Turo rental cars

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Been thinking about buying another vehicle or two just to rent out on Turo - an app where people can rent peoples' private vehicles instead of going to a rental agency. Sometimes there are no rental cars available, other times price is cheaper, others yet the type of vehicle and how it's equipped isn't available from a rental agency. Like electric cars, trucks, vehicles with awd and snow tires, convertibles, muscle cars etc.

Apparently the highest ROI vehicles across all major cities in the USA are Fiat 500's and Toyota Yaris'. People tend to rent them for longer, too.. like for a full week or two vs. just for a day or two, so compared to their purchase prices they make the most money for their owners.

I could buy a Yaris or something and just clean it good and put it for rent.. but, I have a different idea that I wonder if it'd fly... it would either work and make money, or it would flop and cost me dearly.

The idea: Buy a car and then commision a local artist to hand paint the entire thing. Not just any artist.. one of the most famous local artists who's known as "Vancouver's Van Gogh." I could get him to come up with a theme to paint the entire car, have him sketch all over it and paint it all up all over, then get a body shop to spray a coat of clearcoat over it to seal it in. Would cost less than a vinyl wrap and would be unique AF. 100% it would depend entirely on the theme, colour scheme, and vibe of what he came up with for the vehicle.

And then come the $$$ question: Would a fully painted car that stands out big time become something people Want to rent because it has this super funky attention getting look? Or would it deter people because they just want something plain & simple that flies under the radar vs. grabs eyeballs? I suppose there's a market for both maybe.. I mean, there are tons of basic grey/silver/black/blue/red cars for rent - but none like THIS.

Lots of super cars around here get $$$$$ vinyl wrap jobs, sometimes with full printed graphics of some sort, just to stand out and look cool. Some people who rent high end flashy cars might like being able to drive one that looks one of a kind like that. Maybe the same for cheaper vehicles.

I mean, there is that company called "Wicked Campers," that has hand/spray painted camper vans all over the place that people rent in part because they're painted up and look really neat. So, there's a possibility that people renting a vacation or commuter car for a short term might think it was super cool to roll around in a car that was completely arted up all over it.

How about you? What do you think? Great idea - it'll rent out all the time because it stands apart from all the other similar cars for rent. Or, terrible idea.. no one wants to be the centre of attention driving around in something that gets looks all over the place and it would deter people from renting it.

IF I did it and the idea flew, then I'd do it again and again and become the guy with the art cars for rent. That could be cool - especially if they're rented out so frequently I don't need to find anywhere to park them for longer than a night before they're off on their next road trip adventure.

The good thing about those sorts of cars is that they are harder to steal.

I don't think the design would be worth it. A famous artist is likely to charge a lot of money to do a bespoke artwork like that. You'd need the artwork to lead to so many extra rentals over the car's lifetime. I think most people will just want the cheapest. I don't know a lot about cars but Yaris and Fiat are normal ordinary cars, not fancy. So maybe three rentals a year come because people like the artwork, which over eight years would only be 24 rentals. You would make a loss on the artwork.

If you wanted to take this approach then you should do the artwork yourself or pay someone cheap to do it (e.g. teenagers or maybe university students).

They'd be easier to spot if stolen.

Just because he's locally famous doesn't mean he's super expensive. I've paid him his full asking prices for paintings, but they're still affordable. I have a rough guess how much he would charge me to paint a car, and it'd be less than taking it to a body shop and having it painted a different colour. If I supply all paint & a case of UV protective clear coat maybe he'd just clear the whole thing way cheaper than taking it to a body shop for that after painting it up. My guesstimate is that for materials and painting time I'd probably end up paying a couple grand or so.

Cars get rented out on Turo a lot more frequently than you're guessing. Some people have 3-5 cars they've bought just to rent out on Turo. One guy in a nearby city has 3-5 Toyota Yaris' he rents out regularly. You don't buy multiple cars to rent out because there isn't demand to rent them out frequently - there is. And cars like Yaris rent out by the week instead of just one day rentals = less to manage when you only have to clean it and re-rent it every week or two instead of every day or two.

I would buy a slightly larger Toyota than a Yaris - one that would make a better canvas, too.

Where do you get your estimate that only 3 people per year would be interested in renting an art car? Surely that's just a wild ass guess with no basis in reality. Wicked Campers' entire market differentiator is that their camper vans are painted up with funky schemes - so people rent them to have the "cool," art RV to drive around on their road trip. They're rented all the time and on the road all the time.

I'm not an artist. If I attempted to hand paint a car in a desirable mural or scheme it would look like crap and no one would want to rent it and drive it around. Ditto for inexperienced unskilled students. But this guy I have in mind ? He has real talent. He sells his paintings for $100-200 or so and then they end up on gallery walls for several hundred or a thousand plus. His favourite art story, which I heard from his friend, is that some rich guy picked him up downtown and drove him to the British Properties (where houses are Multi-Millions to Tens of Millions of dollars) and set him up in his backyard where he painted a 2'x3' canvas for the guy in 45 minutes. He drove him back downtown and paid him $2000 for the painting.

I think whether it worked out or it didn't would be HUGELY dependant on the paint scheme. Some aesthetics would be much more interesting than others. Some may be off putting. But with the right sort of theme.. it could be a thing that works & makes money from tourists keen to rent a car hand painted by a locally famous artist in a really funky scheme.

But you're allowed to think it's a terrible idea. It's certainly not a sure thing or I wouldn't be asking other's opinions on the idea - I'd just go buy a vehicle for $12-15k taxes in and go commission my guy to start painting asap so I can start renting it out all arted up.

I suppose if I spent ~$17k on a car, taxes, and paint job I approved of and like and then it was a total Turo flop, then I could always either sell it at a loss Or sell my car and drive it instead.

There would at least be a plan B or C just in case I had to reevaluate my decision. Hmmm

Ran the idea by a couple ppl including a major car guy I know. He LOVES the idea and encouraged me to explore it. Suggested maybe a cheaper car like a Fiat 500, but the thing is yeah they're 5 grand cheaper here than what I'm considering.. buuuut not nearly as practical of a rolling billboard, nor for potential road trips, and especially not for me to drive around in should the idea flop and my best course of action is to sell my car and drive the art car. But again, with the right theme idea I think this art car rental thing could really grow wings and fly, resulting in me doing it again with another car and keeping them rolling vs. parked.

I phoned and left a message at the front desk of the building where the artist lives. I hope he calls me back and is down for such a project that would likely mean me bringing him out to the suburbs for a couple days -> what a cultural experience that would be for him I bet! lol probably been quite a few years since he's spent time in a nice suburban home vs. the places he's been.

Okay, screw it - I'm gonna do it.

Just got a call back from the artist and he digs the idea and is willing to come out to my place in the suburbs and paint all day and night in the driveway. What a spectacle that'll be for the neighbours on my block!

In a few mins we came up with a design theme that could look SUPER f'ing cool, too. As well as a budget range depending on the level of detail etc.

I'll look into getting proper automotive grade paints for him to use, or at least ensure that the paint types are able to be clear coated over afterwards. Some paint market pens for him to outline with as well, because sharpie markers will apparently bleed through clear coat.

He's apparently done a bunch of VW vans and stuff in the past, so he's no stranger to painting his pieces on vehicles! Price range wise depends on level of detail but he said even if it's low detail he'd still paint over an entire car - but with a higher budget and more detail he'll be able to do some really amazing work. He figures anywhere from $400-4000 to paint a car, and I was counting on it costing a couple grand or so + clear coat.

This is going to be an epic project and I sincerely hope it's well received by potential vehicle renters.

I'm gonna make a call/visit to a dealership tmw morning to see about the vehicle I have in mind for this that's for sale rn. Low kms, super clean interior, but has a rebuilt title from some kind of accident damage so should be able to negotiate a bit lower price on it than asking depending on what was rebuilt. There are others for sale without rebuilt titles, but this one is VERY clean inside and that counts for something.

I figure by the time the dust settles I'll be into this for about $17K. The only real question I have is if I should pay cash Or if I should take a loan because the interest would be tax deductible as a business expense. Hmm..

Hmm, snag in plan:

Turo only allows vehicles a max of 12 years old and max 200k kms unless they're collector cars and/or in great mechanical shape or "specialty," cars. And they can't have a rebuilt/salvage title - so there goes the idea of the very low mileage one with the cleanest interior.

The newest one of the vehicles I'm thinking about is a 2015 - they stopped making them after that. So kind of hard to get very low mileage.

I'm gonna phone Turo's inquiry number and ask questions about this stuff. They may make exceptions for brands & models that are out of production and kept in tip-top shape.

So you say a normal car is being rented out all the time, for quite long periods.

Those people who own 5 or more cars just to rent them out. How long do you think each car spends sitting in the garage? Not counting the cleaning time which is necessary no matter what or other maintenance time. From what you are saying it seems like there is more demand for cars than there are cars, and an ordinary car is nearly always being used.

If an ordinary car is being let out all the time then it is harder for a special car to be let out more often.

On the other hand, if there were so many cars that some of them were always unused, having a unique feature could help your cars get driven more.

I’m glad the artwork didn’t cost as much as I thought. Do think about how long it will take to pay the cost though, compared to just renting out the car without the paint.

Depends on location and the type of vehicle/price etc. Some vehicles rarely get rented, others rent all the time. If I lived close to a major airport or downtown transit hub, I could rent a lot of cars frequently. But I live in the suburbs so it'd be less frequent. However, if people wanted "the art car," for their road trip then they might make the trek from the airport to my house Or pay to have me bring the car to them at the airport - in no traffic it's only a 26 minute drive. Alternatively, locals who do not have cars but do have drivers licences might like to rent it for a weekend/long weekend/week long road trip just because it'd be cool. Plenty of people like that exist.. can't afford a car full time so don't have one, but want to get one for a little getaway.

The whole idea behind the art is that it results in the car being selected for rental more frequently than other similar cars available and the additional rentals would more than pay for the paint job.

I have to phone turo and ask them questions about age, mileage, and what factors they consider make a "specialty" car. Their answers determine whether this may be viable or a waste of time & money - for this particular type of car, anyways.

A lot of time people rent out vehicles because they don't want to subject their own to whatever they have planned.

Also true.

Some people drive luxury cars/sports cars etc in the city that aren't really suitable for a road trip, or that they simply don't want to put the miles on or risk rock chips etc.

Just spent 41 minutes on the phone with Turo inquiring about vehicle eligibility and their requirements for “specialty,” vehicles - specifically out of production vehicles and art cars.

Waiting for an email response from their specialty vehicle team to communicate back and forth about my ideas and potential vehicle candidates that are for sale now.

When I was in college in the Seventies I saw an ad in a magazine that invited you to get your VW bug painted up to look like a pack of Kools cigarettes. Actually in a wild design that included soothing photos of green forests into a Mondrian type abstract design based upon the cigarette pack - white with green lines and the letters that spell "KOOLS". And the cigarette company would pay YOU to have it done as advertising. A billboard on wheels.

I was intrigued with idea. My car would stand out in the campus parking lot, might be a good conversation starter with babes, and I would get some money for doing it. But I never got around to answering the ad, and soon had to give up my VW anyway.

I dont know if the idea ever caught on with public at large. And that was when someone was paying YOU to paint up your car. Not you paying extra to have it done.

There are companies that pay people to vinyl wrap their vehicles in advertisements these days. Doesn’t pay a lot, but they exist.

With Turo you’re not allowed to have advertisements at all on the cars. Not even for Turo. So no branding allowed on a Turo rental - but - no rules that say you can’t have custom paint to set your vehicle apart. The only paint colour requirement is that it have a bar colour that’s registered on the insurance as that colour so the car is identifiable by law enforcement as the colour on record.

Pimping up your ride...in order to pimp OUT your ride?

I dunno.

You could try to just sell these cars.

Original art by a famous artist tends to appreciate in value. While motor vehicles tend to depreciate in value "the moment they leave the showroom".

So...if you choose to sell these cars (rather then just rent them out) then the buyers would...break even over time because it would financially cancel out!

Unlikely there are many people like me that would totally drive a car hand painted by him full time tho - but definitely a lot of people that would rent a funky ride for a few days for their road trip experience.

Awaiting an email to make further inquiries. If they agree to let me buy the exact one I have in mind and approve it as a specialty car, I’ll go get it and have it painted and put it for rent - and long term there’s more money in renting something many times than selling it once.

Worst case scenario, if the idea is a total flop, then I’d sell my car and drive the painter vehicle myself all the time.