If you’re looking for an alternative to traditional car rental companies, Turo is a great option. Turo is a peer-to-peer car-sharing marketplace that allows you to rent cars from private owners.
Founded in 2010 and based in San Fransisco, the company allows private car owners to rent out their vehicles via an online and mobile interface in more than 5,500 cities across the US, UK and Canada.
So, how does Turo work?
In this article, I’m going to dissect step by step how Turo works.
Overview: How Does Turo Work?
If you’re not familiar with Turo, it’s basically the Airbnb of car rentals. You can rent cars from people in your city, or even from other cities if you’re planning a road trip.
Turo’s peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace connects car owners with short-term renters. They offer short-duration trips from a few hours to multiple days and weeks.
Hosts list their cars on the platform as available in a specific location at a specific time.
For renters, first, create an account and enter some basic information about yourself. Then, you browse the available cars and choose the one that you want to rent.
Once you’ve found the perfect car, you contact the owner who then approves it and arranges a time to pick it up.
When you’re ready to return the car, simply drop it off at the agreed-upon location. It’s that easy!
How Does Turo Work when Booking a Car?
Finding a Perfect Car
You can go to the website
or app and select “Book a car” button.
Then you will be taken to a search menu where you will be asked to enter the place you need the car.
The options are; city, airport, hotel, or specific address.
Enter a location and date (time of pick up and drop off) and browse thousands of cars shared by local hosts.
You can also use the map on the dashboard to find the nearest Turo car rental.
Clicking on the blue dots gives you the specifications of the rental cars available.
Each Listing shows;
- A picture of the car
- The model and the year of the car
- The number of trips it has made on Turo
- The car rating out of 5 stars from previous renters
- Car Features eg. automatic, electric etc.
- Trip start and trip end
- Discount if available
- Guidelines
- Pick up and return location
Messaging Your Host
After selecting the perfect match for your trip, set the date, time and location of pick up and drop off.
Then click the continue tab and go on to book your car.
To message your host, you must first submit a booking request or have a booked trip. If your decision to book a car is contingent on a question, carefully check the information in the listing to see if it can be of any help.
If you cannot find an answer, submit a trip request and follow up with a message to the host asking them to answer your question before accepting your trip request.
If the host accepted the trip and then answered your question, you can cancel the trip immediately for a full refund.
For “Book instantly”, your trip request is automatically accepted but you can still message your host and cancel if the answer isn’t what you expected.
Age Requirements
Age requirements are applied based on your age at the time you book a trip, not on the age you’ll be when the trip takes place.
In the US, age 18-21, you can’t decline a protection plan or choose Premier protection. You must choose either the Minimum protection plan or the Standard protection plan.
Commercial Hosts set their own age restrictions for certain vehicle types and their own fees for young drivers. They must disclose this information in their vehicle listing.
| Location | Trips with all hosts | Trips with a peer-to-peer host | Trips with a Commercial Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Must be 21 or older to book a car with a total market value of more than $20k. Must be 25 or older to book a Deluxe Class car. Must be 30 or older to book a Super Deluxe Class car or a speciality vehicle. | Must be 18 or older to book a trip with a peer-to-peer host. If you’re aged 18-20, you’ll pay a minimum Young driver fee of $50/day. If you’re aged 21–25, you’ll pay a minimum Young driver fee of $30/day. | You must be 21 or older to book a trip with a Commercial Host. They set their own age restrictions for certain vehicle types and their own fees for young drivers. |
| Canada | Must be 23 or older to book a car in Canada. Must be 25 or older to book a Deluxe Class car. Must be 30 or older to book a Super Deluxe Class car or a speciality vehicle. | None | Commercial Hosts set their own age restrictions for certain vehicle types and their own fees for young drivers. |
United Kingdom | Must be at least 21 and no older than age 74 to book a car in the UK. If under age 25, you can only book cars identified as Group 1-16 vehicles by the Association of British Insurers Must be 25 or older to book a Deluxe Class car and 30 or older to book a Super Deluxe Class car. | If you’re under the age of 25, you must pay a minimum £25/day Young Driver fee | Commercial Hosts set their own age restrictions for certain vehicle types and their own fees for young drivers. |
| Other regions outside the US, Canada and the UK | Must be 21 or older to book a car | Must be 21 or older to book a car | Commercial Hosts set their own age restrictions for certain vehicle types and their own fees for young drivers. |
Adding a Driver to a Trip
For a smooth approval process, have your driver create an account in Turo and get approval to drive before you submit your request to add them to your trip.
Ensure your driver meets the age requirements for the car you’ve booked. It is also advisable to submit your request earlier(at least 24 hours) before your trip starts since the verification process may take longer in case additional documentation is required.
You should also note that you will assume all financial responsibility for the car during the trip and if you allow anyone who wasn’t approved by Turo to drive, it will void your protection plan.
There is no additional charge for this process.
How to add a driver to a trip;
- Log onto Turo or sign into the app and open the Trips tab
- Choose Booked and open the trip you’re interested in
- Scroll down to the section labelled DRIVERS
- Tap “Add driver”
- Enter the email tied to your driver’s Turo account: if they don’t have an account, enter a valid email they check regularly
- Advise your additional driver to look for an email from Turo.
Driving the car
After meeting all the requirements and getting that Turo car rental, the car is now yours and you can travel wherever you want with it while operating within your policy.
However, there are a few things to keep in mind;
- In case of any damage, contact Turo as soon as possible
- Turo offers 24/7 road assistance
- When you pass through toll booths, the owner of the car will be billed and they will later pass the fee to you by sending a reimbursement invoice to Turo.
How Does Turo Work when Listing a Car?
To list on Turo, you must be at least 21 years old in the US and Canada, and at least 18 years old in the UK.
You should also have valid insurance and you should also meet the legal requirements for your region.
Listing a car
If you have already created an account, you are just a step to listing your car. You have to verify your email, verify your phone, add your driver’s license and expiration date, add your home address and upload a recent photo showing your face for the Turo profile.
Listing a car on Turo requires the Host to provide the following details;
- License plate number
- Make model and year
- Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
- Clear photos of your car(high resolution)
- A detailed description of your car
Pricing your car
There are a few things to consider when pricing your car on Turo. First, what is the going rate for similar cars in your area? You don’t want to price yourself too high and risk not getting any bookings, but you also don’t want to price yourself too low and make less money than you could be making.
Another thing to consider is what kind of amenities and features your car has. If your car is newer or has special features like GPS or leather seats, you can charge a bit more than the going rate.
Hosts can find a fair rental price by using Turo Calculator which they refer to as a “carculator.”
It will request your car’s make, model, and year, as well as your rental location.
This calculator works by comparing the prices of other rental cars with the same listings and gives you a competitive price.
Currently, the “carculator” is only available in some US and Canadian cities.
Your earnings will depend on your car’s availability, price, demand and market seasonality in your area.
Responding to trip requests and changes
You will receive a notification via text, email, and/or the app when a guest requests to book a trip or to change a trip they’ve already booked with you.
Hosts have between 30 minutes and 8 hours to respond to rental requests.
For “Book instantly”, the system will automatically accept booking requests for you.
If approved, it goes into their schedule, and the car becomes unavailable for the rental period.
How Does Turo Work when Returning a car?
Dropping off
When you schedule your trip, you cannot choose a different location for pickup and return. However, you can ask to change the pickup or drop-off location once the trip has been scheduled. You can still ask to modify the return location after the trip has begun.
The host must already offer pickup at the new location or it must be within their designated pickup area.
Your request must be accepted or rejected by your host within 8 hours (or less if your trip begins or finishes earlier than that).
If they don’t respond or decline your request, you’ll have to return the vehicle to the original pickup spot.
If you just alter the drop-off location, the new pickup charge will be determined by adding 50% of the pickup fee for the original site and 50% of the new location.
How Does Turo Work -Late Return Fee
If you are running late, you can submit a trip extension. Hosts should encourage guests to extend and accept extension requests whenever possible.
Guests are able to submit an extension request at any time during their trip and up to six hours after the trip’s scheduled end time.
The following additional usage charges apply;
- 0-29 minutes late: No charge
- 30 minutes to 1 hour 59 minutes late: ½ the average daily trip price; $50 improper return fee at Turo’s discretion
- 2 hours or more late: Average daily trip price for 1 day + $20 late return fee; $50 improper return fee at Turo’s discretion
You May Also Like // Turo Cancellation Policy
How Does Turo Work for Payments
Turo accepts a variety of payment methods.
They accept credit cards from major financial institutions, including American Express and Discover.
You can also use debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and prepaid cards only from Revolut.
All these payment methods should be in the primary guest’s name.
Hosts are paid for rentals through Stripe. You will have to enter your bank information in Stripe to set up a direct deposit.
For the first completed trip, Turo typically initiates payment three business days after the trip ends.
For Subsequent trips, payment is initiated 3 hours after the trip ends.
Trips lasting longer than a week are paid in weekly installments.
They will issue no more than one payout a day.
Our study on Does Turo Charge right away and Turo debit card policy is a great resource in understanding how Turo payments work.
How Turo Insurance works | How Does Turo Work for Insurance
Turo offers protection plans through Travelers Excess and Surplus Lines Company for a fee.
Most of the major credit card networks, including Visa, Mastercard and American Express all offer some form of rental car coverage for cards on their networks.
Turo is a peer-to-peer car sharing service rather than a rental agency and therefore it doesn’t qualify.
Instead of stressing about credit card coverage, you can opt for coverage plans offered by Turo at an additional cost.
In the US, your personal insurance covers damages to the host’s vehicle before your Turo protection plan except for limited situations such as for trips booked in Maryland.
Insurance For Renters
When booking a car in the US, you will choose between three protection plan which provides different levels of coverage;
- Premier
- Standard
- Minimum
These protection plans cost a percentage of your total trip price.
| Protection Plan | Cost | Minimum Charge per Day | Coverage limits | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier | 65% to 100% of the trip price | $14 | $750,000 $1250,000 in New York | Coverage is secondary to any personal insurance you may have, except in New York where liability insurance will always be primary. Not available for drivers below 21 years. |
| Standard | 40% of the trip price | $12 | The minimum amount of third-party insurance coverage is required by the state. -Limits your responsibility to $500 for physical damage to your host’s vehicle. | Coverage is secondary to any personal insurance you may have, except in New York where liability insurance will always be primary. |
| Minimum | 15% to 25% of the trip price | $10 | Includes the minimum amount of third-party liability insurance coverage required by the state where the car is registered. -Limits your responsibility to $250 for physical damage to your host’s vehicle. | -15% of the trip price when the trip price is more than $250 -25% of the trip price when the trip price is less than $250 |
| Decline | No cost | No cost | You’ll receive the minimum amount of third-party liability insurance coverage required by the state where the car is registered. | You’ll be responsible for all costs related to physical, mechanical, and interior damage. You’ll also be responsible for administrative claims fees and appraisal costs. |
Coverage limits vary from the minimum amount of third-party liability insurance coverage required by the state where the car is registered to up to $1250,000 in New York.
Insurance For Hosts
It is important for a host to choose the protection that makes sense to him/her.
Every protection plan includes liability insurance, physical damage reimbursement, and access to 24/7 roadside assistance.
| Protection Plan | Plan Price | Deductible | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | 10% of trip cost. | $2500 | No replacement vehicle reimbursement during repair Doesn’t include exterior wear and tear reimbursement Doesn’t include loss of hosting income during the repair |
| 85 | 15% of trip cost. | $1625 | No replacement vehicle reimbursement during repair Doesn’t include exterior wear and tear reimbursement Doesn’t include loss of hosting income during the repair |
| 80 | 20% of trip cost. | $750 | No replacement vehicle reimbursement during repair Doesn’t include exterior wear and tear reimbursement Doesn’t include loss of hosting income during the repair |
| 75 | 25% of trip cost. | $250 | Rental reimbursement coverage of up to $30/day 10-day maximum. Doesn’t include exterior wear and tear reimbursement Doesn’t include loss of hosting income during the repair |
| 60 | 40% of trip cost. | $0 | Rental reimbursement coverage of up to $50/day with a 10-day maximum Includes pay for loss of hosting income while your vehicle is repaired. Exterior wear-and-tear reimbursement. |
How Does Turo Security Deposit Work?
Turo charges a security deposit in all cases except for commercial hosts. For those guests under the age of 30, Turo will charge them a $750 (CA$1500 for trips in Canada) deposit to book a Deluxe Class car(Vehicles in the US are valued from $55K to $85K).
All the guests who want to book a Super Deluxe Class car (valued above $85K) will be charged a $750 (CA$1500 for trips in Canada) security deposit.
Turo may also charge you a $200 deposit if their security system chooses your trip for a deposit based on the trip’s details and other factors. In all cases, you will be charged a security deposit which neither Turo nor the Host can waive it.
The deposit amount is displayed as a separate line item on the checkout page. It is also processed as a separate transaction.
If you have personal insurance, you can receive a $250 (CA$500 for trips in Canada) discount on your deposit by filling in the insurance details. This information should be entered at the time of booking. It cannot be applied once you have submitted your trip request.
For trips booked with a commercial host, Turo doesn’t charge a security deposit. Commercial hosts are independent, rental car company hosts who list their vehicles on Turo’s platform.
In the United Kingdom, Turo will charge guests a £500 deposit to book a Deluxe Class car and £1,000 to book a Super Deluxe car. Guests who book a trip to travel in the EU will be charged a £1,000 deposit.
Also, there will be a £250 deposit charge if their security system chooses your trip for a deposit based on the trip’s details and other factors.
In all cases, you will be charged a security deposit which neither Turo nor the Host can waive it.
Conclusion-(Summary of How Does Turo Work)
In conclusion, Turo is a car-sharing company that allows individuals to rent out their personal vehicles to others. The process is simple and easy to use, and it provides an affordable and convenient option for those in need of transportation. If you’re looking for a way to save money on your next car rental, Turo may be the perfect solution.
