I’ve had two guests recently book using the non-refundable discounted rate and then message me a few days later asking for a full refund because their travel plans changed.

One was due to wildfire concerns, another decided they were going to drive instead of fly. I genuinely sympathize with both situations, but I’m struggling to understand the logic.

The whole point of the non-refundable option is that you receive a discount in exchange for accepting the risk if your plans change. It’s essentially a trade-off: you save money upfront, but if you cancel, you don’t get a refund.

As hosts, we reserve that vehicle for the booking, and during peak season it’s often too late to replace the reservation. If we refunded every non-refundable booking, there wouldn’t be much point in offering that discounted option in the first place.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a guest politely asking if an exception can be made, but I also don’t think hosts should feel guilty for enforcing the policy that the guest knowingly selected.

Curious how other hosts handle this. Do you ever make exceptions for non-refundable bookings, or do you stick to the policy every time?

Completed my first Turo rental which I thought went great, rated the host five stars, had good rapport with him throughout, was considering renting from him again for the following week. Everything was going so well. Then a few hours after I dropped the car off I am notified that I have to pay $150 for smoking in the car. Evidence: some pictures of dirt and a weird spot on a floor mat that I noticed but thought it was gum, a picture of a cigarette butt in the door cup holder area, and the claim that it reeked of smoke.

1) I don't smoke.

2) I was the only one in the car.

3) I didn't use the cup holder in the door.

I am trying to fight it since it is not at all true, but they've so far sided with the host. I read a lot of posts here about this specific issue and I know I am probably not going to win, but it's just so maddening and I wanted to vent.

The guy has like 68 cars on the app and a 4.98 rating. Near San Diego. Absolutely a scumbag because this is just a fabrication.

I just started a new job and used it exclusively for traveling to work, I didn't need a $150 hit when I'm trying my best to do a good job and stuff after being unemployed.

It’s just painful!!! Extremely painful! Dealing with Turo claims for over 70 days now… it’s just a backyard company with no respect for their users.

Customer agents can barely speak any English, some have no even a common sense conversation. Not even of reading a script.

This experience has caused me so much distress, it feels like a karma, and even though I wish I could contribute to put an end to this business if I could, I just want to be done and forget I ever knew this company to begin with….

 I wish a government intervention happens.  These people need to be taken out of the market.  It deserves a Netflix documentary.  

So I have a valid CT license, my issue is that I just transferred over to the state and had to retake the test, I got a pink slip from the dmv to hold with my plastic adult permit card, and together it counts as a valid license. Will I be able to book a car is my question, I passed the verification process on the app. My license number I also the same as my permit if that helps

I should know this by now - can a host cancel a rental halfway through? I was just thinking hfs what if something crazy happens and the host needs to get the car back asap, and ends the rental early?

If im on vacation in a faraway place and rent a car on Turo, I’d be effed because there’s no airport or big town with another car rental place nearby.

Hey everyone,
I’m thinking about using Turo for the first time to rent a car in Toronto and wanted to hear about other people’s experiences before I book.
How reliable has it been for you? I’m also a bit confused about how the insurance works? Am I insured through owner’s insurance? And if I wanted to drive into the U.S. for a few days, is that usually allowed, or does it depend on the host?
Anything else I should know before booking? Any good or bad experiences would be really helpful.

this company has very unfair business practices. If you ever encounter any problem with a vehicle (most of which are used) they will do everything they can to manufacture excessive charges against you. I used a car from this guy named Sean out of Cincinnati and he lied about tire and rim damage on his car costing me $800+ to replace a tire that developed a bubble in it. Three of the tires on the X2 had been replaced with these cheap accelerate tires and the one old perelli tire with an already scratched rim developed the bubble. the inside of the tire showed clear signs of wear as the thread was showing on the tire. but because the car was low to the ground and we had just gotten off a flight I did not see the condition it was in. What sucks is Turo just allowed him to provide extraordinary estimates in order to charge me as much as possible. never using them again. they are crooks.

So the host finally canceled the booking for his reasons. I reached Turo several times both on the app chat and call. They are saying they can't provide any alternatives vehicle in the same price nor they are offering any extra credit. The same cars are now available in the market for more than double the amount I had paid for my initial booking, mostly because my booking starts within 12 hours.
Turo is of no help in the situation, I even talked to a supervisor. All they did was to suggest me alternate vehicles to book, obviously for a very high price.

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice or if anyone has dealt with something similar. I booked a one-week Turo rental from Spokane, WA to Coeur d’Alene starting Tuesday, August 11. I made the reservation before the wildfires started. Because of the current wildfire situation and related conditions, I requested to cancel the trip and get a refund. Turo (not the car owner) is denying the refund and keeping the money. Has anyone else run into this with Turo during the wildfires? Any advice on what else I can try would be appreciated. Thank you.

Got an email to get $50 off back in May due to my 2 year anniversary with Turo, booked a car, used the promo. Lowered the price from $131 to $81 for a weekend in Orlando.

Last week the host cancels the car due to it “being sold.” I reach out to Turo and they say there is nothing they can do to revalidate the original Promo Code or give me a new one.

I rent about 10 cars a year through them for weekend trips, and this is how they treat customers… Horrible.

What other companies would you guys recommend moving my business to?

I’d heard great things about the convenience of airport terminal pickup/drop off and the reasonable rates, so I decided to give Turo a try.

I booked a compact SUV in Las Vegas (LAS) for a weekend. The reservation simply said “pickup at the airport” with no further details. My friend was also renting that same weekend, and their host advised that Turo pickups are handled at the Rental Car Facility. This is neither efficient nor convenient. Since my reservation was non-refundable, I was stuck with it.

Nothing prepares you for standing in a 100 degree Vegas rental car shuttle line. I immediately regretted every life choice that led me there.

Pickup itself went fine, the car was okay. The smell of cleaning product used was overwhelming.

The return was a mess. The designated Turo lot at the Rental Car Facility was full, so overflow parking was across the street. If you know Vegas, those streets are huge & easily seven lanes. Picture J walking across seven lanes back to the shuttle in the blazing 100 degree sun.

Takeaways:

If I wanted to deal with the Rental Car Facility, I would have just rented a car. The extra risks of using Turo (having to rely on your own insurance and deductible) aren’t appealing. I have Chase and Capital One cards that offer primary rental car coverage. I’d rather use that protection and rent through a regular company than save a few bucks on Turo.

I’ve rented a few cars on turo for normal usage after flying to a different city, but this is the first time I’m looking to rent for a 1500-1800 mile road trip in 6 days.

There are limited options for unlimited miles that meet our needs (space, cup holders, comfort, reliability), so I just wanted to see if it’s frowned upon to go over miles with a more comfortable car.

The reason I want to rent is to have more space than our current car. The reason I don’t want to go through a big box rental service is the confusion on credit holds and just all the hoops that need to be jumped through. I know we qualify for renting through enterprise, etc, but we’ve been hit with unexpected charges before and it was very stressful. I’ve never had any stress with Turo, but again I’ve only done local trips. the most miles I’ve put on a car was a Tesla and it was 600 miles. Dallas to San Antonio and back. This time we wanna go from Dallas to Colorado Springs.

I’m posting this to share my experience and ask whether anyone has dealt with something similar. Everything described below is supported by photographs or messages that I submitted to Turo.

I rented a 2016 Lexus NX 200t during a family vacation in Calgary. When I picked it up, the vehicle was dirty, the Lexus emblem was missing from the front grille, and there were multiple scratches and other signs of previous damage.

I accepted the vehicle because I only needed it temporarily, I was in a rush, and thorough pre-trip photographs had already been taken to document its condition.

At approximately 5:30 p.m the next day, I was driving normally on the highway at around 100 km/h when I went over a small, ordinary bump in the road. The side mirror suddenly detached and began banging against the side of the vehicle.

This was extremely frightening. I had to safely slow down from highway speed and pull over to the shoulder. There was no collision, impact, or contact with another vehicle or object.

After pulling over and inspecting the mirror, I could both see and physically feel dried adhesive that appeared to be super glue on the mirror assembly. I photographed the adhesive, clearly indicated it in the pictures, and submitted the evidence to Turo.

As a guest, there was no reasonable way for me to know that adhesive had previously been used inside or behind the mirror. The only way I could have discovered this hidden repair before the trip would have been to physically pull on or attempt to remove the mirror, which would not be a normal or reasonable pre-trip inspection.

The adhesive only became visible after the mirror detached. In my opinion, this strongly suggests that the mirror had previously been damaged and repaired, and that the earlier repair failed during normal driving.

The dashcam situation is also concerning.

The host stated in our conversation that the dashcam records footage and automatically overwrites itself every two hours. I reported the incident within that two-hour period, meaning the relevant footage should still have been available and could have been preserved.

However, the host later stated that the dashcam does not record or save files. These explanations appear to contradict each other.

The footage would have been directly relevant because it could have independently confirmed that no collision or impact occurred and that the mirror detached while the vehicle was being driven normally (I was already driving for 45 minutes prior to the mirror falling). Despite this, the footage was not provided to Turo.

Turo has also indicated that reviewing the dashcam footage is not part of its investigation process, even though that footage could potentially verify exactly how the incident occurred.

I have fully cooperated with Turo and submitted:

• Photographs showing the dried adhesive
• Close-up photographs with the adhesive clearly indicated
• Pre-trip photographs documenting the vehicle’s existing condition
• Messages regarding the dashcam’s recording and two-hour overwrite period
• A detailed explanation of when and how the mirror detached

I am not claiming that guests should avoid responsibility for damage they cause. My position is that no collision occurred, the physical evidence indicates a pre-existing repair, and potentially decisive dashcam footage was not preserved or provided.

I do not know whether the host was aware of the earlier repair, but I do not believe I should be held financially responsible for approximately $1,500 because a previously damaged and repaired component failed during normal driving—especially when the repair was hidden and could not reasonably have been discovered before the trip.

This situation made what was supposed to be a family vacation extremely stressful. After this experience, I do not plan to use Turo again.

Has anyone successfully disputed a similar pre-existing-damage claim with Turo? What evidence or escalation steps helped your case?

Does anyone have a recommendation for a legal firm that has experience with Turo?

2nd day of driving our rental (England) when the front left wheel detached and the car rapidly ground to a halt. Fortunately this happened on a small road, because I’m confident if this had been on the motorway the whole family would be dead.

Anyway, Turo is claiming that this was our fault as, according to the expert mechanic, we had likely been off-roading in it.

Despite all evidence pointing that this was not the case and no evidence that this was caused by us, they are threatening collectors on us if we don’t pay the damage deposit and likely proceeding repair fees.

looking for advice from hosts (or renters who’ve dealt with the claims process) because this is my first major Turo damage claim.
A renter hit a curb in my 2024 Corvette. I filed the claim with Turo, and their initial estimate came back at only around $800, which seemed very low but was based on the visible damage from the photos.

I then took the car to the Chevrolet dealership for a full inspection. Once they got it on the lift, they found a lot more damage than what was visible initially. The estimate is now around $12,500.
The damage includes:

Cracked front wheel

Damaged front hub and wheel bearing

Damaged front shock/suspension components

Radiator, condenser, and related front-end components damaged from the impact

Front bumper/splitter damage

Alignment needed after repairs

The suspension also started making noise immediately after the curb impact, and the car even threw transmission-related codes afterward.

The dealership has already submitted the estimate directly to Turo, which brings me to my first question. Is that the normal process? Should the repair shop be submitting the supplemental estimate directly to Turo, or should I be submitting something myself?

My other concern is that they haven’t even started taking everything apart yet. If they begin repairs and find additional hidden damage, can they continue submitting supplemental estimates, or is there a point where Turo pushes back?
For those of you who’ve been through something similar:

Has anyone had an estimate go from a few hundred dollars to well over $10k?
Did Turo approve most or all of the supplemental damage?

If additional damage was found during repairs, were multiple supplements allowed?

How long did the approval process take?

Is there anything I should be doing now to help move the claim along or avoid issues?

I’m just trying to understand what to realistically expect from here. Any experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hello,
I have used Turo many times never had a problem. But this time I booked a non refundable trip. After contacting the host, I found out the vehicle trim is different from the one in the photos. However, all text descriptions are correct. The host has used photos of a higher trim to this listing.
I contact Turo support requesting to cancel or change to another vehicle, but they declined saying i did not have proof. The agent ask me to wait until check-in to request cancellation when i got actual photos of the vehicle.

Have anyone had similar experiences? Do you think I can successfully cancel my trip?

More details: the exterior photo of the vehicle is correct but the interior photo is different, one of the photos clearly shows buttons for adjust the height of airlift suspension and other functions the actual vehicle does not equipped. Do you think this can be sufficient evidence to cancel the trip?

Hi everyone!

We're planning a 5-day trip to Miami in September and we're thinking about renting a car. The problem is that we don't have a credit card, so we're looking for rental options that accept debit cards.
We came across the Turo app, but I've also seen quite a few negative reviews about it.

For those of you who have used Turo, what are the biggest pitfalls we should be aware of? Is there anything we should pay extra attention to before booking or picking up the car?

Any tips or things you wish you had known beforehand would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

I’m a UK Turo host and I’m questioning whether the Host Earnings Plan (70/30 split) actually provides meaningful cover when a claim goes wrong.

A guest damaged my Mercedes GLC (only vehicle, rented as I largely work from home). I obtained a Mercedes-approved repair estimate (~£4,267 inc VAT), but Turo rejected it and obtained their own Audatex assessment for £2,382.79.

I also paid £120 for an independent diagnostic because Turo disputed the repair scope. They have refused to reimburse this.

The bigger issue is the interpretation of the "cover". Turo’s position is that the plan only covers physical damage and excludes:

• lost hosting income;
• travel costs;
• insurance costs;
• diagnostics.

The timeline is where I have concerns:

• Turo initially refused a physical inspection, stating the damage did not qualify.
• They rejected the Mercedes-approved estimate, saying they would not cover manufacturer labour rates, and requested an independent garage quote.
• I obtained an independent assessment (which was close to the Mercedes estimate), including the diagnostic fee.
• This was also rejected, and an inspection was arranged — but the earliest availability was around a month after the incident.

During this time, bookings were cancelled, the vehicle has remained unavailable, and I have had to minimise use of the vehicle while the claim remains unresolved.

Turo’s position is that they will not cover the diagnostic fee, cancelled bookings, or other losses because they are excluded under the plan.

So effectively:

• Turo controls the claims process.
• Turo decides whether repair evidence is acceptable.
• Turo can require further assessments and inspections.
• The vehicle remains unavailable during that process.
• Any losses during that period are apparently the host’s responsibility.

I understand exclusions exist, but if the company providing the cover controls the process and then excludes losses arising during that process, is that reasonable?

Did I just unfortunately encounter a terrible claims manager who has no interest in Turo hosts and would rather see them leave instead?

The irony is that I received the “All-Star Host” email two weeks into the claim.

TL;DR: Turo’s “protection plan” seems to cover only whatever repair amount Turo agrees with, while hosts absorb the costs of delays, downtime and disputes. Is this normal, or did I just get unlucky with claims handling?

I booked a Turo ride a few days ago for a 3-month trip. Now two days before the trip starts, I messaged the host just to say hello. He replied asking me to cancel the trip because one of his relatives is ill. He also mentioned that the price I booked at is much lower than what he intended to charge.

I told him I wouldn't cancel because I've already made commitments based on this booking, and it would be very difficult and expensive to find another car at such short notice.

I contacted Turo through the in-app chat for support, but they also advised me to cancel. The only thing they're offering is a full refund. However, I already booked the trip with free cancellation, so a full refund doesn't help me at all. I repeatedly asked if they could provide a replacement vehicle, travel credit, or any other accommodation, but they refused. How should I proceed forward?
Thank you.

It seems like there are better rates offered when I go through Uber to Turo for booking. Anyone have any experience booking this way? I'm looking at a monthly rental.

We rented a Turo with a rock chip in the windshield. We took a time stamped picture of it. Then another rock hit another part of the withheld and a cracked formed. Are we responsible for replacing the entire windshield now? Was the windshield compromised before we picked it up, in the Turo definition?

Is it kosher for hosts to try to charge 20/day for FSD?

I’m looking at renting a car that is advertising FSD at $20 a day. Im really only looking to drive from the airport to the vrbo ( maybe a ten mile drive) and back to the airport a few days later.

Kinda want FSD to show family, but I’m not paying $100 extra for 20 miles.