Turo is a great way to earn extra income on the side. But how do you know you have the best Turo Car Description to boost your bookings?
But first, what is Turo?
Turo is an app where car owners can rent out their car when it’s not in use. A bit like Airbnb, but for cars. Some owners earn a full-time living from Turo by listing multiple vehicles on the platform. Others use it as a side hustle to rent out their car when it’s not in use.
Why is Turo a Good Platform?
Turo is an amazing platform. It allows you to manage bookings, message customers who have booked your car, and deal with payments. If you’re in a well-populated city, especially near an airport, then Turo is a great side hustle or business. Especially in the US, as the car rental market is hot right now.
Why is it Hard to Get Bookings on Turo?
In popular cities, Turo is a saturated market. Getting your business up and running may be difficult with so much competition. Also, if you want to rent your car out but are not familiar with cars – how do you know if your listing and descriptions are good?
You need it to stand out to other buyers. Offering the best description, getting to the meat of what a renter is looking for when visiting the area.
How to write the best description
Now I have written hundreds of Turo car descriptions. Helping sellers with bios, automated messages, and welcome messages for their Turo businesses.
These are the common differences I’ve noticed between those who are successful and those who are not.
If buyers don’t get an exciting description they are not likely to rent out your car. The description needs to highlight the important features that the renter is looking for.
Tailor it to the Type of Vehicle You Are Listing
Renters want to know if the car is practical (if it is a minivan or SUV). Highlighting the number of seats, the trunk space, and the interior space is a great option to start your description.
If you are listing a sports car or convertible. Such as a Corvette, Mustang, or Lamborghini Huracan – they want to know its performance and the way it makes them feel when driving it. In the Turo car description let them know the loud exhausts, color, interior, and sports seats and how easy it is to drive with the roof down. Especially for renters who have never driven a car like this before.
With some electric cars like the Tesla plaid, they also need to be aware and warned of how fast these sorts of cars are.
If they are on a budget and you’re listing a Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, or Toyota Corolla then money-saving information is good to highlight here. Such as the fuel economy and mpg rating. With the latest Prius offering 50+mpg, it’s a real head turner for those needing an economic vehicle for their trip. Especially with the recent fuel and energy crisis.
Highlight the Most Important Features
Then it’s important to list the features and specs in the Turo car description. If yours is a top-of-the-line spec with all the features, don’t be afraid to list them. As certain features in modern vehicles make them appealing. Renters sometimes just want to click a button to book, arrive on the day, get in and drive.
The number 1 feature renters look for is Apple CarPlay or Android Auto integration. With everyone owning a smartphone these days, it is very likely the renters will too. They will have used the Turo app to book and communicate with you as the seller. With Smartphone integration, they can just plug in their phone and have it integrated within the car straight away.
It’s the ultimate entertainment option because you can play your road trip playlists on the go without any changes to the car or your phone. You can use the built-in maps app or Google maps too. Apps that are already on your phone make it easy to navigate to places you want to go as a renter. Especially useful if the renter is new to the area!
Features such as sunroofs are popular too. As they let more light in and keep the kids entertained on a long road trip.
Include Safety Features in your Turo Car Description
Other important items to note in your Turo car description are the vehicle’s safety features. Renters want to know their car has the safest features to keep them protected when driving in an unfamiliar area. Features to list include:
- Auto emergency braking
- Adaptive cruise control
- Lane keep assist
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Traffic sign recognition
- Autopilot (in Tesla vehicles)
Other more convenient safety features you might want to list include:
- Anchors for installing child seats in the rear (Isofix mounting points)
- Automatic high beams and headlights
- Keyless entry and start
- Automatic wipers when it rains
Take Detailed Photos, Inside and Out
The first thing to note with photos is that Turo cuts off the top and bottom of the photo on listings. This means that important features such as the wheels and roof are cut off when you upload a close-up iPhone shot. Therefore if you are doing the photos yourself then stepping further back and taking them at a distance would give a clearer image of the whole car.
Also, make sure to fill your listing with every photo you can. You may think having 3 or 4 photos might be enough. But most renters like to explore the car listing before they buy. This allows them to fully understand what features and space they are looking for before hitting the book now button.
Adding photos of the interior and where the driver sits, including all the dashboard and driver and passenger controls. You can even take a photo with the screen on to show a car hooked up with a phone. To see how clear the apps are and how familiar the CarPlay or Andriod Auto Screen will look.
Take photos of the seats and driving position, as well as the rear seats, showing legroom and headroom. With images of the trunk (or boot as we call it in the UK) to show the luggage space – ALL of these are important.
Tailor Your Photos for the Type of Vehicle
If you’re listing a sports car or luxury car, show off its exterior and vibrant color scheme. An otherwise common car on Turo may stand out if it is exciting to look at. For example, Tesla used to be the most sought-after car on Turo. But now they are common. One of my clients recently said their wrapped multicolor pearlescent Model 3 was hugely popular, and even rented out by celebrities and movie stars in the area.
If you’re in doubt – Use a Professional Photographer
Now all of the previous steps are taken care of if you want to hire a professional photographer for your listing. These photos, when taken well, really make the car stand out and make your listing pop.
Take them at sunrise or sunset. In a public area, with a scenic background such as mountains, hills, or forests. Or as a city background in front of a famous landmark. Renters who are new to the area, are immediately attracted to your listing as can identify in the picture the number one spot that tourists go to. Meaning they are more likely to look at your listing and book your car.
Professional photographers will most likely recommend all this anyway. Just note, it’s important to clean and vacuum the interior of your car to prepare it for photos too.
Clean and Maintain Your Vehicle
This brings us to the next important step. After you have an exciting Turo car description and professional photos, you need to clean and maintain your car to a high standard. Even before you list it on Turo.
Take lots of pictures of already marked or scuffed areas on your vehicle and keep them. Then make sure you or the renter take photos after, to see the differences. For example, if there are any disputes, you can say to the renter that the mark was not on the vehicle before.
Then regularly check oil, coolant, washer fluid, tires, brakes, lights, wipers, temperature gauges, and diagnostics after each rental. To see if the previous rental had any suspicious driving habits which will reduce the life of the parts on the car.
Always Respond to Messages
Your renters are your customers. Make sure you are responsive and cater to their requirements. Customer service is one of the most important things on Turo, outside of the car your renting out. If your response time is 1,2 or 3 minutes then buyers know they are getting an answer from you quickly and are more likely to book.
Make sure they know everything about the vehicle and how to use it too before handing over the keys. As I have heard horror stories of renters leaving the parking brake on the whole time which causes break wear and high engine load. Plus it’s very unsafe when parking up as the brakes might not leave the car stationary on a slope.
Plus, I have seen renters taking the car to the dealer and getting a full service on behalf of you as the seller, which is of course charged back to you. All because the service light came on. So make sure this doesn’t happen to you by saying that the renter does not need to do anything like this when they rent their vehicle. If you are ever unsure that the renter will abuse your car then make sure to include any rules in your Turo car description.
Start Prices Low
If you need any help with what to price your vehicle at, then check out the competition in your area by pretending to book a similar vehicle. When looking at their listing, take a look at their profile and how it is laid out. Exploring their bio, description as a seller, the number of cars, response time, reviews, and Turo car descriptions. Then see their rates for 1 day, 1 week, and 3-4 weeks rental and the availability of the vehicle.
This gives an idea of what other sellers are giving as discounts for longer bookings and how much you can price yours to undercut them. Make sure you aren’t losing money though as you wouldn’t want to be totally out of pocket for the maintenance and repairs that might be needed.
Now, this is something that happens a lot for beginner sellers. If you have zero reviews and want to get started, then begin with lower price points at least for 1 or 2 bookings. Then only allow renters that have at least a couple of reviews and full verification to rent your car out. This means that the Turo algorithm can put your car higher on the search results.
As you now have an exciting Turo car description, responded quickly, catered to the renter’s needs in terms of pick up and drop off time and location, and offered a competitive price. Then you’re set up for success. After your first few bookings, make sure the renters leave a review.
Improve Your Profile and Bio
This is up to you if you are an individual seller on the platform, or if you have lots of cars and want to turn Turo into a full-time business. Either way, you need to make sure your profile looks tidy and professional.
Show a picture of you, or your company logo if you are renting out multiple cars. In the best quality possible, with a bio to showcase who you are, where you are from, and what you offer to guests booking your car on Turo.
Get Insurance and Tracking
Turo has a choice of 5 different tiers of insurance on their platform from Liberty Mutual. Check out this handy blog post explaining the different tiers and what you should do for Turo insurance.
What is important to mention is that you do not have to go with Turo’s options. Make sure you take out the correct insurance policy for the type of car and rental you are planning on doing. Just make sure you read the fine print and consult advice if you are unsure.
Most modern vehicles have tracking built-in. Where owners can log into an app and find the location of their vehicle at any time. For those that don’t, getting a GPS tracker is vital to locate your vehicle at any time. Important to track your car for when any suspicious activity occurs with your booking.
Finally – Be flexible with bookings
Arriving late at night, or early in the morning? Customer service is key – at the start at least. Then you can dial back your flexibility once you have great reviews and a reputation on the platform. Then customers know they have a car available when they arrive in the area, as going on vacation is sometimes a stressful experience.
Get an Expert to Write your Turo Description
As a car lover, tech fan, and degree expert writer in the space and for someone who has written hundreds of Turo descriptions in the past. I know how important a description is to boost your listing and get more bookings. If you aren’t familiar with cars and don’t know where to start, then hire me on Fiverr or Get in touch with me today. I write exciting Turo descriptions for your vehicles!