“The car was advertised as perfect condition.”
A woman who claims to have rented a car from Turo says she learned that her ride probably wasn’t in the best of shape well after she racked up several hundred miles of driving. The driver, who posts online under the handle @rybabe documented her discovery while still seated inside of the purported rental car in question. In her video, she demonstrates how a strategically placed sticker led her to believe there wasn’t anything amiss with the vehicle.
However, after looking down at the ride’s dashboard, she noticed a small, black, circular sticker that blended in perfectly.
“You just drove 500 miles in your Turo rental and noticed a sticker on the dash,” a text overlay in the video reads. She uses her fingernail to peel the sticker off. And as it turns out, it was strategically placed over a check engine light.
She says she also noticed that the vehicle didn’t have a spare tire. “And there was no spare … I didn’t think to check until after I found this,” she wrote.
A lot of people drive around with their check engine light on. It’s not recommended, of course.
In @rybabe’s case, her concern seems to be that the car could’ve broken down. But at least she isn’t likely to have to foot the bill, provided it is a rental as she claims. (Motor1 was unable to confirm that she rented the car through Turo.) It is at least possible that the owner of a rental would try to hold a renter accountable for issues with their vehicle, though if it is a matter of maintenance or obviously a preexisting issue, they aren’t likely to be successful.
People have complained about just this experience, however. One Reddit user who posted to the site’s r/turo sub claims that they were “almost charged $1,500 for damage [they] didn’t cause.”
In the post, they wrote that despite showing clear pick-up and drop-off photos of the vehicle, the car owner filed a $1,500 repair claim against them. They claimed that they had to resort to disputing the $1,500 charge with their credit card company to avoid paying.
On Turo’s Quality Standards webpage, the rental agency explicitly states that vehicles with any dashboard warning lights are ineligible for rental. “No dashboard lights that indicate the vehicle requires immediate attention should be lit: these include, but aren’t limited to, lights indicating low tire pressure, check engine, or low oil.”
The website also writes that in the US and Canada, tires “must be less than six years old.” A slew of other basics must be covered before a car can be rented: mirrors and windshields shouldn’t have any chips or cracks. Horns have to be in working condition, and brakes, shoes and pads “must be at least 3 mm thick.” All headlights, brake lights, turn signal indicators, and tail lights should also function properly. As should heating and air conditioning systems. 12 volt batteries in cars mustn’t be older than five years. When it comes to body damage any “scratches and dings … present … must be less than 3” in diameter.”
Motor1 spoke with Turo via phone and email. A Turo spokesperson told Motor1, “Turo holds all host vehicles on our platform to strict safety standards, including requiring that they are in safe, roadworthy condition and free of a warning light. When this situation was brought to our attention, we acted immediately by issuing a full refund and restricting the vehicle until the host provides a formal inspection showing the vehicle complies with our safety policies. We are glad the situation was resolved to her satisfaction.”
@rybabe told Motor1 she was very happy with the way Turo handled the situation. According to her, the rental service didn’t question the proof she provided to them and her entire rental was completely refunded.
She wrote: “Turo actually was wonderful in the end. Basically the car was advertised as perfect condition. At first I noticed the car would shake over 70mph which happens with bad tires in my experience so I just made note to bring it up to the owner. On my way home from my trip I noticed a faint check engine light as the day got later and then car got darker. I decided to stop and inspect and I noticed the sticker and immediately reached out to Turo.”
Continuing, @rybabe said, “They advised me to record and document everything. I ended up taking a different route home as I felt uncomfortable driving on the highway and Turo said that a special team would investigate fault and I could be liable for roadside assistance if I received it prior to drop off. Due to having to change my route the host billed me for additional mileage. I reached out to Turo and explained the host ignored the photos of the check engine light and Turo told me to request the host waive the extra mileage fee due to me having to take a different route causing extra mileage because of the host concealing the check engine light.”
On the other hand, she said that the host was nowhere near as helpful or accommodating.
“The host proceeded to ignore me when I messages inquiring if the extra mileage could be reassessed. After a few days of attempting to reach Turo I got an agent who immediately accepted the proof I provided and instead of waiving the extra mileage he refunded the entire reservation and assured me the host and the cars default would be addressed,” she continued.
“It took a few days to get the resolution but the resolution went above and beyond what I was expecting. Initially I was extremely unhappy as Turo kept directing me to the host but once the host proved to be of no assistance Turo stepped in and exceeded my expectations. I have nothing bad to say about how they handled the situation.”
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