James's Blog

My car was due for major service.  My mechanic estimated it would take a day or two to complete.  Oh no... No car for a couple of days!... What would I do?  Perfect excuse to splurge and rent a Tesla, that's what! But wait... Who rents out Teslas? It's not like I can run down to Avis or Budget and say "Hey I want a Tesla!".  Nope.  There is a better answer. Turo !  I had previously rented a Mini Cooper from Turo and it was a great experience.  I logged on via the app on my phone and started my search for Teslas for rent near me. I found a local Tesla, a Model E, and reserved it.  A short time later the (former) owner replied and said he had sold the car! Argh!  I cancelled the reservation and contacted Turo customer support. They waived the cancellation fee and gave me $20 credit for my trouble. Sweet! I searched again and found a Model 3.  I kinda had my heart set on renting a Model E but I could not find any within...

Last year I had to make an emergency trip across the country to Boston.  I needed to rent a car and found that last minute rentals can be very expensive, especially from a major airport like Boston's Logan.  I was about to rent when the travel site I used suggested Turo as low cost alternative.  Turo?  What's that?  I'd never heard of it.  I checked it out and it liked what I saw.  I ended up renting a very nice Mini Cooper for about one half the cost of a car from a traditional rental agency.  All of the arrangements were made online through the Turo app , including communications with the car owner.  The owner picked me up at the door just outside of baggage claim and was very prompt and courteous.  His car was super clean and it was a treat to drive too. I drove the car for about a week before meeting the owner at the airport to return the car.  It was such a nice experience to not have to deal with a rental pick and ret...