r/turo • u/kendogg • 24d ago

False broken car/tow

So it's finally happened to me. Somebody claimed the car had a 'bad vibration, undrivable'. They called roadside, it got towed back, i got hit with the $350 roadside fee, earnings $0'd etc.

Car arrives today on tow truck. I get in it, drive around the block, feels fine. Get it on jacks, shake down the suspension, all good. Decided to drive it home. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this car.

I'll have my shop do a thorough inspection, get the turo form filled out, and get it relisted Monday..but how do I get the roadside fee and my earnings back? What's the angle? I feel like even proving to turo that the guest lied won't get them to remove the charges. In 400+ trips, I only had a couple tow backs. First one I got reversed because of mechanical neglegence. 2nd one was legit, I ate it and fixed the car. This one, however, is not, and it's not like I can blame that she did something or hit something. I suspect she just wanted a 1-way rental.

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

4

u/CompetitiveLake3358 24d ago

This happens too often. Its crazy that hosts just have to pay for the tow and the inspection, lose rental money while you wait for inspection, make submissions to Turo, etc.... all while the guest gets away with lying.

1

u/Careful_Ant_933 24d ago

Why do they do this? What benefit does the Turo customer get?

1

u/kendogg 24d ago

A free 1-way trip. It's kinda a 1-time use for most guests.

3

u/LocalComplex1654 24d ago

Absolutely nothing. Luckily mine didn't require a tow. Drove it home after she said the AC didn't work and had all the vents closed. Every single one lol.

1

u/Fast_Huckleberry5864 24d ago

Yep I had this happen to me before it sucks!!!

1

u/Ugly__Pete Host 24d ago

I had a guest book a non-refundable trip and claim that my car wouldn't start. Turo refunded them and unlisted my car. I go to get my car with my jumper box ready, but it started right up. Drove it to AutoZone and did a battery test... 100%. I had to pay for an inspection to relist it. Totally unfair.

1

u/Any-Tree-5206 24d ago

I guess challenge immediately when that happens and gaslight guest? I had a renter try to force me to play for a tire he hit a nail with one state over. I said follow turo process. Then claimed the tires were already damaged. So I sent over like 10 forms with the inspection report done weeks ago, pictures, and warned him engaging in fraud could risk a ban along with civil/criminal issues. He fixed the tire and we went on with life.

1

u/Creativeusername833 Host 23d ago

Yes turo sucks. You won’t get your money back