In 2021, humanity will face the great Apocalypse. As an alternative, it has been going strong for some years. You probably faced severe sticker shock if you tried to hire a car this past summer. In June of this year, the cost to rent a car was 88% higher than it was in June of the previous year, leaving consumers with little other options outside shelling out hundreds of dollars per day for a basic economy vehicle.
Why have rental car rates suddenly skyrocketed so dramatically?
Demand for automobiles dropped significantly at the start of the pandemic due to stay-at-home directives and apprehension of a potentially fatal virus. In an effort to remain solvent, the rental car industry got rid of 770,000 vehicles, with some businesses getting rid of as much as 40% of their fleet. Demand for vehicles skyrocketed this past spring and summer, exceeding supply, as Americans’ desire to travel recovered after being dampened by the recent flu outbreak. Meanwhile, a worldwide shortage of microchips has hindered development of new cars, making it harder for rental car agencies to refill their inventories. Since there are currently more people looking to rent a car than there are available vehicles, rental car companies can set any price they like.
In recent weeks, my family and I escaped the oppressive.
Heat of New York City by spending a few weekends in our “cosy” (read: small) Brooklyn apartment. While Uber and taxis are accessible, they aren’t as frequent out on the North Fork, and we didn’t want to have to call and wait for one every time we wanted to go somewhere during our stay at a charming bed & breakfast. We were almost prevented from making our planned road trip east because of the exorbitant cost of renting a car ($229 per day, picking up from Newark airport in New Jersey). If we had wanted to rent a car for three days, the cost would have exceeded the cost of our plane tickets to Europe.
In spite of my strong desire to escape and my reluctance to hand.
over so much cash to “the man” (Avis), I looked into other options and came across the car-sharing firm Turo. Auto owners can list their rides for rent on websites like Airbnb. They list their vehicles, decide on a pricing and mileage cap, and guests (“renters”) use the site to find them and rent directly from them based on their search results (Turo promo code calls them “hosts,” just like on Airbnb).
I researched what others had to say and came away with largely positive feedback.
As is normal when trying a new service for the first time, we had several apprehensions: What if the condition of the vehicle was poor and it looked nothing like the photographs or description? What would be covered and what wouldn’t if we had automobile issues or got into an accident on the way? What if we couldn’t get in touch with the owner to pick up or drop off the vehicle, or if our plans changed and we had to bring it back sooner or later than agreed upon?
Since we’d already spent too many weekends in New York.
We figured we may as well give Turo a shot. I have no qualms about recommending Turo to anyone else who needs a car rental service. To what extent you’re willing to take risks determines whether or not you use Turo.
The Benefits of Using Turo.
The location where you can pick up your car is also more flexible. When compared to conventional vehicle rental agencies, which are typically only present at airports and in a few number of major cities, Turo’s cars are available anywhere there are hosts (now throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom). If you want to hire a car but don’t want to go somewhere just to pick one up, this can be a great option. Some hosts will even bring you the car.
Turo’s Step-by-Step Car Rental Procedure.
Unfortunately, Turo is not available for peer-to-peer rentals in New York at this time because of the state’s one-of-a-kind insurance regulations (but available in the 49 other states). Hoboken, New Jersey was as close as we could get to a pickup place, so that’s where we ended up. A short subway trip away, and a mere five minutes’ walk from the station to the car, this was by far the most convenient pickup location for us, even more so than the airport.
The rental car pickup was the smoothest operation I’ve ever witnessed.
We met the Turo host at the agreed-upon pickup place (perhaps outside his apartment building), he handed us the keys, and we were off. No long lines at the rental desk, no shuttle ride to the lot—just us and the car. Upon arrival, we wasted no time getting on the road. It was in immaculate condition, had never been dirty, and ran like a dream. Absolutely nothing went wrong, if you get my drift.
When renting a car, it’s best to go with one that has received mostly positive ratings from previous customers.
This increases the likelihood that you won’t have any problems with the vehicle’s cleanliness or the rental’s pickup and return procedures. If you read reviews from previous renters, you’ll know whether or not the host was accommodating to last-minute changes in the reservation or if there were any problems with the car itself (such as broken windshield wipers or weak air conditioning, trouble pairing the car with a bluetooth device, etc.).
What kind of insurance does Turo provide?
Let’s address the most pressing issue at hand: coverage. Your comfort with uncertainty will be a factor here. While many renters today count on the collision damage waivers offered by their credit cards to cover them in the case of an accident or theft, you probably won’t be able to rely on this insurance if you rent from Turo.
Coverage is the most important issue right now, so let’s focus on it.
- What matters most is how well you handle uncertainty.
- When renting a car, many people today rely on the collision damage waivers provided by their credit cards to cover them in the event of an accident or theft.
- However, you generally won’t be able to rely on this insurance if you rent from Turo.
- Since Turo is a peer-to-peer vehicle-sharing platform, credit card insurance policies often only cover rentals from commercial car rental firms.
- Turo offers insurance options and provides numerous pages of information regarding personal responsibility and what their plans cover.
- Remember that your credit card probably won’t cover any injuries or property damage to the other party, but Turo’s protection plans would.
That has a high percentage of five-star reviews from satisfied clients.
Tidiness and the rental service’s pickup and return procedures. Renters’ experiences with the host’s flexibility toward last-minute adjustments in the reservation and with mechanical issues with the vehicle itself can be gleaned by reading evaluations left by prior renters (such as broken windshield wipers or weak air conditioning, trouble pairing the car with a Bluetooth device, etc.). The Turo host and I met at the designated pickup location (perhaps the lobby of his apartment building) and he handed us the keys. There were no waits at the counter, and we drove ourselves to the parking lot. Once we arrived, we didn’t waste any time getting going. It was spotless, having never been used, and ran smoothly as silk. It was perfect, if you catch my meaning.
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