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With more than seven million Americans without an income, people are constantly looking for new ways to earn a decent living. Putting a car up on Turo is a great way to make money, but can you rent out your leased car on Turo?
If the vehicle lease agreement does not prohibit the lessee from using the vehicle for business purposes – including drawing an income from the car – the lessee will be able to rent out the leased car on Turo. However, most leasing companies will have this stipulation in the agreement.
Renting out a leased car on Turo is only half of the story. If the company you have the lease agreement with does not impose any restrictions on the use of the leased vehicle, there are other factors you need to be aware of before you make the final decision.
Can You Rent Out Your Leased Car On Turo?
Before you list a car on Turo, there are a few requirements you have to pass to upload your vehicle on their site. Apart from setting up your account, there are eligibility requirements, insurance requirements, and maintenance requirements to consider.
The first point of the universal requirements states that Turo will only list vehicles registered in the host's name. However, if you are not the owner, they still allow the listing but only if the owner has authorized it.
This requirement means that Turo does not exclude leased vehicles, but they will not list the car if the lease company – who is the owner of the vehicle – prohibits such use.
Another thing that some hosts don't know is that Turo has an exclusivity policy, and hosts can only list their vehicles on the Turo platform and no other peer-to-peer service. So, when there is a slump in demand, you can't make up for it on another car sharing site.
Violation Consequences Of Leased Cars
According to Statista, a quarter of the vehicles in the U.S are under lease agreements. With such a high number, the issue of renting out leased cars becomes much more relevant.
Suppose your lease agreement prohibits you from using the car for anything other than a typical day-to-day commute – including leisure traveling. In that case, there are consequences attached if you violate the terms and conditions of the contract.
Generally, when one party acts in bad faith and does not abide by the terms agreed upon in the signed contract/agreement, the other party has the right to a legal remedy.
When you receive your rental agreement, don't just sign where they ask you to; take the contract home and read through it carefully. The do's and don'ts should clearly indicate what is allowed and which penalties can be imposed due to non-compliance.
If you don't understand all the legal terminology, it would be good to ask a lawyer to read it and explain the terms clearly. Make notes for yourself as the lawyer breaks it down to avoid confusion later.
In addition to possible penalties due to breaching the terms of the agreement, there are other legal matters you should consider:
- Nonpayment can result in repossession (default of the lease). Please note that you should make payment arrangements before they repossess the vehicle, so it is best to inform the company of any possible payment issues beforehand.
- You may be liable for early termination fees when you decide that leasing is not for you. Before you even sign the lease, make sure it contains a clause stipulating how these fees are calculated.
- Breaking a lease or violating terms within the lease can leave a stain on your credit record. A bad credit score can cause major headaches the next time you want to buy something on credit or take out a loan.
Fortunately, there is a way to get out of your lease agreement and avoid steep early return penalties by finding someone to take over your lease. Keep in mind that there might be a fee attached to the lease transfer. Regardless, the lessor will still have to agree to this transaction, so you are still running on a liability.
It is crucial to exhaust every possible resource you can find before you lease with the intention to rent out the vehicle on Turo or other car-sharing platforms.
Should You Rent Out Your Leased Car On Turo?
Leasing a vehicle has some significant advantages; though, the disadvantages might just impact your renting venture in a way that it becomes more of a hassle than it's worth. Let's look at the essential aspects that might influence how successful renting out a car is under a lease agreement.
Disadvantages Of Leasing And How It Can Impact A Turo Host
While there are numerous downsides to leasing a car, we'll only look at the ones that can affect hosts on Turo.
- Leasing companies can put restrictions on the use of the car. They can prohibit you from driving across borders or doing certain things; as we mentioned earlier, many companies disallow the lessee from using their property to derive an income (Uber, Lyft, Turo, etc.).
- Apart from Turo's insurance requirement, you'll also be obliged to pay for gap insurance – which covers the outstanding lease balance if the vehicle is lost or stolen. Remember that you can shop around for gap insurance, you don't have to buy it through the leasing company.
- Read the maintenance clause very carefully. The leasing company may insist that any replacement parts conform to factory standards/specifications. Routine maintenance can become a pretty pricey affair.
- Perhaps the most important of all the aspects is that there is a mileage limit. If you overshoot the pre-determined mileage limit set out in the agreement, you can incur additional expenses when the lease comes to an end.
- On the topic of unsuspecting fees when the contract is set to expire, leasing companies may charge penalties for exterior and interior damage. You'll have to fix any dents or scratches before returning the car.
Conclusion
The question is not if you can rent out your leased car on Turo but if the many stakes involved are worth the risk. If your leasing agent does not prohibit using the vehicle for business purposes, it will still be a good idea to run it past them before you do because, at the end of the day, a leased car does not belong to you, the lessee. Getting creative this way or by using Turo for Uber are really examples of what NOT to do. It's not worth it.
