Turo: How To Make Passive Income Renting Your Car

As the pandemic wanes, people are getting back to the things they love – especially travel! Unfortunately, soaring inflation combined with unprecedented demand and lack of inventory has left many travelers without any options for rental cars. It’s nearly impossible to get a rental car from Avis or Hertz these days. Wait times to reserve a car are long and it costs an arm and a leg.

To make matters worse, continued supply chain issues and the global chip shortage have resulted in a decline in worldwide auto production, making access to cars more expensive than ever before. Have you been scheming about passive income ideas to get ahead? If so, then please listen up.

If you already have your own personal vehicle during these times, count yourself as lucky! What if I told you that you can actually earn a passive income for yourself by letting other people drive your car when you’re not using it: that’s what Turo is all about.

Let’s jump into how this popular car-sharing service is transforming the rental car industry, allowing guests to book a car on the fly, and helping people start yet another side hustle to generate passive income each month.

What is Turo?

Turo is the world’s largest car-sharing marketplace: a peer-to-peer car-sharing service that allows regular people to rent out their own vehicles when it works best for them. Think of it almost as Airbnb for cars. You’re the host, and you share your car with a guest, at your discretion when you’re not using it.

Some people even host multiple vehicles at the same time and earn a killing in the process. Below are the benefits of creating a Turo business:

Scalability: As a host, you get to choose how many cars to share, scaling your business up or down however you want. From there, you can decide whether to reinvest your earnings in another vehicle or cash out.
Accessibility: Hosts can easily start with a car they already own or buy one to share — any car owner can start flexing their entrepreneurial muscle with an asset they already have!
Flexibility: It’s easy for hosts to decide how much time they’re willing to commit: from full-time to just a few hours a week. Of course, the more time and cars that a host commits to this venture, the greater their monthly income potential. You can earn while you work from home, or on the go, and divest any time – this is the beauty of a passive income-generating small business.

As a host on Turo, you can determine what price to rent your car for, based on demand and the price of other Turo rentals in your area. It tends to be cheaper for guests to rent a car on Turo compared with traditional car rental agencies such as Avis and Hertz. So as prices and demand continue to rise, so will the popularity and earning potential of Turo.

How To Rent Your Car On Turo

First, you’ll want to download the Turo app on iOS or Android. The same app is used by both guests and hosts. Then, you’ll get started with setting up your account by completing the following steps:

Create a Turo account
Verify your home address
Verify your driver’s license
Verify your valid auto registration and inspection
Photograph your car and create a listing description
Create a bio about yourself with an accompanying headshot
Choose your insurance plan (more about this below)
Choose your availability
Attend a 15-minute Turo Host orientation via phone
Finally, list your car for bookings in your area

With Turo, you can take control of your financial future, whether that means increasing your monthly income, saving for a down payment on a home, going back to school, or even retiring early!

Check out this informative video by Fernando Herrera who dishes out the scoop on all the do’s and don’ts for newbie Turo hosts:

Turo Features for Hosts

The Turo platform is equipped with these great features, so you shouldn’t have to worry about business growth and liability:

Insurance Included: As a Turo host, you’re covered with $750,000 of third-party liability insurance from Travelers Insurance. If you’re a host in New York State, you’re covered with an additional $500K of third-party liability insurance, totaling $1,250,000. Select which insurance protection plan works best for you, depending on what type of deductible you want and how much money you want to take home each month. The plans range from 60% take-home pay with a $0 deductible up to 90% take-home pay with a $2,500 deductible. The higher percentage plans come with a hefty deductible in the event of car damage (or worse, your car gets totaled) by a renter: higher risk means higher reward!
Safety & Support: Hosts have access to 24/7 customer support, roadside assistance for your guests, a safety team, and in-app insights to help you optimize and build your business.
Instant Demand Generation: Hosts have access to a prescreened customer base of over 14 million worldwide, plus marketing and advertising support for your car(s), all included.
An Easy To Use App: Manage your bookings, accept trips, modify your pricing, and communicate with guests, all from one place.

In short, Turo gives ambitious entrepreneurs (like you!) all the tools and resources necessary to build a successful car-sharing business.

How Much Money Can You Make on Turo?

Stunningly, a Turo host with just one car (usually their personal vehicle) can earn an average annual income of about $10,516 which breaks down to about $876 per month. That’s a big number! It’s important to note that these averages can vary considerably from state to state and based on current market conditions.

You can even check out Turo’s “Carculator,” which helps you determine how much income you could earn from hosting different types of vehicles before you make the investment. The “search by budget” section is better suited for hosts looking to rent out multiple vehicles simultaneously while the “search by vehicle” section is better suited for hosts looking to rent out their personal car.

Is Turo Legit?

Heck yes!

And thanks to recent New York State legislation, Turo is now available for peer-to-peer car sharing in all 50 states. Until recently, New York State was the only state in the U.S. where peer-to-peer car sharing was banned. Turo lobbied the New York State government to have the auto insurance law changed, so now it’s legal in New York, too.

So, there will only be pent-up demand for peer-to-peer car sharing moving forward.

The Bottom Line

With inflation running rampant, Turo is an excellent solution for guests to save on rental cars when traveling and for hosts to earn extra passive income each month on top of their regular job. Nowadays, it’s important to look for ways to get ahead financially. If you have a car that you don’t use all the time (especially if you’re working remotely full time and don’t need your car for weekday commuting), consider becoming a host and start earning extra money today!