Turo and other private vehicle rental programs

"Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow" (chriskf)
05/04/2016 at 12:04 • Filed to: None

Does anyone have experience with these?

My girlfriend and I are going to be visiting Seattle next month to see my brother, sister-in-law, and niece, and also to celebrate one year of being together.

With the special occasion (and all those fantastically twisty roads snaking through beautiful scenic drive) I’d prefer to rent something a little nicer, perhaps even a convertible. Convertibles aren’t really cheap to rent through your big name rental companies.

I was just looking at Turo, and the prices/cars are much more attractive than anything at a rental agency.

Has anyone used this program, or a similar one? What was your experience? Is it more affordable? What are the details in terms of insurance coverage? I don’t plan to go play touge master or anything, I actually drive kind of like an old man on the road, just want to know how the coverage works.

DISCUSSION (18)

TheHondaBro > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
05/04/2016 at 12:06

You should see if you can stop by Redmond Exotics if you’re there on a Saturday. Maybe we can get a little Oppo meet going.

Nonster > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
05/04/2016 at 12:13

A friend of mine used Turo to rend a 911 while he was visiting some friends in Los Angeles. I don’t know the details on the insurance side of things, but he said it was all covered and he had no complaints

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Nonster
05/04/2016 at 12:18

Yeah, looking now there are 3 different options for coverage. Premium, basic, and declined coverage. Premium is pretty much the coverage for the full value of the vehicle with a $500 deductible, which costs 40% of what the trip total is. Basic is minimum liability coverage for the state with a $3,000 deductible, and is 15% of the trip price. Finally, you can choose to just decline and go with your own insurance’s coverage.

Tapas > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
05/04/2016 at 12:21

I’ve used Turo once and I like it. Get the insurance for the peace of mind.

Just know that the insurance is like 40% of the per day rental cost.

I wrote an article on it back when they were RelayRides...

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/relayrides-the…

Mercedes Streeter > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
05/04/2016 at 12:22

Woah, I’d stick with Turo. I mean, Kia Soul EV, Mitsubishi i-MiEV (though, I wouldn’t recommend it lol). and a Scion iQ!!!

Tapas > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
05/04/2016 at 12:23

Thats where things get tricky: most insurance companies don’t recognize Turo as a rental company. So they wont reimburse you if something happens. I don’t know if things have changed since when I rented last year. You should probably check with your insurance company to make sure...

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Tapas
05/04/2016 at 12:25

Yeah, I’m fine with that cost and would definitely purchase the insurance. It still ends up being cheaper than renting through an agency and I can get a much nicer car. haha

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Tapas
05/04/2016 at 12:26

Yeah, I was gonna call them to see. But the 40% cost isn’t bad, considering I’m looking at total costs under $200 for the trip.

DynamicWeight > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
05/04/2016 at 12:35

Having had this same thought process very recently and having gone with traditional rental car companies instead... GO WITH TURO. The rental car thing totally sucked. The add on fees make it go way above what they initially advertise. Also, when I returned my car, I forgot to put in gas, they charged me $10/gal for 6.5 gallons. The tank only held 10 goddam gallons and the indicator wasn’t even to the first quarter tick!!! On top of that the cars were shite. The nissan sentra we got first was probably the worst car I have ever been in. Wandered all over the road, the mirrors would make this crazy wind noise. Then we rented a newer Corolla, which was a much nicer car, but the first one they gave us had been smoked in and I had to trade it for another. Fuck rental car companies. Go with Turo. I should have.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Mercedes Streeter
05/04/2016 at 12:35

I’d be more likely to opt for the 4Runner haha

https://turo.com/suv-rental/sea…

$315 for the trip with insurance and unlimited mileage.

Tapas > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
05/04/2016 at 12:36

Yes, exactly!

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > DynamicWeight
05/04/2016 at 12:37

I’ve used rental agencies before, and it’s fine. Just pricey.

Something like this ‘05 4Runner is much more attractive to me, especially at $315 for the trip with the premium insurance coverage.

Tapas > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
05/04/2016 at 12:37

Wow thats not bad at all!

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Tapas
05/04/2016 at 12:38

$315 for an ‘05 4Runner V8 Limited with unlimited mileage and insurance is very nice.

DynamicWeight > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
05/04/2016 at 12:39

Maybe it’s because I was buying their cheapest cars? But yeah, I wish I could have rented something like that 4Runner. The only thing that was iffy for me, was the delivery of the vehicle. I’ve had plane flights get messed up too many times to try to coordinate a vehicle hand-off on the other end of it. That was what eventually scared me away. Though I’m going to do it “next time”.

someassemblyrequired > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
05/04/2016 at 12:42

Another Seattle rent-a-car trick is to get picked up/take light rail out of the airport, then rent at a local location and drop at the airport. Usually saves at least $100, sometimes more.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > someassemblyrequired
05/04/2016 at 12:45

That’s a great point, and since we’d be visiting my brother he can also pick us up and take us to wherever to rent a vehicle.

Tapas > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
05/04/2016 at 20:32

That’s more expensive than I expected but compared to rental companies, np all day :)