{"id":15134,"date":"2020-03-09T10:20:37","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T17:20:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/turo.com\/blog\/?p=15134"},"modified":"2025-04-02T23:44:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T06:44:48","slug":"how-lee-ann-turned-an-idle-suv-into-real-profit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/turo.com\/blog\/community\/how-lee-ann-turned-an-idle-suv-into-real-profit\/","title":{"rendered":"How Lee Ann turned an idle SUV into real profit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Turning an eight-seat liability into a huge windfall<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After a rough breakup, Lee Ann, an Arizona resident and marketing manager by trade, found herself saddled with an extra 2012 Chevy Traverse. \u201cI was the unfortunate person who kept the SUV, because it was in my name,\u201d she explains. \u201cI had two cars and two car payments every month, and it was a struggle to make ends meet.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On top of her mortgage and bills to pay, Lee Ann\u2019s eight-seat, three-row SUV was yet another financial liability, sitting in the garage with nothing to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Airbnb for cars<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Lee Ann had heard of Airbnb, and started to wonder if there was something similar, but for cars. Luckily, she found a news article about Turo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTuro was exactly what I was trying to find, and it was easy to get started. I created a profile, listed my car, and was shocked as all heck at how quickly I got tapped for my first trip.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fueling adventures<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Traverse wasn\u2019t fancy or new, but guests loved to book it for camping and road trips. Putting her marketing chops to good use, Lee Ann updated her listing to frame the car as the perfect travel companion for outdoor adventures and big vacations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was helping families do bucket list stuff, like visiting Disneyland in California or hiking Moab in Utah. I understand completely \u2014 you don\u2019t really need an SUV for your daily life, but it\u2019s great to fit all your kids and luggage in one vehicle when traveling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before long, Lee Ann started to turn a profit \u2014 \u201cSome months, I actually made quite a bit more than the monthly car payment from this SUV I thought I couldn\u2019t afford.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using Turo to fund her dream car<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

After seeing how much the Traverse earned on the platform, Lee Ann realized she could also list her personal car, a 2017 Honda CR-V, to cover even more of her expenses. \u201cThe Honda\u2019s been booked pretty steadily. As long as I keep an eye on the calendar, I could keep switching between the two cars and always have something to drive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With the two extra sources of income, she was able to buy something for herself. \u201cLast year, I bought my dream car \u2014 a Jeep Wrangler \u2014 knowing that I could use Turo to help mitigate that cost.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A seasoned host\u2019s advice<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

After two years on the platform, Lee Ann\u2019s grown into an expert host with 45 trips and a perfect five-star reviews. \u201cHosting\u2019s been amazing. I\u2019ve never had any bad experiences, and a fair number of people come back for multiple trips.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even when a guest returned one of her cars with some minor scratches, Lee Ann managed to get it sorted out. \u201cThe guest was super amenable. I could\u2019ve gone through the claims system, but instead we came to a mutual resolution: I got a quote from a detail shop, the guest Venmoed me right away, and my car was restored.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Her biggest piece of advice for new hosts? \u201cDo your research. Get a feel for how to word your description by looking at other people\u2019s listings, and experiment with your settings to see what works and what doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make things as convenient as possible, Lee Ann offers unlimited mileage and prepaid refuel, and stores her key in a lockbox attached to the car. \u201cI just text them the code and let them check themselves in, so I never have to meet them in person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A huge help for a stressful situation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lee Ann muses about her Turo journey: \u201cAutomobile financing makes it really easy to get into a car, and really hard to get out of it. I bet I\u2019m not the first person who ended up having to pay for two cars due to one reason or another.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a pleasant surprise when my Turo earnings not only covered the payment on this SUV I didn\u2019t need, but also gave me a bonus source of income. Turo really was a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have an extra car lying around? Strapped for time and cash? See how much you could earn with the Turo Carculator<\/a>, and figure out if listing your car on Turo can help you with your finances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n

Start your Turo journey today<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Turning an eight-seat liability into a huge windfall After a rough breakup, Lee Ann, an Arizona resident and marketing manager by trade, found herself saddled with an extra 2012 Chevy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":15137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[74],"class_list":["post-15134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-member-profiles"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t