A TikToker rented out her car on Turo to make some extra cash. However, she says it was left stranded in a random parking garage four hours away, and the company has been of no help.
In a viral TikTok video, user Jessica (@jessicaamaarie) says she recently started using Turo, an app that she explains as “Airbnb but for your car.” She lives in New York City and owns a car but rarely uses it, so she decided to list it on Turo to make a bit of extra money.
While it sounded a bit risky to her, Jessica was won over by the fact that the company insured the vehicle. For those who rent out their car, the vehicle is covered with $750,000 in liability insurance from Travelers and additional protection plans can be added on that include varying levels of reimbursement for physical damage, according to the Turo site.
“I was like, ‘This will be fine,’” Jessica recalls. Reader, this is where you know it will not be fine.
@jessicaamaarie This is an actual nightmare #turo #carrental #horrorstory @turo ♬ original sound – jess
A group of young women rented Jessica’s car for the weekend. On Sunday, they messaged her to say they were in Washington, DC, the check engine light had turned on, and the car was shaking.
Jessica says the car was “working fine” the day before she handed the keys over.
She assumed the women would call Turo’s roadside assistance to deal with the issue. Instead, they let Jessica know that they needed to go back to New York, so they allegedly left her car in a parking garage in DC with the keys inside.
“I’ve never even been to [DC],” Jessica says in a distressed tone.
Over the next 48 hours, Jessica repeatedly called Turo, only to be redirected to a third-party call center each time. Each time she called, she had to explain the situation to the new person on the phone and couldn’t get updates on the car’s status. They tried to get a tow truck to take her car to a mechanic but she was told the tow truck couldn’t fit in the garage, and they didn’t try to rebook with a different tower.
After sitting in the parking garage for two days, the car made it to a mechanic in Virginia. To make things worse, Jessica was told the vehicle needed $2,000 worth of repairs.
“Turo has literally given me no help. No one has reached out to me, and my car is sitting four hours away, and I have no way to get to it,” Jessica says. “So, if you work for Turo, could you maybe please help me?”
As of Thursday morning, her video has garnered nearly 60,000 views.
“This is an actual nightmare,” Jessica wrote in the caption alongside the hashtag #horrorstory.
Most commenters recounted their own terrible experiences with the car-sharing company and tagged the brand so it would address Jessica’s issue.
“@turo how embarrassing. I’ve only heard horror stories about Turo. Def would never use!” one person said.
“My friend lent her car on Turo and the VERY first time her catalytic converter was stolen,” another commenter said.
Another person shared that their mom works in car insurance and “this happens all the time.”
“Do not trust any of these car rental apps y’all,” she warned.
The Daily Dot reached out to Jessica for comment via email.
