Have you heard of Turo yet? Well you’re about to…
What Is Turo?
Turo is “the world’s largest car sharing marketplace” that allows vehicle owners to list their car to be temporarily rented out to a random subscriber on the internet. Renting periods can last from just a couple of days to a longer length of time. Think of Turo as the AirBnB for cars- book the car you want in the same manner that you would book a room or a hotel. This service is currently available all over the United States, UK, Canada, and Germany.
Since the idea of renting making your vehicle available to a complete stranger, in the next few articles we’ll break down all the things to know.
Signing Up For Turo
Initial registration is very easy – after downloading Turo from the Play Store or App Store you can sign up with your Google or Facebook account or with just your email address. You will not be asked to enter any personal details apart from your name until you decide to book or list a car. Once you’ve signed up, all you need to do to browse the available rental cars near you is enter a city, airport or address, as well as your travel dates.
How Does Turo Car Rental Work – Listing Your Car
If you wany to list your car on Turo, here’s the procedure. It’s fairly straight forward on how to put your car on their website and it’s free!
- Create a free account with all your necessary details.
- Describe your vehicle and upload some good photos of it.
- Maintain an up-to-date calendar of your car’s availability on Turo’s website.
- Respond to request for rental ( Turo will send you a notification when someone is interested). You can accept or decline the prospective renter.
- If you accept the renter, you will then coordinate where they will pick up the car. When you meet, you can inspect their license, the vehicle, gas levels, ect..
- If you’re satisfied, you give them the car with an agreement on the place and date of return.
- When the renter returns the car, you inspect it again and give your review online.
How Does Turo Car Rental Work – For Renting A Car
For those wanting to rent cars on the Turo platform, the process is also very easy. Here is what you need to do.
- Sign up for a Turo account using your Google, Facebook or e-mail account.
- Turo will confirm your identity and your eligibility to drive.
- Find the car you want that is close to where you are.
- Book the car, and the owner will confirm the booking within eight hours. (See below for the five things you’ll have to do in order to complete the booking)
- Pick the car up and go on your trip.
- Return the car to the owner at the agreed upon location with the gas replaced.
- That’s it!
- Payment for the rental is handled within the Turo app.
I’ve Chosen The Car…What are the Details to Book It?
Once you’ve chosen the pickup or delivery location, there are five steps you need to complete your Turo booking:
1. Add extras
Depending on the host there can be various extras you can purchase for an extra charge. Prepaid refuel, for example, is very common. It allows you to return the car at any fuel level. Some hosts will also offer child safety seats, additional cleaning and so on.
2. Enter your information
As expected, you will need to fill your personal info before rental. That includes date of birth, license number, date of license issuance, etc. You can also scan your license directly through the app.
3. Choose your Turo Shield Protection
Insurance is something that’s unavoidable when it comes to car rentals. Turo allows you to choose from Premium, Basic, or Minimum Coverage — each of which has varying physical damage protection.
4. Enter your payment info
Finally, you have to add your payment info. Turo accepts most major credit cards, including American Express and Discover cards, as well as Visa and Mastercard debit cards linked to a checking account. In the U.S. and Canada, you can also pay with Google Pay, while Apple Pay is only currently available in the U.S..
5. Message the host
Just like Airbnb, you need to write a short message to the car owner, introducing yourself and giving them some basic information about your trip. This is an important step, so don’t be too vague.
Once your booking has been approved, if you haven’t requested delivery, it’s time to pick up your car. How that is done differs from host to host. Some will meet you and hand over the keys in person at an agreed time and location. Take this time to ask them questions, especially if you think there were things not mentioned in the guidelines – for example, if eating or drinking in the car is permitted. Make sure to ask where the car documents are located, so you can have them ready in case you are stopped by the police, and so on.
However, meeting the host in person is not always the case. Some have come up with ingenious methods of handing over the keys to renters. One host on YouTube demonstrated how he puts the keys in lockboxes attached to a fence near the car and then texts renters the combination for them after they send him a photo of their driver’s license and themselves near the car. This is also possible with newer car models that can be locked/unlocked remotely. Whatever the case, make sure you ask your host about it and about returning the vehicle.
Curious about more things about Turo? Keep a watch on our website as part two comes out next week.
Written by: Avery Moore
Read more Blog posts by Avery Moore
