Turo: How to rent a vehicle using the 'AirBnB for cars'

Owning a car can be one expensive business. From fuel to insurance to repairs, there’s always another bill just around the corner.

It’s no surprise many choose to rent a motor rather than face the financial commitments of ownership.

But for those who do have their own car, there’s now a way of finally making some cash yourself.

Turo is a rental service where regular owners can list their own vehicles.

Billed as ‘AirBnB for cars’, users simply sign up, enter their vehicle’s valuation along with how many days a month it’s free, and Turo gives an instant estimate on their potential earning power.

Founded in the US in 2009, in 2016 the firm claimed it had more than 2 million users, with 110,00 listed vehicles in 4,500 cities.

It’s now been launched in the UK, where ‘hosts’ advertise their vehicle for hire. Each Turo listing has a personal touch (‘Darren’s Mini Cooper’, ‘Shafi’s Volkswagen Golf’), making the service unique in the UK.

When Yahoo tried out Turo, we hired a Mini Cooper for a weekend away and had it hand-delivered to our door. There was constant communication from the owner, meaning we had reassurance that should anything go awry, there would be someone to contact.

As the service finds its feet in Britain, a lot of the ‘hosts’ are actually small car hire firms themselves. Turo plan to get more non-professional hosts through 2017.

But for now, it adds a more flexible, varied car rental service to the market – and it’s only a matter of time before normal car owners get to benefit too.

Find out more on the Turo website.