I’m DONE with Turo. After 2 years of hosting, I’ve officially had enough.
Today is officially my last day as a Turo host, and honestly, I am extremely frustrated.
I’ve been renting out my car for about 2 years and I have a 4.94 rating. I started with my CX-50 at 0 miles, and it is now at around 70,000 miles.
I started renting it out because I travel for work about 3 weeks out of every month. My car would be sitting there anyway, so at the time, it seemed like a smart way to make some extra money.
After everything I’ve dealt with, I can confidently say: it is not worth it for me anymore.
Recently, I had a renter return my car to my apartment without my parking pass. The car ended up getting towed, and I had to pay $420 just to get my own car back.
The renter decided she was not going to pay for it, and when I tried to deal with her about it, she was cussing me out.
So I had no choice but to cover the $420 myself.
Then I rented my car to another guy for two weeks, and he returned it today with a broken windshield.
The windshield replacement is about $1,000.
So now I’m already about $1,400 out of pocket between these two situations.
I contacted Turo, and because my deductible is $2,500, they basically told me there isn’t much they can do and that I should work both situations out with the guests.
And yes, I understand.
I chose the $2,500 deductible.
I’m not pretending I didn’t.
But honestly, after two years of hosting, this is what is frustrating me the most.
I’ve maintained a good rating, I’ve rented this car out for two years, and I’ve put approximately 70,000 miles on a car that started at 0 miles.
Today, after getting my car back from the latest renter, I drove it and immediately noticed that something did not feel right.
So I took it in for service.
The total estimate to get my car back into shape is around $3,500.
The car needs:
* New tires
* Gasket replacement
* Engine oil pan gasket
* Drive belt tensioner
* Drive belt
* Other maintenance and repairs
The renter apparently swapped two of my tires while they had the vehicle. I have a CX-50, which is AWD, so now I have to replace all four tires.
I don’t even know what happened to the tires that were swapped.
Some cables that were in the car are also missing.
And because the renter had the car for so long, they apparently decided to do their own oil change.
Now the bolt that seals the oil pan is damaged and leaking oil, so I have to deal with that repair too.
At this point, I’m just exhausted.
And this isn’t even the first time I’ve had issues.
I can’t even count how many times I’ve gotten my car back smelling like cigarettes or weed.
I don’t smoke.
The renter cleans the car before returning it, but the car still smells.
Then Turo says there is no proof.
Of course there isn’t a picture showing a smell.
The car just smells.
What am I supposed to do, take a picture of the smell?
This has happened so many times that I’ve honestly lost count.
And this is why I’m looking at Turo completely differently now.
At one point, Turo was taking around 50% of my earnings.
At the time, I accepted it because I thought I was paying for the platform, protection, support and everything that comes with hosting.
But after doing this for two years, I’m starting to realize that the money you see coming in is not necessarily the money you’re actually making.
I started this car at 0 miles.
It is now at 70,000 miles in two years.
Think about the amount of wear and tear that puts on a vehicle.
Tires.
Oil changes.
Maintenance.
Brakes.
Depreciation.
Cleaning.
Repairs.
Unexpected damage.
And all the time spent dealing with renters, claims, evidence and situations like this.
Eventually, all of that starts eating into whatever money you thought you were making.
And for someone like me, who has one personal vehicle, this just doesn’t make sense anymore.
I’m not running a fleet.
I’m not a rental car company.
I was simply renting out my personal car because I travel for work most of the month and thought it would be a good way to make some extra money while I wasn’t using it.
Maybe Turo makes sense if you have a fleet of vehicles and you’re running it as a full business.
But for someone with one personal car?
After today, I don’t see the value anymore.
Yes, I chose the $2,500 deductible. I understand that.
But when Turo is taking a significant percentage of my earnings and I’m still responsible for so much of the wear, maintenance and smaller damages, it makes me question what I’m actually gaining from the arrangement.
So to anyone still renting their car on Turo:
Yes, sometimes the money is good.
But please calculate EVERYTHING.
Don’t just look at your weekly earnings and think you’re making good money.
Look at the tires.
Look at the maintenance.
Look at the depreciation.
Look at the extra mileage.
Look at the cleaning.
Look at the repairs.
Look at the time you spend dealing with renters.
Because eventually, all of that can completely wipe out the money you thought you were making.
For me, this is the end.
After two years, 70,000 miles, 44 renters, countless maintenance issues, smoking incidents, damage and now thousands of dollars in repairs…
I am officially done with Turo.
Today is my last day as a host.
I really wanted this to work.
But honestly, I have reached the point where the money is no longer worth the stress, wear and tear, or uncertainty.
I’m done.