Friends don't let friends do Turo
Our first & LAST Turo rental. There's a good reason this company has an F rating on the BBB site. I wish I would have looked at reviews online before trying out this company. If considering renting a stone grey SR CVT Nissan Kicks 2021 from an owner whose name starts with a "B" in Oahu, I STRONGLY advise against it. Reviews show 5 star ratings but in reality, we were asked by the host to leave a positive review & star rating and after doing so, we were thanked and a few minutes later sent a notification of a damage claim. It only takes one online search to see how many of these "hosts" are willing to make false claims & wait to see how much they can rake in from you and/or your insurance company. We rented this particular car without any issues other than the owners stating that picking us up at the airport was actually illegal per their state yet deciding to show up with keys in hand and car at curbside at the airport despite our request to be taken to the car off site. After our rental period ended, we returned the car & gave the host cash to apologize for showing up a few minutes late (even though within our legal window of rental time & finding out later that accepting cash voids the host's ability to file a claim). We personally spent 45 minutes of our own time hand detailing the car & making sure that it was returned in the same condition it was given to us. After returning the car in person & the host having no issues with the return of the car, the next day, after leaving a positive review per their request, we received notification of a damage claim to the car & immediately were billed $500 to our credit card. We noted that the photos were uploaded at 2 am, after dropping off the car 6 hours earlier. When inquiring what damage the host claimed, we were told "please do not worry, it was our mistake for reporting this late - in the morning" & also "you will not be charged. We will just file with Turo & see how insurance will pay for it". How is it legal for a host to accept the car & then hours later, after having possession of the car, claim that WE damaged it? Did we take "after" pictures when returning the car? No. Because unless you read the fine print, one does not realize they must literally take a picture of EVERY SQUARE INCH of a Turo rental in order to cover oneselves. After reading other renter reviews post-trip, claims can be made against you if there is damage to the glove box, in the console, latches, switches, under the seats & under the car, inside the tire well, on the roof of the car - literally ANY place on the car can be claimed damaged by a dishonest host. Who has the time or energy to take pictures of every square inch of the car to protect themselves? If renting from Enterprise, Avis or any other reputable company, it is understood that when the car is returned & inspected, the renter will not be liable for whatever damage that occurs after the fact. One would think the same would be the case for Turo but they allow hosts to file up to 24 hrs AFTER drop off! From extensive online research, you will find that they will side with the party whom they will gain most monetarily from. The claim can be absolutely bogus, as was ours, & they will give you the run around. We returned our car without any damage whatsoever. We were told that we caused an abrasion to the window button control arm rest (which from the pictures looked like something that could be wiped off with leather cleaner spray) in addition to a scratch on the dashboard. After reviewing the pictures sent to us from Turo, taken by the hosts HOURS after we returned the car to them, we noted that the abrasion on the window control area is, according to Turo policy, not actually a valid claim because it did not meet length requirements. We pointed this out to Turo who appeared to have cared less & didn't address the issue. We strongly believe the dashboard scratch was a fraudulent claim. There wasn't damage at the time of drop off & the only thing ever on the dash was our parking pass for the hotel. Total estimate for said damage? An exorbitant almost $3,000!!! Renters beware -Customer service will send you the same response they send everyone & you will, in fact, be billed & charged & stalked for more money until you either pay or are threatened with collections. With so many reputable rental car options out there, there is absolutely no reason for anyone to rent from this company. No cost savings is worth the heartache that you will inevitably receive if you rent from Turo. It should also be noted that when we demanded that our positive review be removed from the hosts website, we were told that it was against policy to do so but if granted, we would not be able to retract the stars given to the host. That being said, one should realize that the positive reviews/stars you are seeing on Turo's website are inaccurate.