Until 2021, Stephen Alvarez, now 26, worked for a dental equipment company and pursued his passion for cars in his spare time; he owned several vehicles and drove for Uber to complement his income. But in 2018, one other lucrative side job caught his eye — Teachinga automobile rental company that permits customers to rent vehicles from local hosts.
Image Source: Courtesy of Turo. Stephen Alvarez.
Alvarez saw an Instagram ad for a successful Turo host in Canada. The man, in his early 20s, began by renting out his Hyundai Elantra on the platform and inside a few months was in a position to upgrade to a Porsche Panamera and repeat the process. Alvarez immediately “fell in love with the Turo concept” and listed his cars on the platform.
Alvarez’s father had at all times taught him the importance of investing in himself and profiting from good deals. So when his boss at a dental equipment company told him he was moving to Israel and desired to sell his automobile because he’d only be visiting the U.S. every few months, Alvarez suggested an alternative: He could list his automobile on Turo and manage the listing for a percentage of the profits.
“My fleet grew a lot because I had my own cars… and then other people’s cars.”
Alvarez’s boss agreed, and when the business move proved successful, word of mouth followed. Soon Alvarez was co-driving additional vehicles on the rig. “I built up my fleet, having my own cars, cars under my name, and then other people’s cars, basically [as a] co-leader,” Alvarez explains. “That’s how I grew the company a lot.”
Alvarez grew his fleet to 240 cars — and his side business revenue grew along with it. In 2022, Alvarez was making an average of $85,000 to $90,000 a month, including reimbursements. In 2023, that figure grew to $120,000 a month, and by the end of this yr, $170,000 a month, with about 150 lively cars at any given time, Alvarez says.
Then one other big opportunity got here along. A client who had rented from Alvarez 10 times desired to take over the business. Alvarez eventually sold him his share of the business, and the two are now 50/50 partners, as Alvarez continues to administer the team and grow the business.
“Anyone can do it,” if they’re willing to place in the time and effort, based on Alvarez. It just takes paying close attention to the logistics of the operation — it might probably take a very long time to show a vehicle around so it’s ready for the next customer — and going above and beyond when it involves communication. “Communication is one of the most important things,” Alvarez emphasizes. “You have to be very aware of your customers [and] sustain so far with every thing.”
Trying Turo as a Customer
In June, I had the opportunity to try Turo from a consumer perspective. My husband and I were going to a wedding in Chatham, Massachusetts, and as New Yorkers without our own cars, we needed to rent a automobile to get there.
We’ve used traditional automobile rental corporations to get out of town in the past—with mixed results. While they got us from point A to point B, sometimes the vehicles we got were very different from the ones we booked, and waiting in long lines at the starting or end of a long trip wasn’t ideal either.
We were blissful to check Turo because it eliminates each problems.
You know what vehicle you may get because you are the one selecting it. You can filter by vehicle type, price, host rating and more to seek out a automobile that suits your needs and benefit from additional advantages, including prepaid fuel and unlimited mileage.
What’s more, you skip the line altogether. The host will leave the vehicle at your property for an additional fee, or you’ll be able to arrange to be picked up at the airport or one other location. You can unlock the automobile with the Turo app and access the keys in the glove compartment.
We got into the vehicle without a hitch, took the beneficial exterior and interior photos, and headed out. Then, after ending our trip, we parked the automobile near our building (although parking wasn’t available directly in front of the vehicle, the vehicle has a tracker that lets the host see where we were returning it), put the keys in the glove box, and locked the automobile again using the app.
This was probably the most hassle-free automobile rental we have ever experienced, and we will certainly use Turo again.
Turo provided information prior to this material’s publication.
