Renting Your Car on Turo: Can Listing Your Auto Earn $700 Monthly Income?
If you’re looking for a money-making machine, it might just be sitting in your driveway. Your unused car could turn into passive income, thanks to Turo.
Basically the Airbnb of the car rental industry, the Turo app connects guests who need a rental vehicle with hosts who have a spare car to rent.
Renting your car on Turo, while potentially lucrative, isn’t the right move for every car owner, however. It’s worth considering factors like your car’s eligibility and how much Turo takes from your profits. Here’s what you should know about:
Key questions about renting your car on Turo Using the Turo car calculator Listing your car on the Turo app How to earn more on Turo Turo customer service Background on Turo Key questions about renting your car on Turo
How much do you make off Turo? | Turo says that owners who list their car can make an average of $706 in monthly income. |
How long does it take to get started on Turo? | It’s easy to set up and list your vehicle and you can list your car within 10 minutes. Depending on where you live, it’s possible to book many customers quickly. |
How much does Turo take from my fees? | While Turo does take 15% to 40% of the rental cost, that cut covers insurance for your vehicle and advertising on the site, which gets you customers. |
Is my car eligible for Turo? | To list your car for rental, your vehicle’s model year must be within the past 12 years. Plus, the car should have fewer than 130,000 miles. Your car cannot have a salvage or branded title and the value of the vehicle cannot exceed $150,000. You can rent out leased or financed cars as long as it does not violate the terms of your agreement. Motorcycles, passenger vans, cargo vans and vehicles intended primarily for off-road use are not eligible for the Turo app. |
Using the Turo car calculator
If you’re intrigued to this point, you might still be wondering exactly whether you can make money on Turo — or, rather, whether you can earn enough to make it worth your while. After all, not all side hustles are profitable.
Fortunately, there’s a Turo car calculator to help you estimate your potential earnings. Simply input your car’s year, make, model and location to determine its approximate value as a rental vehicle.
Keep in mind that this tool doesn’t spit out exact figures. Your actual earnings would depend on factors such as:
How many days per month you make your car available What daily rate you set Which Turo insurance option you select (more on that below) Whether you charge guests for extras like mileage or provide discounts for extended rentals Listing your car on the Turo app
To sign up with Turo and start renting out your car, you can sign up with your email or, Apple, Facebook or Google account. Once you have an account, click on “List Your Car” on the top right.
The site will prompt you to enter information about your car, including your license plate number, photos of your vehicle, make and model, and whether or not your car has an automatic transmission.
While Turo may recommend a rate for you, you can also manually enter your own fee. Turo charges by the day, with discounts for weekly or monthly rentals. Renters must pay a full day’s rate; there is not an hourly option.
Turo will ask you to select an insurance plan; the company offers five options. Depending on what option you choose, you can keep between 60% and 85% of the rental fees.
You also decide how the car gets to the renter. You can charge a delivery fee if you are willing to meet the customer at the airport or another agreed upon location. Or, you can park the car at a parking lot for customers to pick up on their own. This information is included in your listing so customers know what to expect from the beginning.
You can charge a delivery fee which covers both pickup and return, so make sure you pick a rate that meets your needs.
You can also set limits on how much mileage customers can put on your car. For example, you might set your daily driving limit at 50 miles. If the renter exceeds that amount, they are responsible for paying a fee per additional mile and you receive 100% of this extra payment.
Finally, you choose your car’s availability. You can select to have your car for rent only on certain days of the week, or set it as unavailable for certain dates in the future.
How to earn more on Turo
When listing your car on Turo, try to think about it from a renter’s point of view. Besides including pictures of your vehicle, include details like measurements of trunk space for luggage, whether or not your car has a bike rack or can tote a kayak, and if anyone has ever smoked in the vehicle.
Include other nice to have accessories in the description, such as satellite radio or a built-in GPS. Those features can boost your chances of finding a customer.
Take a look at what other people are charging in your area for a similar vehicle. For instance, if you own a midsize sedan and others are charging $50 a day, you can set your price at $40 and get more customers.
And when it comes to customers, great photos are a must. Listings with professional photos get more traffic than other listings. That’s why Turo offers to connect you with fee-based professional photography shoots for owners.
You’ll meet the photographer at a nearby location and they’ll take photos at different angles to highlight your car and make it look showroom-ready. You can use those photos in your listing to get more traffic and book more customers.
Turo also recommends promoting your car on social media and Craigslist so travelers looking for a deal can find it. And the more your car is available, the more money you can make.
Turo customer service
Turo offers comprehensive customer service to both owners and travelers. When a customer accepts a rental vehicle, they are asked to take pictures of the car to show its condition, and you can do the same on delivery and pickup. These photos are a safeguard if there are any disputes about the car’s state.
Customers are expected to treat cars like their own, but if they return your car and it has damage or is filthy, Turo will step in to help resolve the issue for you.
You can contact Turo and send them photos of your car’s condition. They’ll work directly with you to find a solution. If your car needs professional cleaning or repaired, send Turo the receipt and they will reimburse you. Offending passengers who leave a car dirty, drain the battery or otherwise damage a vehicle are responsible for fees and repairs.
And if a customer swore they could drive your car with a manual transmission, but turned out to not have a clue, Turo will hold them responsible to repair your car or replace the transmission.
Background on Turo
Turo was founded in 2009 in San Francisco. The company set out to change how people rent cars. Rather than shopping from big rental companies, with hefty fees and robotic customer service, customers can rent from real people. They can get quality vehicles for less money and get personalized service.
Turo boasts that customers pay less than they would renting through an agency, and the majority of that money can go to you.
Turo serves customers of all types. Whether you have a pickup truck to rent out to people on moving day or a sports car for someone taking out clients, you can make money renting out your little-used vehicle.
If this Turo review inspired you to consider side gigs, consider these resources:
Side-hustle blogs Side-hustle podcasts Side-hustle marketplace
Andrew Pentis contributed to this report.
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