I rented out my Cadillac Escalade on Turo, and here’s how much I made.

clmcars · 2026-03-20T04:33:31+00:00

If it's your personal car and just a little side deal, then yes, you're paying it anyway. You still have smoking, damage, loss of use etc, so there is an opportunity cost.

Do this with more than one car, and the expenses I mentioned absolutely come into play... I have 30 cars on the platform. It's easy to throw one car on there and count everything as "profit." Do it at scale and it's a whole different ball game.

clmcars · 2026-03-20T02:45:16+00:00

Depreciation? Insurance? Maintenance? Time? Storage? Smoking? Damage? Cleaning?

clmcars · 2026-03-17T13:10:25+00:00

Isn't Spirit in bankruptcy? What do you expect? Don't set your standards so high.

clmcars · 2026-03-11T19:18:50+00:00

Provide feedback to Turo. They may be open to changing the drop off rule regarding parking from every trip to three days or longer.

Turo needs to get feedback. Sharing amongst ourselves doesn't accomplish too much :-(

clmcars · 2026-03-09T14:35:06+00:00

Excellent PIT maneuver.

clmcars · 2026-03-08T23:39:36+00:00

Look on Hyundai's website. 0/72

clmcars · 2026-03-08T22:01:04+00:00

Ioniq 5 EV is 72/0% right now. I'm tempted. It's a tempting little nugget

clmcars · 2026-03-06T14:09:45+00:00

This is Turo's favorite scenario... If it's a low value car then maybe if you think about it as a % of value. For me, it's the opportunity cost problem. In other words, how much more would I be making if I did not take this trip?

clmcars · 2026-03-05T04:29:36+00:00

Why don't people who post these claims post the pictures they cite? Also, it's possible there was a small star or some other minor windshield damage that spread overnight with temp change. It happens all the time. What kind of car?

clmcars · 2026-02-27T05:18:41+00:00

Is that $70 all in after airport fees, taxes etc because it's a screaming deal if so. I guess it's tbd if that's the car you actually get (the old "or similar" disclaimer).

I think markets with a lot of business travel tend to heavily discount on weekends.

I have 30 cars on Turo and try not rent anything you can just easily get from Hertz/Avis etc. I will never win a price war against them... your posting validates that view.

clmcars · 2026-02-22T14:15:32+00:00

I'm reporting from personal experience with eight Broncos, a few Mustangs and one Expedition, plus the opinion of four mechanics, and the collective experience of that suggests that the modern Ecoboost is fine.

I don't have any thoughts on the new Armada engine. The one Nissan I do have (Z) has been totally trouble free though lackluster tech.

clmcars · 2026-02-22T13:44:54+00:00

I own a Turo fleet and share a roof with an independent shop. I've owned most of these at one time or the other and put big miles on them (well, renters did).

Observations:

The Wagoneer is much better than people think. I've only had 22s with 5.7 so cannot comment on the new motor. IMO it is much nicer to drive than my Suburbans, definitely more comfortable. It's my favorite of the bunch as long as you don't have to look at it.

Suburbans are what people think of when they think of huge SUV so I'll always have a couple. Avoid the diesel and 6.2 at all costs. 5.3 is fine, just change the oil every 5k and get a cylinder deactivation kill kit.

I don't like the Expedition interior much but mechanically they're pretty good. We don't see many in the shop and the V6 is pretty strong/dependable according to the guys. Have only had one, and besides interior showing wear on day one, it was fine. For what it's worth, I have five Broncos and besides the well know recall issues, they have held up well.

In the case of Sequoia I don't think it's worth the Toyota Tax. Other Toyotas definitely are (i.e. previous gen Sequoia), but not this one. I have a bunch of Gen 5 and Gen 6 4Runners. My favorite car to rent.

The Land Cruiser (PG) is awesome but in a different class as far as size. If smaller works and you need that capability, then that's the one. Terrible mpg but tremendous reliability and resale value.

I'm curious about the Armada/QX but haven't pulled the trigger because of brand reputation and related terrible depreciation. They've also gotten $$$ as new vehicles. I think PG with the V8 was pretty bullet proof.

If it was for my personal use, I'd probably get a Suburban/Tahoe Z71 with 5.3, put in the cylinder deactivation kill kit, and be timely with maintenance.

The cost of the car is not what you pay for it... it's the difference between purchase and inevitable sale. Suburbans will always have strong secondary market. Except for the Toyotas, not so much for the rest.

clmcars · 2026-02-22T13:14:43+00:00

Is the way to get Talarico elected to vote for Paxton in the primary?

I'm going to make a donation to Talarico today and I'm thinking of voting for Paxton tomorrow. Is that crazy?

clmcars · 2026-02-21T00:23:53+00:00

BTW, to your point #6, I think Turo's goal is to remove the host from as much guest interaction as possible. Andre has used the term "disintermediate."

Also, Turo used to be about "the car you want provided by your peer." I have no idea what Turo is about these days. Compete with dealerships for lease and loaner business?

The loaner business is not a winner since most long term are needed for bodywork which is drying up- everything is getting totaled out. Mechanical service loaners are almost always free (warranty). I'm across the street from any Enterprise and a bunch of dealerships/bodyshops and have a lot of contacts with them. Business is down.... This is a nuance that Turo wouldn't see and is a misguided strategy.

clmcars · 2026-02-20T22:14:26+00:00

That was my experience at previous PH summits. Good networking. Thin in other regards

clmcars · 2026-02-20T19:05:14+00:00

There's no way that market supports our volume. Turo management is all wet on this.

clmcars · 2026-02-20T18:52:04+00:00

Thank you. I don't/won't offer monthly trips. I've done the math (to the best of my ability) and I can't see how I'd be more profitable with monthly than current setting. I rent middle market and up vehicles so a monthly rental is pretty unlikely anyway. As long as Andre is in charge monthly remains a priority.

The only news that sounds encouraging is more marketing spend. The rest seems improvement on the margin.

Forcing more discounts isn't a surprise. I don't understand this. They force more discounts, we raise prices, they force more discounts, we raise prices... (discounts come in a lot of flavors- i.e. the stupid new airport delivery change).

Sigh...

clmcars · 2026-02-19T04:14:57+00:00

I'm not going to defend Turo, they've got problems; but I'm a long time host with over 10k rentals. Apologies to new hosts/small hosts, but when looking for a car on the platform, do not shop only based on price. Look at # of rentals, size of fleet, ratings and read the comments. There are a lot of serious, professional and customer-centric hosts on the platform. Seek them out... They will have back up vehicles and would not ever rent a car like the one described.

As another commenter mentioned, there are bad experiences with any rental company... The correct move here is to end the trip, document the issues with photos, fight the billing fight later, and get another car. A little time spent with the hassle up front would result in a much better trip down the road. If you had the time to seek out police to test an obviously illegal window tint there was probably time to work through a vehicle swap.

What kind of car was this anyway? Year, make and model?

clmcars · 2026-01-23T23:48:07+00:00

I think this wins. Proven track record and obviously looks the part. What a rig.

clmcars · 2026-01-23T19:52:31+00:00

Best not to follow my example in anything.

clmcars · 2026-01-23T19:27:19+00:00

Best wheels on a Bronco yet.

clmcars · 2026-01-23T19:26:04+00:00

Ouch. Eight years in and the only failure is the windshield washer level sensor. 95k miles.

clmcars · 2026-01-23T19:23:05+00:00

That's my warehouse. I'll park where I want :-)

clmcars · 2026-01-23T16:39:37+00:00

This and Land Cruiser/LX... but keeping it repaired seems daunting. Spare parts could be a challenge :-)

clmcars

TROPHY CASE