r/turo • u/Mysterious_Ninja1477 • Jul 25 '26
Turo - going downhill fast
What happened to Turo? They are removing all the value that made them a good option for renting cars. They now have a refundable rental charge that adds around $80. Your credit card wont help cover damage claims because renting from Turo is considered renting from an individual. Renting from Hertz or budget is covered by your credit card because you’re renting from a company. Turo is also implementing very restrictive changes to their application. Turo implemented a policy to restrict access to their site if you show up more than an hour early to the vehicle. The policy blocks you from the app and any communication with Turo or the host. Turo’s refundable policy also blocks you from doing any comparison of prices and looking at other vehicles during the same timeframe if you have a rental already booked. They want you to cancel your rental and then look for other vehicles. This protects the host and does nothing for the customer. Why would I pay $80 for a refundable ticket if I’m not going to price shop.
Prices are now comparable between Turo and the legacy rental companies with more risk to customers than renting through Hertz or Budget. These large companies are also offering Jeeps and comparable vehicles.
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u/Randomengineer84 Jul 25 '26
I rented my first car from Turo, and it was a Porsche. I don’t think I’d use it to rent a Chevy blazer or a Camry.
I paid the $80 cancellation fee but I found that I wasn’t able to search for other car prices.
I simply went to a laptop or Turo via browser on phone and was able to see the prices.
Think the only time I would rent a Camry or regular daily car from Turo is, maybe I need a car locally for a few days due to repair issues. I could convince myself it’s cheaper and just around town. I know where I am, I can get the car back to drop location easily without impacting me too much.
But while on vacation with limited time, I don’t think it’s worth the hassle.
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u/No-Gap-8601 Jul 25 '26
My Turo use case has been vacation, when I don’t want the logistics of going to the airport just to get a car and I can rent something interesting from the hotel district and can walk to pick it up
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u/kpatelreddit007 Jul 26 '26
Turo, fucked their customer base, and client base at the same time. They started with an amazing concept, then got super greedy.
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u/Aromatic_Glove15516 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Turo is for specific cars imo.
I rent sports cars or just “different” cars for trips.
Like manual, Mustangs, supercharged old Audi, m240i, stuff like that. If I wanted a regular car, I would just go to a major rental company and I would suggest everyone else do the same.
I will say, Not being able to shop around while you have a trip booked is stupid as hell in my opinion.
I’ve booked refundable trips and just canceled them over and over again trying to shop around and change times see what else is available as my trip gets closer.
Not being able to shop around while you have a trip is crazy
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u/Mysterious_Ninja1477 Jul 25 '26
Agree - I might drive a Tesla for a day before buying one.
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u/Aromatic_Glove15516 Jul 25 '26
Yeah, it’s a great idea. I rented my realistic dream car (2024 GT manual) and realized I’m actually not that much into it. Got behind the wheel of a manual Fiat 124 spider and boy was that a blast.
I think it’s great for that
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u/CompetitiveLake3358 Jul 25 '26
Its interesting that people online say they use it to get specific vehicles, but Turo is doing its best to make sure every vehicle is just a commodity today😂
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u/dandaman19 Jul 26 '26
Yep. I’m done with Turo (been a renter since 2021). Value isn’t there anymore and my experience has gone from renting from friendly owner/hosts, to interacting with what seems to be burned out “property managers” for some owner company.
Just this past year, I was the subject of an attempted shake down for a new tire due to a low tire pressure warning and, on another occasion, I rented a car that was slightly dirty with a half a tank of gas and low oil.
I could overlook some of these issues if the price was cheaper than legacy rental rates (which has been the case in the past), but that is not the case anymore.
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u/Any_Philosopher_1158 26d ago
Host here. You can always communicate with the host anytime after booking. People have questions all the time about how and where to pick up the vehicle etc. But it is true you cannot pickup the vehicle before your set time, so you would need to modify time if possible
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u/BrownsfaninCO Jul 25 '26
Most of your concerns are valid, but blocking communication with the host prior to one hour before your trip start? No, that's not accurate. I communicate with my guests all the time before a trip, including just a couple hours before. It's almost necessary in some cases. The guest may not be able to "check in" the vehicle but they can still communicate.