HANDSHAKING
  • Home
  • How It Works
  • Lead Gen Sites
  • AI Services
  • Blog

My Lexus was Totaled during it's 2nd trip on Turo.com

4/10/2021

 
Posted 1/30/2017, edited 4/10/2021

Have you ever tried the "sharing economy"? I've always been the first out of my group of friends to try stuff and take risks.  

​In my opinion, it presents entrepreneurs some of the best passive income and part-time/flexible incomes while launching their startup.

I've been an Airbnb host (I rented out extra rooms in my house to other entrepreneurs for cash), I have an unused garage space in an investment property on my friends app Stow It, and most recently, I made the decision to list my car on Turo, where you can rent your car to people for cash...  First trip went just fine.  Second one, my car was totalled...
.My Lexus GS350 AWD was very special to me.  

I bought it after getting out of my first real estate company.  I launched that company in 2012, lived off $300 per month for 12 months after graduating with $100,000 of student loans.

In 2014, I had cracked the egg, and realized I wasn't happy in real estate.  I sold off most of my equity and that was the one and only time I really splurged and bought an expensive car with cash.  It was the cleanest one on the market.

In 2016, I listed it on Turo.  It was scary.

I was more interested in the idea than motivated by the measly hundred bucks I might make each month.  And for that reason, I declined reservations for months because letting a stranger rent and drive my baby for multiple days was too stressful to think about.  

You can relate, can't you?  Comment below if you're too scared to rent out your car.  I'd love to know what cars other drivers own that are scared to rent them out.

The first reservation.

​
The first reservation was in early August, but they cancelled it a few days before.  I got paid $20 for them cancelling--phew!  But the first real reservation was in December.  Someone took it for a day and I earned $28.50. 

They returned it and everything was just fine.  

Now usually I wouldn't argue or gain an interest in that number, but coming from a real estate background, I would rent each room in my investment properties for $900/mo.  Renting the car out for $28.50/day is almost $900/mo.  Plus, the car was only $15k, where for a $200k property I'd have 4 bedrooms to rent.  I raised an eyebrow and wanted more!  

Every $900/mo you can make increases your income by $10,000+ a year!  Even if it just starts with a $28.50/day reservation on Turo.  Aspiring entrepreneurs:  If you do that 3 to 6 times and you can now quit your 9to5.

The second reservation and accident

Everything was going smoothly until Dec 21st.  It was out on a reservation and that's when I got an automated email from Turo saying there was damage reported to my car. 

Soooo what the heck happens next?!  I try to contact them and the renter with no immediate luck.  I find on their website that sometimes damage must be reported within 24 hours to qualify for insurance so I submit requests.  It was super ambiguous and that was very stressful. 

I finally get a call from someone on Christmas Eve, which was comforting, but it would be another few weeks before I learned that my car had been not just damaged, but full blown totalled and then another week before I got the insurance check.  

The biggest thing that stressed me out that I was dying to know was:  

1.  Is this going to affect my insurance and am I covered 100%?  
2. Is the amount that insurance offers me going to be fair?

Fast forward to the end of the process and here's how it concluded.

I had my car for sale for $14,000 OBO before it went out on this reservation and was not getting many hits.  At the end of the day I got a check for $15,900 for it being a total loss.  My car being totaled on Turo translated to $1900+ more in my pocket.

Moving forward, now without my daily driver.

Where do things stand today? I have cashed the insurance check and plan to buy a more humble daily driver for myself and invest the rest in inexpensive, reliable cars to list on Turo.  

I would still recommend it's a better idea to buy a house and rent out the unused rooms in it to a new entrepreneur, since you're dealing with hundreds of thousands instead of several thousand (makes it easier to create a salary).  But for those not ready to make that jump, this is the perfect part-time venture.  

It's better than Uber or Lyft because you make money even while you're not spending your time behind the wheel.  You need your time to work on your startup. 

Anyway, I can't wait to purchase more cars for my Turo fleet for additional passive income.  Even after my daily driver was totalled.

Want to know why I'm not crazy to stay on Turo?  The dollars.

The $2400 Suzuki I bought brought in early December has made $546.26 after all Turo fees in the 47 days I've had it up.  That's about $4200+ per year.  However, I will admit I haven't had to invest in any maintenance on the car yet, and also didn't deduct the increase in my insurance policy (almost $400 every six months).  

It's evident to me it's easy to make monthly from services like this but here's what I want you to think about if you're considering the shared economy...

Don't forget you're paying the costs over time of wear and tear, higher miles, and unforeseen costs and time.  

I don't recommend buying a new car and renting it on Turo.  Find something used and inexpensive so it pays itself off quickly.  Think about how many reservations you'd need to pay off that $30,000 Subaru that on a good day would only rent for double my $2,400 Suzuki.

Anyway, here's some resources for you guys

If you'd like to purchase a vehicle to rent on Turo, watch my video, How to buy a used car.

If you'd like to see my real estate listings, here's Matt's Real Estate Listings.
    Picture

    Handshakin Blog
    By: Matt Holmes

    Matt Holmes
    (@handshakin) 
    is an entrepreneur, speaker, marketer, and world record holder for the world's longest handshake.

    About Matt

    As seen on:

    Picture

    Archives

    April 2025
    December 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    June 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014


    RSS Feed

Get Involved

Podcast
Video Series
Leave us a review

Work for Handshaking

Handshakin Values
About
Contact 
​Jobs

Our Theme Song

Legal/Other

Press Legal
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions
Handshaking© 2014-2022  
​All Rights Reserved
  • Home
  • How It Works
  • Lead Gen Sites
  • AI Services
  • Blog