DUNEDIN, Fla. — After a career in automotive sales, Dunedin resident Katie Valenti got into the peer-to-peer auto rental business.
A "host" with the online company Turo, Valenti's 21-vehicle fleet includes a Camaro convertible, Porsche Boxter, but it's the Dodge minivan that is the hot item for her car rental business.
“The passenger-passenger vehicles are definitely one of my top renting vehicles,” Valenti said.
If you're not familiar with Turo, here's how it works. Renters look through the app or website for cars at specific locations. They can filter results by car type, price, and features. But Turo doesn’t own the cars. The vehicles belong to independent business owners, like Valenti.
Veteran consumer advocate Christopher Elliott likes the variety and the lower rates he sometimes gets on Turo, but said renters who run into trouble may not receive the same services traditional rental car companies offer.
“You have a host or an owner that you're dealing with and oftentimes Turo will just say, well, you're going to have to ask the owner," Elliot said.
Enrique Balerini said that’s what happened to him during his last trip in March. Up until then, Balerini was a Turo fan. He enjoyed the door-to-door service and skipping rental car lines at the airport.
“Waiting for like an Enterprise or Hertz vehicle can take quite some time,” he said.
In March, Balerini and his girlfriend rented a Chevy Equinox from a Turo host while visiting Orlando from Ohio. They enjoyed the SUV for three days, but on the last night of their trip; it disappeared.
The couple called Orlando Police and discovered the vehicle had been repossessed. The couple lost a laptop and other valuables that had been in the SUV.
Balerini said the host admitted the vehicle didn't belong to him, and Turo customer support did not immediately offer any reimbursement.
“They kept mentioning they were going to escalate it with our executive team. However, no calls would get returned,” Balerini said.
After contacting Turo a spokesperson responded, stating, "Incidents like this are extremely rare...To make things right, Turo has refunded him and we’re working to retrieve his personal belongings as soon as possible."
Turo was unable to recover the couple’s belongings, paying them $1,400 for the lost items and an additional $300 for the cost of the rental.
Turo issued this statement on Balerini's ordeal:
“We’re sorry to hear Mr. Balerini’s experience fell short of the high standards we expect from our community. To make things right, Turo has refunded him and we’re working to retrieve his personal belongings as soon as possible. Although incidents like this are extremely rare on our marketplace, we do have policies in place that require our hosts to keep any loans related to their Turo business up-to-date. As a result, we've banned the host from our platform, and we'll continue to support Mr. Balerini during this time.”
Turo vs. Traditional
The question may come down to, are you saving money using peer-to-peer car rentals?
To answer this question, ABC Action News checked the rental car price comparison website AutoSlash and found that for Turo, the answer is "it depends." If you use membership discounts from AARP, AAA, or Costco, you might be able to get lower prices, said Jonathan Weinberg of Autoslash.
But one way to get a better deal is to rent an older vehicle. When checking the Turo website, we found renting a car at least two years older, if usually offered at a lower rate.
When it comes to safety, rental car companies are required by federal law to fix all open recalls before renting or selling the vehicle, said Greg Scott of the American Car Rental Association.
Turo said they check all new listings for open recalls, and the company monitors safety recalls.
On insurance and mileage limits, every Turo rental comes with $750,000 in liability coverage. But if a renter causes an accident or injury, their personal auto carrier may not cover the claim. Turo does offer renter’s insurance and many of their vehicles come with mileage limits, meaning you'll pay fees if you drive over the amount.
If you do rent from Turo, remember that every host is different. So be sure to check and compare ratings before deciding which car to rent.
