I attended to Orlando for 16 days of aviation training and since this was a non-reimbursable expense and was coming out of my pocket I decided to use Turo and possibly save a little money.

Ford Ecosport

I rented on the cheaper rate spectrum as I figured it just needed to get me Point A to Point B and back over those 16 days.

The car did that….but barely.

On day 2 I noticed the transmission was not shifting correctly and was fluttering quite a bit at mid speed. On day 4 the starter was dragging and the car was barely starting and the transmission shift seemed to be more pronounced.

I reached out to owner on day 4 to let them know that issues I was experiencing and the response was “ We just had the battery replaced and the maintenance service is up to date”. …. Ok.

The morning of day 5 I started my one hour drive journey to the flight training facility and stopped for fuel at 6am. After fueling, the car would not start and seemed to be battery related.

A United Airlines mechanic happened by and we went to purchase jumper cables. The cables did not help and we worked on the bus on top of the battery. I took pics of the car stalled at Sam’s Fuel center and also of the issue we were experiencing with the battery. I also sent a pic of the jumper cables receipt for reimbursement at the very least. We were able to work on some connections running to the starter and got the car going. I held onto the cables.

Over the next 4 days the car would BARELY start most of the time. Sometimes I would have to cycle the starter four to five times before it would roll over and start although I never had to jump it again. I kept the owners informed over the next few days of what I was experiencing. I also tried to work on some of the connections for the battery and battery bus since I have extensive maintenance experience.

Over the following week there was absolutely no communications from the owners checking on the vehicle or its status nor seeming to be concerned that the car was not working properly nor reliable for my rental.

4 days prior to the end of the rental I reached out and informed the owners of the current status of the transmission which was still acting up and also informed them that the battery was no longer dragging and then sent them the receipt once again. Owners offered to replace the car and I told them my location in Melbourne and they could replace it there. They informed me they had no drivers at that time so no effort was made to replace the vehicle.

The day prior to the end of my rental, day 15, the owners offered to replace the vehicle at the facility where I was training. Seemed like a very hollow and empty offer after dealing with a substandard vehicle for 15 days.

The owners MAY have some decent vehicles for Turo rental but the one I received absolutely was NOT acceptable. Check the reviews prior to rental as I saw other feedback reviews which also gave some warnings but I didn’t see those till after I rented.

I never have received reimbursement for the jumper cables which were $65 but I am in talks with them over that. After this review I won’t hold my breath but if I can save one other renter from being stranded on the side of the road….$65 is worth it!

Also showing lack of proper communication at the end of the rental this is a paste from their return instructions at the public parking facility at the Orlando airport-

“You don't need to use the lockbox
- just leave the key and the parking ticket (of is the case) in the Sunglass Overhead Compartment.”

They contacted me when they went to pick up the vehicle and asked why I locked the car with the keys in it. Further correspondence then placed the blame on me for locking the door with the keys in the car-just like their return said to do although they left off the specific instructions about locking the car. I was NOT going to leave that vehicle in a public space at the end of the rental and have it vandalized. Communication is very lacking with this company and is not well managed.

Until they can run a valid business with focused customer support and decent vehicles I won’t be renting from them again. 👎

Car, location, and especially the host’s attentiveness and desire for customer’s satisfaction were all excellent.

Fast delivery. Great and easy car to drive. Messages were answered quickly and they are super easy to work with. Very accommodating. Thank you.

Such an easy, smooth experience. Everything was quick, communication was super clear, and the process couldn’t have been better. My best Turo rental so far!

I can provide more feedback later but overall was a fine experience.