6 ms·

Turo Wants Customer to Pay $35,000 After Vandals Smash His Rented Car's Windows

41 points by ourmandave 3y ago

solardev 3y ago
Turo makes it pretty clear when you rent a car that you can choose from one of three insurance plans through them. https://help.turo.com/en_us/summary-and-cost-of-protection-plans-or-us-guests-BJSgBNgVq https://help.turo.com/en_us/summary-and-cost-of-protection-p... Most car insurance plans and credit cards don't cover peer-to-peer sharing, and Turo warns you about that too: https://help.turo.com/personal-insurance-requirements-or-guests-ByCkr4e45 https://help.turo.com/personal-insurance-requirements-or-gue... https://help.turo.com/insurance-or-coverage-via-a-credit-card-rklgH4g45 https://help.turo.com/insurance-or-coverage-via-a-credit-car... (I've both hosted and rented through Turo, and always chose insurance on both sides because of these risks.)
- listenallyall 3y ago
  They try to have it both ways. They want you to pay them for a coverage plan, but they also are firm that their plans are secondary to your personal auto insurance. "In the US, any personal insurance you may have that covers damage to the host’s vehicle would kick in before your Turo protection plan"
  - londons_explore 3y ago
    In general, any insurance bought after another insurance plan can only cover what is not already insured by the first plan. Anything else is actually illegal in the UK (it's a tax loophole, because you are paying for insurance (which isn't usually charged sales tax) for a risk that ends up being zero because another insurance policy ends up covering it).
    - listenallyall 3y ago
      But they could offer a protection plan that is not tied to your personal insurance in any way and relieves you of the burden of getting your insurance company involved at all. That's what car rental LDW plans do. "We offer the Loss Damage Waiver so you don't have to worry or stress about driving our vehicles. The LDW isn't insurance, but it can protect you from the cost of damage to the Hertz’ car. By purchasing the LDW, you will not be responsible for any loss or damage that occurs to the car so long as you weren't using the car in a prohibited manner." https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/productservice/index.jsp?targetPage=USHowProtectedAreYou.jsp https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/productservice/index.jsp?targ... Turo wants you to buy a protection plan from them, but then if there is a loss, the plan you just bought is not available to you until you exhaust all options and financial compensation via your own insurance carrier.
      - solardev 3y ago
        Yeah, this is a good point! I'd rather be protected than not, but it would be far better for Turo to offer primary instead of secondary insurance.
- SkyPuncher 3y ago
  Claiming the Turo earns you is a bit in-genuine. This is a way that a lot of rental companies try to trick you into to paying for unnecessary Insurance. I get the same warnings for rentals, despite both my insurance and credit are providing coverage.
- altairprime 3y ago
  Some Turo owners have their vehicles set to block Turo’s full-coverage insurance. It’s unclear whether this was the owner’s preference or Turo’s.
  - solardev 3y ago
    Wait, really? How does that work?
    - altairprime 3y ago
      No idea, it was super annoying as a Turo customer though.
SenAnder 3y ago
$35,000 is the cost of a high-end entirely new car - why do broken windows alone cost this much?
- 6510 3y ago
  The chap in the comments got a 2k bill for a nail in his tire.
  - rad_gruchalski 3y ago
    The whole story is even more hilarious: > Went back and forth with Turo about how in the earth can a $25 repair for one tire turned into $2k. Asked for a detailed invoice and there was an interior detail, exterior detail, new brakes, new rotors, new tires, new wheels, and oil change on the invoice. Which then turned into a bigger back and forth with how the host said, ON THEIR APP, that hey this is only going to cost $25 and this is the only problem with the car. Then that BS invoice.
    - klyrs 3y ago
      1. Install a GPS tracker on your car 2. Rent it out on turo 3. Track it down, bust out the windows 4. Explain the deal to a body shop, get kickbacks. Turo takes 20% off the top, it's a win/win/win.
      - adhesive_wombat 3y ago
        I was wondering why car insurance is double what it was 2 years ago (well, also the parts shortage means it's cheaper, but very expensive still, to write off than paying for the parts and giving out a courtesy car until it can be fixed)
        millzlane 3y ago
        I heard from a person who works at one of the largest insurers around the east coast. That the only real reason they raise rates it because the amount of fraud in certain areas. It's also greed too. But their justification is the fraud in an area. They know the guy who is in collections with his loan, and has missed his last two insurance payments didn't just have a random hit and run with a stolen car in a back alley in Baltimore. They just can't prove that.
pengaru 3y ago
Someone's found a way to drum up consistent business for their automotive repair shop.
FireBeyond 3y ago
Turo is also a good "vehicle" for money laundering. In my area there's multiple Chrysler 300Cs and others for rent. Kinda. They're listed at $600/day, and often booked for weeks on end. Great idea if you're a drug dealer. Give your customer free product/cash/whatever, they "rent" your car (at no point do they actually get your car), and you send them the requisite odometer pictures at the start and end of each "rental", rinse and repeat.
- gruez 3y ago
  Isn't it far easier to claim you're babysitting/housesitting/house cleaning/car detailing? It's not like those activities (or any other types of services, for that matter) leaves any physical evidence? If anything doing "car rentals" is going to leave more evidence, given how much of a privacy nightmare they are (they basically have an always on cell modem).
  - stevenae 3y ago
    A key part of laundering is having a legitimate entity which processes the funds -- in this case, Turo.
mrangle 3y ago
The last two times I rented a car, which were on opposite coasts, I was sent a bill for inflated toll charges that I absolutely had paid.
southernplaces7 3y ago
What a shit stupid company or its administrators. This story is now a news item (ABC) and also now here on HN and who knows what other social networks. The losses in business are going to be a hell of a lot bigger than the idiotic and (based on what I've read about their invoicing of this customer) fraudulent "gains" they were expecting with that $35,000. If I were the CEO i'd fire whoever was responsible for this sleazy little idiocy and backpeddle as fast as possible publicly.
alexcannan 3y ago
I had a similar experience with Turo. The owner instructed us to leave the car unlocked in some parking lot. The following day they sent pictures of pot on the floor of the car; they charged me an extra $100 and handed me a lifetime ban. I was really enjoying using the app too...

41 points by ourmandave 3y ago

Turo makes it pretty clear when you rent a car that you can choose from one of three insurance plans through them. https://help.turo.com/en_us/summary-and-cost-of-protection-plans-or-us-guests-BJSgBNgVq https://help.turo.com/en_us/summary-and-cost-of-protection-p... Most car insurance plans and credit cards don't cover peer-to-peer sharing, and Turo warns you about that too: https://help.turo.com/personal-insurance-requirements-or-guests-ByCkr4e45 https://help.turo.com/personal-insurance-requirements-or-gue... https://help.turo.com/insurance-or-coverage-via-a-credit-card-rklgH4g45 https://help.turo.com/insurance-or-coverage-via-a-credit-car... (I've both hosted and rented through Turo, and always chose insurance on both sides because of these risks.)

listenallyall 3y ago
They try to have it both ways. They want you to pay them for a coverage plan, but they also are firm that their plans are secondary to your personal auto insurance. "In the US, any personal insurance you may have that covers damage to the host’s vehicle would kick in before your Turo protection plan"
- londons_explore 3y ago
  In general, any insurance bought after another insurance plan can only cover what is not already insured by the first plan. Anything else is actually illegal in the UK (it's a tax loophole, because you are paying for insurance (which isn't usually charged sales tax) for a risk that ends up being zero because another insurance policy ends up covering it).
  - listenallyall 3y ago
    But they could offer a protection plan that is not tied to your personal insurance in any way and relieves you of the burden of getting your insurance company involved at all. That's what car rental LDW plans do. "We offer the Loss Damage Waiver so you don't have to worry or stress about driving our vehicles. The LDW isn't insurance, but it can protect you from the cost of damage to the Hertz’ car. By purchasing the LDW, you will not be responsible for any loss or damage that occurs to the car so long as you weren't using the car in a prohibited manner." https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/productservice/index.jsp?targetPage=USHowProtectedAreYou.jsp https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/productservice/index.jsp?targ... Turo wants you to buy a protection plan from them, but then if there is a loss, the plan you just bought is not available to you until you exhaust all options and financial compensation via your own insurance carrier.
    - solardev 3y ago
      Yeah, this is a good point! I'd rather be protected than not, but it would be far better for Turo to offer primary instead of secondary insurance.
SkyPuncher 3y ago
Claiming the Turo earns you is a bit in-genuine. This is a way that a lot of rental companies try to trick you into to paying for unnecessary Insurance. I get the same warnings for rentals, despite both my insurance and credit are providing coverage.
altairprime 3y ago
Some Turo owners have their vehicles set to block Turo’s full-coverage insurance. It’s unclear whether this was the owner’s preference or Turo’s.
- solardev 3y ago
  Wait, really? How does that work?
  - altairprime 3y ago
    No idea, it was super annoying as a Turo customer though.

SenAnder 3y ago

$35,000 is the cost of a high-end entirely new car - why do broken windows alone cost this much?

6510 3y ago
The chap in the comments got a 2k bill for a nail in his tire.
- rad_gruchalski 3y ago
  The whole story is even more hilarious: > Went back and forth with Turo about how in the earth can a $25 repair for one tire turned into $2k. Asked for a detailed invoice and there was an interior detail, exterior detail, new brakes, new rotors, new tires, new wheels, and oil change on the invoice. Which then turned into a bigger back and forth with how the host said, ON THEIR APP, that hey this is only going to cost $25 and this is the only problem with the car. Then that BS invoice.
  - klyrs 3y ago
    1. Install a GPS tracker on your car 2. Rent it out on turo 3. Track it down, bust out the windows 4. Explain the deal to a body shop, get kickbacks. Turo takes 20% off the top, it's a win/win/win.
    - adhesive_wombat 3y ago
      I was wondering why car insurance is double what it was 2 years ago (well, also the parts shortage means it's cheaper, but very expensive still, to write off than paying for the parts and giving out a courtesy car until it can be fixed)
      - millzlane 3y ago
        I heard from a person who works at one of the largest insurers around the east coast. That the only real reason they raise rates it because the amount of fraud in certain areas. It's also greed too. But their justification is the fraud in an area. They know the guy who is in collections with his loan, and has missed his last two insurance payments didn't just have a random hit and run with a stolen car in a back alley in Baltimore. They just can't prove that.

pengaru 3y ago

Someone's found a way to drum up consistent business for their automotive repair shop.

FireBeyond 3y ago

Turo is also a good "vehicle" for money laundering. In my area there's multiple Chrysler 300Cs and others for rent. Kinda. They're listed at $600/day, and often booked for weeks on end. Great idea if you're a drug dealer. Give your customer free product/cash/whatever, they "rent" your car (at no point do they actually get your car), and you send them the requisite odometer pictures at the start and end of each "rental", rinse and repeat.

gruez 3y ago
Isn't it far easier to claim you're babysitting/housesitting/house cleaning/car detailing? It's not like those activities (or any other types of services, for that matter) leaves any physical evidence? If anything doing "car rentals" is going to leave more evidence, given how much of a privacy nightmare they are (they basically have an always on cell modem).
- stevenae 3y ago
  A key part of laundering is having a legitimate entity which processes the funds -- in this case, Turo.

mrangle 3y ago

The last two times I rented a car, which were on opposite coasts, I was sent a bill for inflated toll charges that I absolutely had paid.

southernplaces7 3y ago

What a shit stupid company or its administrators. This story is now a news item (ABC) and also now here on HN and who knows what other social networks. The losses in business are going to be a hell of a lot bigger than the idiotic and (based on what I've read about their invoicing of this customer) fraudulent "gains" they were expecting with that $35,000. If I were the CEO i'd fire whoever was responsible for this sleazy little idiocy and backpeddle as fast as possible publicly.

alexcannan 3y ago

I had a similar experience with Turo. The owner instructed us to leave the car unlocked in some parking lot. The following day they sent pictures of pot on the floor of the car; they charged me an extra $100 and handed me a lifetime ban. I was really enjoying using the app too...