly checked the car’s condition and stayed a bit longer to ask us if we had any further questions about the particular Tesla we rented. We stayed to talk for a bit, but I’m sure if it was a regular car we could have left within five minutes.

Turo Experience Conclusion

My first experience with Turo was a seamless and painless experience. I was able to quickly find the car I wanted while out of town within a reasonable distance of where I stayed. The host went above and beyond to educate me about the Model 3 I rented and walked me through the check-in and check-out process in the app.

Turo is a great alternative to those seeking more options than those provided through traditional car rental companies. For standard vehicles, prices are often competitive. I’ll definitely look to use Turo again for future trips.

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