If you read the last few sporadic blog posts on this site then the writing was on the wall regarding the state of my Turo business. We were dealing with recalls on our most popular cars. Then my money-making BMW’s demand completely crashed in the winter. We started selling off cars just to keep the business afloat. Then we moved the operation into Manhattan to try to increase bookings, which just led to more overhead expenses, even thinner margins, and a time consuming job with little to show for it. After having grown the fleet to 9 cars at its peak, we’re down to just one. And with just one more booking on the calendar, this business is essentially over.
Turo was never meant to be a long term business for us. We started it as a way to get tax deductions and to get our feet wet as entrepreneurs. Although it generated some decent income during the summer and early fall, it never produced great profits. After a solid run from May to October, we ended up giving most of it back during “maintenance season” where all the cars would need some kind of work done at the same time. Brakes, tires, fluid changes, and “johnson rods” (😂) for multiple cars was incredibly expensive. And of course the dreaded winter lull from January to March didn’t help.
Despite Turo’s inherent flaws as a business, we tried multiple ways to increase bookings. The biggest of which was moving the operation into Manhattan. We listed the cars in various neighborhoods around the city and at all the local airports. This definitely helped increase business but at a steep cost that killed our already meager profit margin.
We tried offering delivery within 50 miles of Manhattan. This turned out to be a bad decision when we received a booking in January near the Jersey Shore. It was bad enough that the requested drop-off location was over 2 hours away from my house, but we narrowly avoided being hit by a downed telephone pole on the way back!
We also tried partnering with a couple local Midas shops to offer rentals to their customers whose cars were being repaired. We left business cards with QR codes and asked the managers to call us whenever someone was in need. This didn’t generate much business because customers were always shocked at the fees Turo charged, so they would find cheaper cars from local rental agencies. This lack of control over pricing and of the platform as a whole makes this a difficult business to succeed with.
Turo is a tough business. It’s not impossible to make it profitable, but it’s definitely not easy. Maybe a fleet of super-luxury cars and a centrally located lot near a large population center and a team of people working together could make this work. But I didn’t have any of that. I was basically a one man operation with some help from my wife and my buddy when he had time. And honestly I’m kind of glad it’s over.
Luckily we had the good sense not to put all our hopes into the Turo business and we picked up a couple rental properties along the way. We’ve already made the pivot to our next venture, which I’ll share more about in the near future. I’ve still got my one car listed on Turo, but I’m not holding my breath for another booking. I plan to re-purpose that car soon. On to bigger and better. Time to level up!
