Ride sharing apps Uber and Lyft are so ubiquitous these days, it’s almost difficult to remember a time when we didn’t have them. I mean, what the heck did people do? Actually hail taxis? My god (#jokes). In the same vein, Airbnb is never far from our minds when considering renting a vacation home; it’s become ingrained as the go-to tool for finding a place to stay.

Is there an “ole reliable” when it comes to rental cars, though? Answer: yes, but it doesn’t seem to have made as big an impression as the three outfits mentioned above.

Turo, which I have long dubbed the “Airbnb of rental cars,” got started in 2011 and today has a presence in over 7,500 cities spread across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Similar to Airbnb, which they took some of their cues from, the site’s interface invites you to choose a location, dates, and times, and then whisks you away to a page loaded with vehicles currently being listed for rent by private owners.

Upon hearing that, your first thought may be: people are actually renting out their personal vehicles to strangers, just like that? Well, yes, in fact, they are, but Turo partners with Travelers to make sure hosts are covered with up to $750,000 in liability insurance and provides renters with 24/7 roadside assistance, as well as the option to purchase their own insurance for the duration of their trip.

While I’ve never rented out my own vehicle, I have used Turo’s services a handful of times, most recently in December 2021 when I needed a car to travel from Illinois to Michigan for the holidays while my own vehicle was in the shop. This may not be the case for all rentals, but my experience included no-contact pickup and drop-off, and really couldn’t have been any easier.

Turo is prime for each of the following situations: if you need to rent a car on short notice; if you need affordable options; and/or if you want to avoid much of the red tape that traditional rental agencies force upon you. And you can trust me when I say all this, because Turo is not paying me jack squat to write nice things about them (but if they wanted to, you know I’m all ears).

Give it a try, don’t give it a try — totally up to you. But I’d love to hear about it, if you do.

-LTH