Traveling in Style: Renting a Tesla through Turo

It all started when I entered a drawing. Win a Tesla for a day! Ummm… yes, please? I entered and to my shock, I won! I participate in a lot of giveaways and don’t win any of them, so I was truly blown away and excited to drive a Tesla for a day. Booking my Tesla Model 3 through Turo was smooth and convenient. 

I wasn’t sure when I should redeem the prize since I didn’t have any trips planned for cruising up the coast (which would have been the obvious choice). Then it occurred to me that I did have a day full of holiday parties and seeing people, so it seemed like a great example to not only show off the car but also to treat some of my friends to rides. 

The way I redeemed my prize was by booking on Turo and being reimbursed by the person holding the drawing. Not the most elegant way to handle a drawing, but it worked for me. Perhaps if the app continues to gain popularity the company will start issuing gift cards. 

Renting on Turo

Renting on Turo was really easy. I had to sign up and input my driver’s license. I planned ahead so I had plenty of time for my verifications to go through. 

You can use Turo on the computer or in-app. Simply browse for the car you want that is available on your day. Some high-end cars require the driver to be over 25 years of age and some super-high-end cars require more levels of verification. You can filter by price, make, model, year, number of seats, features, and more. Depending on the car, the owner may offer extras like child seats (good for a family vacation), or tents and camping stoves (good if you’re renting a Jeep with 4 wheel drive). 

As you can see above, each car is advertised with a daily rate, plus Turo fees and a daily insurance (“protection”). If your normal car insurance covers you driving rentals, you can opt out of this, but be sure to double check first. My car insurance probably covered me, but since I would be driving someone else’s $45,000 car, I opted for Turo’s insurance anyway. 

Once I had the rental locked in, Turo made it easy to add another driver. My husband had to sign up for Turo, input his drivers’ license, and become verified. It did not cost extra to add another driver. 

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Tesla Model 3

I don’t know much about cars. Overall my automobile priorities are focused on good gas mileage and good reliability (which is why I’m a die-hard Toyota fan).  However, I don’t live under a rock and I knew that with Tesla, the cars offer something very special. 

Honestly, the car’s legendary reputation lived up to the hype. Everything about the vehicle proved to be top-of-the-line, from the door handles, to the seats, to the large control panel screen, including, obviously, the motor and batteries. 

I don’t drive enough cars to compare the speed and handling to other high-end vehicles, but I can say that the acceleration was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. The low center of gravity made the car handle smoothy and safely. The 0-to-60 in under 5 seconds claim is real, y’all. 

Charging

Before renting a Tesla, spend a little time thinking about where you plan on going, and then locate supercharger locations. The car I drove has a 300-mile range, which is about the same as a tank of gas in many cars. However, charging takes longer than an average gas fill-up, up to 75 minutes if the car is very depleted. Other electric car chargers take even longer.  

Since I was just driving for fun, for one day, I drained the battery by about half. The car’s owner was very accomodating and said if the range was over 50 miles by the end of theday we did not have to recharge the battery. 

Rent on Turo – get $25 for first time sign ups! 

If you want to rent a car you normally wouldn’t drive, see what’s available in your area, then start driving in style! 

This post was not sponsored by Tesla or Turo.
Photos by Doug Jackson and Angela Cerda.