It was great

Car ran well and host was great. Did smell like cigarettes unfortunately.

Turo’s pitch is compelling — think Airbnb for cars. Skip the corporate rental counter, deal with real people, get something that feels more personal. The whole point is that you’re not dealing with a faceless company — you’re dealing with another human being, and that human element is supposed to be the advantage.
In practice, the execution has some real gaps.
Let’s start with cost. The rental price itself is roughly the same as a traditional car rental company — so you’re not saving money there. But then factor in the Uber rides to pick up the car and return it, and Turo actually ends up more expensive than just walking up to an airport counter. You’re paying a premium to have a worse experience.
The car itself is a 2018 Kia with 112,000 miles on it. You will never see that at an established rental company — and for good reason. At that mileage, you’re not renting a car so much as borrowing someone’s problem. It runs, but it feels like a ticking time bomb, and the owner would do everyone a favor by retiring it from rotation before it becomes someone else’s roadside emergency.
The biggest missed opportunity is flexibility — and this is where Turo should shine. Airbnb hosts tend to be reasonable people. If no one’s checking in tomorrow, most will let you stay a few extra hours without penalty, because that’s what humans do for each other. My host had no one renting after me, and still required payment for a later return. It didn’t feel like dealing with a person. It felt like dealing with someone who had adopted every bad habit of the corporations Turo is supposed to replace.
And then there was the smell. Something coming from the back seat that suggested a previous renter — or possibly a previous tenant of the animal variety — had left more than just memories behind. Not something you want to discover mid-trip.
The concept deserves to work. But until Turo builds a culture where hosts actually act like hosts — and not like budget car rental managers — it’s not consistently better than traditional rental. Just different. And more expensive.

Great

Amazing customer service