Remember back a few years ago (in 2008) when the concept of couch surfing was taken to a new level when Airbnb was launched in the San Francisco area? Or, how about when UBER ride sharing (started in 2009) was suddenly in every major city?
Well, I guess it was only a matter of time before it happened in the rental car space.
Have you ever heard of TURO? I hadn’t, until we had house guests last month, and they showed up in a very nice car. At first I thought they must have driven their own car to our house instead of flying. So I asked them if that was their car?
Our friends told us, no, they rented a car through TURO. Using TURO instead of Avis, Enterprise or National, you can skip all the lines, drive any model car that you want (even a Corvette, Mercedes, Audi or Maserati) and have a frustration-free car rental experience by renting from a private party.
I had never heard of it. But since I had a trip to Omaha, Nebraska planned for this past weekend, I thought I would try it out.
Some background: TURO (renamed from its original name of RelayRides) started in 2009 and its revenues reached more than $850 million in 2023! How have I never heard of them?!
A few weeks before my trip to Omaha, I downloaded the TURO app and selected a 2022 Audi Q5. I have always wanted to drive an Audi and this was my chance. I was able to reserve the car immediately and was told my credit card would be billed a week before my trip. A day before my trip, I took a selfie of me and my driver’s license (via the app) and was able to start “chatting/texting” with the car’s owner.
My friends’ experience in Southern California included the car’s owner meeting them at the curb at the airport to do the exchange. For me, since I arrived late on a Friday night and departed at 5:00am on Sunday morning, the car was parked in a close lot and I was directed to locate the car key in a metal box hidden on the car. When I returned the car, I was able to choose the parking lot and texted the owner the car’s location. Easy peasy.
The car was everything that was promised. Clean. No smelly insides. Because it is a late model, I was able to connect to CarPlay with my iPhone for easy navigation. No lines or shuttle buses when I returned. And I got to drive a very nice car.
Check it out for yourself. Next time you are traveling and need to rent a car, download the TURO app and you can hand pick what kind of car you want to drive. No more having to fight the lines at a conventional rental car agency and get frustrated with all the forms you have to sign and the delays.
Safe travels,
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