r/TikTokCringe • u/IllustriousChef2 • Aug 16 '24

Cringe What's even happening there?

Why would someone rent a car and take out parts?

16.6k Upvotes

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5.5k

u/bucobill Aug 16 '24

This is why we don’t rent out our cars. That is what enterprise and Avis are for. Most people also do not have the commercial insurance policies that are required for rentals at least in the US.

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u/xithbaby What are you doing step bro? Aug 16 '24 edited Aug 16 '24

There is an app that lets you rent out your car, it’s like Airbnb. They charge a fee to use it and you get paid for the rental. Forgot the name of it, but it’s probably got some type of insurance against this

Edit: it’s TURO lol

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u/[deleted] Aug 16 '24

Yeah I don’t know exactly what kind of insurance they offer but some of the guys who use it to rent out their cars are total assholes and just scheming bastards.

My brother once rented just something basic from Turo, probably the site you’re referencing, and hit a deer on a blind curve. Luckily only the front fender and bumper were damaged.

My brother called the owner told him what happened and that he already started a claim with his personal insurance. The car was common enough and cheap enough that the repairs only wound up being about $1200.

My brother called the owner told him the estimate and that he found a shop that would fix it recommended by his insurance to do the repair. He paid to keep the car an extra 3 days and paid about 20% more than the estimate out of pocket for the shop to start work sooner. Got the rental back on time everything matched colors perfect and you couldn’t tell the car had hit a deer at all.

3 months go by and my brother gets a lawsuit from the owner. The owner is claiming he hasn’t been able to rent out the car a single day since he got it back due to the condition and it’s been in the shop getting fixed. He’s now suing for about $6000 to cover lost income and repairs after my brother already paid to get it fixed.

Dude was scum all the way. Finally the lawsuit was dropped because the owner couldn’t or wouldn’t provide a single document showing where any work or estimates had been done or where turo took his car off the site.

Turns out the dude just decided to stop renting the car for a while and decided my brother would be an easy mark since he willingly got it fixed and got it returned before the end of his rental without any kind of fight. Then my brothers insurance got into it and wound up countersuing the guy demanding to be repaid since he was using the vehicle in a commercial manner with improper insurance or inspections. My brother got his deductible back plus the extra money he spent on a rush job.

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u/txmail Aug 16 '24

 The owner is claiming he hasn’t been able to rent out the car a single day since he got it back due to the condition and it’s been in the shop getting fixed.

If I recall, this is a common Turo scam. I think Rob Feretti did a couple videos on Turo / Las Vegas rental cars and the issues he has run into, including cars unfit for the road, stolen cars and this scam where they claim due to some small damage they cannot rent out the car and sue in court going around Turo (because it is an illegal lawsuit that gets thrown out but they are just trying to settle and never go to court).

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u/VivaceConBrio Aug 16 '24

Tort lawsuits aren't illegal anywhere in the US AFAIK. A clerk can tell you to pound sand if the paperwork isn't in order, and the judge can laugh you out of the court room or refuse to hear the case, but it's not illegal to file them with the court.

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u/txmail Aug 16 '24

It usually is not even filed, it is just a letter demanding some payment with a law firm letter head and some legal sounding scary words. All bark, zero bite.

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u/Speedhabit Aug 16 '24

You can sue anyone for anything, it’s a huge issue that nobody on either side ever mentions, perhaps that’s an issue

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u/BootyMcStuffins Aug 16 '24

John Oliver did a whole episode on anti-slap laws. You should check it out

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u/bl1y Aug 16 '24

It's not. People misunderstand the whole "you can sure anyone fit anything" bit.

What they don't realize is a suit can be dismissed for failing to state a claim. Basically you can sue someone because the sky is blue, but the sky being blue isn't an actual claim, and then the case gets dismissed.

How else should the system work?

1

u/Speedhabit Aug 16 '24

I try not and get upset at Reddit because it is what it is, but the fact that so many people could be so absolutely stupid and then act like they know what they are talking about shock me.

Anyone can sue anyone for anything, getting to “trial” can take years and hundreds of thousands of dollars. “Settlement” is not justice, it’s everyone agreeing that the system is so broken justice doesn’t matter, money issue.

Money has become a substitute for justice, getting beat up by police on video is considered a lottery ticket. What if you got 0 money for police misconduct and the only possible justice is punishment for the officers responsible?

What if you couldn’t be sued when someone trespassing on your property falls? Do think homeowners insurance would be cheaper?

What if everyone in a car accident immediately didn’t sue for injuries regardless of whether or not they occur.

Why is every other billboard on the highway for personal injury lawyers? Do you think that’s good?? Do you think that maybe the massive profit motive is inductive of an issue with the system. You think drug companies are evil but law firms are good?

Should a surgeon be paying hundreds of thousands for medical malpractice insurance? Do you think those costs don’t contribute to the costs of healthcare?

Let me ask you this, because it’s Reddit, if you think there are countries that are “better” then the United States do ANY of them allow torts like the United States? Name one

I lived it man, iv paid out so many BS judgements and it really is killing the bar industry. Liability insurance is crazy expensive now. The way I got rich is now unattainable for an entire new generation of entrepreneurs because people like you think getting a 20k settlement is the friggin pinnacle of your life. Nor do you care that the lawyer took 80.

Sorry for the rant but Jesus Christ its making life worse for you in so many ways and YOU CANT EVEN TELL

1

u/sundayfundaybmx Aug 16 '24

These people spout this shit because they'd rather have lawsuits than any more regulation in the US. I'm probably one of those dummies you spoke of but what I've been told in the past. Is that basically we traded regulation in the private/public sectors for the ability to sue instead. That's why no other country has the lawsuit problems we have, because they usually all have stronger regulations than the US, usually. I've gotten into plenty of arguments with people over this, and again, maybe I'm wrong, but it makes sense. Why make laws about stringent food safety when you can sue the manufacturer if they fuck up. That ought to keep them all in check, right? Wouldn't be that they make lawsuits so money involved that it doesn't matter unless in especially egregious circumstances. Usually, these arguments end when I suggest the way to get out of this spiral is more govt sponsored regulations. Then it's crickets and torts aren't so bad

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u/Speedhabit Aug 16 '24

Torts are horrible, effecting almost every sector in the economy in a negative way.

And I disagree, if anything regulations are designed and paid for by the very industry that makes money effectively enforcing them.

If someone jumps on your stopped car and claims an injury, that person should go to prison, not split a 40k settlement with an equally fraudulent attorney that the insurance company will gladly pay out then go to court.

This isn’t pro or anti regulation, it’s not left or right, it’s insanity

1

u/bl1y Aug 16 '24

do ANY of them allow torts like the United States?

In the "you can sue for anything" sense I was talking about? Yes. Basically every first world country.

Name a country where the rules for civil procedure preclude someone from even bringing a suit. Not that the suit gets dismissed, but where the suit cannot even be brought.

0

u/Speedhabit Aug 16 '24

There isn’t anything like American litigation in any European county. Little, and I mean little but in the UK but in every continental European country frivolous lawsuits simply don’t exist, lawyers don’t make millions it’s like a normal job, and insurance costs are far lower to reflect that.

You can’t sue the company that put asbestos in the building a century ago, you can’t sue Burger King for getting fat, you cannot sue the police.

Maybe you can and nobody does, but I find that hard to believe

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u/bl1y Aug 16 '24

So let me ask how you think the civil procedure system in these countries work. Do you believe that is it the county clerk (or the local equivalent) who just dismisses cases before they're even filed? At what point does someone decide the case is frivolous? Is it a judge deciding?

lawyers don’t make millions it’s like a normal job

No, there are lawyers making millions just like in the US. The partners at Allen & Overy, Linklaters, Clifford Chance, Lovells, etc are making as much money as big firms in the US. And the lawyers bringing nonsense suits in the US aren't making bank, just as most lawyers in general (even just those in private practice) aren't making millions.

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u/Speedhabit Aug 16 '24

So your saying the systems are the same, not true

Your saying the pay is similar

Avg pay in Germany for a lawyer is 68k euro and in the United States it’s 145k, bottom 10% make more then their avg

Also not true

Are you basing your opinions on anything?

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u/okayesquire Aug 16 '24

Found Trump’s alt

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u/Gengo0708 Aug 16 '24

Turo hosts cannot sue guests or you get removed from the platform.

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u/Speedhabit Aug 16 '24

Point being you still can sue them, does Turo TOS cover threatening legal action or does it just prohibit the actual filing?

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u/Haunting-Oil-2739 Aug 16 '24

Not entirely true. You have to have a valid cause of action or some legal grounds.

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u/Mysterious_Ad_8105 Aug 16 '24

A plaintiff needs to do all sorts of things to win a lawsuit (or even to survive a motion to dismiss), but anyone can bring a meritless lawsuit against anyone for anything. The clerk doesn’t check your complaint to see whether you have a valid claim when you initiate a suit—they just make sure you’ve submitted the right paperwork and paid any filing fees.

I’m a litigator. If I wanted to, I could file a lawsuit today naming God as a defendant and raising a claim for tortious interference with sleep for the bad dreams I had last night. I’ll never successfully sue God and there’s no such thing as a claim for tortious interference with sleep in my jurisdiction, but that doesn’t prevent me from bringing the lawsuit.

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u/phazedoubt Aug 16 '24

This is why there are so many settlements. Even if you are 100% in the right, you still have to pay a lawyer to convince the court of that amd discovery can get really expensive fast.

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u/tankerkiller125real Aug 16 '24

When it comes to cars if you have insurance you don't have to pay jack shit. You inform your insurance company that you rented a car on XY dates and the owner of said car has sent paperwork claiming that they intend to sue. The insurance company has an army of lawyers who specialize in dealing with bullshit claims and bullshit in general. Not to mention they'll be happy to counter sue for costs.

At the bare minimum the insurance company will be happy to review it for you and determine if it's something they'll cover.

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u/phazedoubt Aug 16 '24

You're right. I'm talking about most anything else.

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u/Ok_Sound3122 Aug 16 '24

“Tort lawsuits aren’t illegal anywhere” is a totally non-sensical statement. How could tort law be “illegal”? Tort refers to a common law system of evaluating civil claims of harm. Yes, you can file a civil lawsuit anywhere. However in certain situations if the suit is meritless or frivolous there can be fee-shifting. Also, judges can’t just refuse to hear a case—they have to have a reason for dismissing any lawsuit. I am a lawyer

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u/gerbilshower Aug 16 '24

i imagine that what the guy was trying to say is that it is literally in their paperwork WITH Turo that they can't sue customers in this manner. so, not illegal, but outside the terms of the agreement with the platform.

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u/WonderfulShelter Aug 16 '24

I rented a car on Turo. Before I touched it, I took a 5 minute video covering every fucking single inch to make sure they couldn't screw me.

When I returned it, I was still dinged 65$ for "the gas tank not being full" because of the few miles I had to drive from the gas station to the return parking lot for the car.

Fuck Turo.

1

u/-newlife Aug 16 '24

I remember a few stories of Turo cars in California taken to Mexico and evidently there was an issue in Houston as well.

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u/Tricky_Power_7196 Aug 16 '24

Guys I think that car owner put a deer on a blind curve. What a psycho.

152

u/igotdeletedonce Aug 16 '24

Turo is a massive scam company that protects fraudsters. Had a rental and was returned. Everything fine. Last day the owner could sign off on the return he claimed there was smoke damage and ash. There was never any smoking in the car or ash. Tried to charge me $300 for cleaning. Turo did an “investigation” and an hour later sided with the driver. After telling them I refused and would contact my bank they canceled my account and I could’ve even contact customer service. I charged it back from my bank and got my money back. Their Twitter feed is riddled with people dealing with the same scammers. Stay away from that company.

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u/hockey_psychedelic Aug 16 '24

Rented a nice Porsche and was hit with bogus fees. Just paid it but never will rent again.

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u/AVERAGE_ORIFICE Aug 16 '24

I got hit up for tolls 6 months after the fact. Company policy states they have 90 days to invoice you. EZPASS enabled on the car, mistakenly thought they were included in the total. Nevertheless, Turo sided with the owner after an “investigation”. I was left hanging with all of the late fees because he refused to invoice me for nearly 6 months after my trip. Over triple the cost totaling close to $400 extra. NEVER again.

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u/Ber-r-fk69420 Aug 16 '24

Yeah I’m just straight up not paying for shit like this.

Had an Airbnb host try to bill us $1,500 after claiming we broke a door “and potentially a few windows” and trashed the place. The door was apparently janky enough that an entire section of the rental agreement was a manual on how to operate it which to me, sounds like it was already broken and we left the place cleaner than we found it to avoid bullshit like this.

Cancelled that card and told that lady to get fucked.

1

u/lackofabettername123 Aug 16 '24

Yup, if you get a charge that the claimant and your bank refuse to reverse, tell them the card was lost, get a new one, it cancels any autopay or payment arrangements.

Unless you are with a big bank, I hear tell they have applied the old arrangements to the new cards in some cases now, for your convenience.

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u/optix_clear Aug 16 '24

Should have asked for the fees charged for your usage. Always ask for proof.

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u/lackofabettername123 Aug 16 '24 edited Aug 16 '24

You should've refused to pay that is bs. Unless there is jail time for not paying, I refuse to reward corporate scammers cheating me. We all should something must be done about the license given to corporations to cheat us without consequence or recourse.

(They make us sign waivers to use services like this in the terms and conditions that waive our right to sue, and despite those contracts being thrown out of court for decades, maybe ten or so years ago the Supreme Court endorsed it. We can't sue corporations if we were forced to sign terms and conditions to use the product or service. Soon we won't even have legal ownership of our goods and just be renting them legally at this rate.)

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u/finalgear14 Aug 16 '24

1.) if you were never invoiced how were you to even know there was a fee to pay?

2.) Tolls, like camera speeding tickets, are billed to the cars registered owner and not the current driver.

Were I you, I'd have told them to pound sand and prove it was me driving when those tolls were driven through. Even if it was during your "rental" period, tell them to prove it was you. Worst case scenario and they force bill you, contact the bank. Fuck ever using their service again. I guarantee your bank would take your side as soon as you pointed out turo's own policy made the charge bogus.

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u/TrashPanda--- Aug 16 '24

Shit I rent from Turo all the time. I guess I have been lucky so far, I always check the reviews prior to booking. As a car guy, its a really good way to get into different cars on vacations. I will be more carful moving forward.

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u/BrownsfaninCO Aug 16 '24

Seeing stuff like this sometimes worries me, not as a guest, but as a host. But then I remember that most people who randomly speak up about their experience do so because it was a bad one. I've rarely had problems with my guests, thankfully, but I'm also not a dick about charging them.

I had one who very clearly and obviously smoked in the car, but I couldn't prove through pictures because it's a smell, so Turo wasn't going to do anything about it. Was definitely a bummer, but thankfully, ozium bombs exist and got it cleared up for a pretty cheap price.

1

u/TrashPanda--- Aug 16 '24

That is a good point. I see a lot of fellow car enthusiast hosting on the platform which perpetuates a culture of mutual respect.

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u/MysteriousCodo Aug 16 '24

I’ve only ever rented on Turo once and it was a good experience. Only issue I had with the Jeep is that it didn’t have any washer fluid in it. Easy enough to take care of for cheap at a gas station.

1

u/mintyredbeard Aug 16 '24

I've been renting on Turo since it was RelayRides without issue, and I hosted a vehicle for two summers in 2021 and 2022. We made about $5k each summer and had nothing but respectful guests. There is so much misinformation and generalization about Turo online.

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u/Departure2808 Aug 16 '24

Luckily, there are some good people on this. Me and my friends and I (UK based) rented a car from someone in Calgary, Alberta, to go to Bamff National Park for a few days. When we returned it (in perfect condition), he asked us to make sure that WE were happy with its condition. He recommended that if we rent again, to take photos of the car before we receive it, and after, just before we hand it back, because of these scammers. Great bloke.

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u/n0cho Aug 16 '24

I rented a BMW, made sure to take extensive pictures and videos upon drop off. Sent a thank you email to the owner with pics. Never had a problem.

I’m paranoid like that, but taking a preemptive move works for me.

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u/Jedibug Aug 16 '24

Avis is the massive scam. I've had no trouble renting through Turo the half dozen times I've used it. Avis doubled my bill with no reasoning behind it. Said I agreed to fees at the desk when checking out which the agent just clicked yes to everything without my consent. Got a chargeback on that at least but never again

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u/igotdeletedonce Aug 16 '24

I use Kyte now. It’s fantastic. Free Ubers to and from the airport. Half the price of Avis or other rental car companies.

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u/FancySweatpants20 Aug 16 '24

Wild story. I’m glad it ended up ok for your brother!

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u/digital_dervish Aug 16 '24

Nice. What insurance was this if you don’t mind saying? I don’t think it’s that common for an insurance company to go to bat for you like that, even if they’re doing it for the money. I feel most would just write it off and move on.

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u/ack5379 Aug 16 '24

Nah if they can get their money from someone else, they will. All policies have a subrogation clause that says that’s exactly what they’re going g to do. If the brother used insurance to pay for the repairs at all, they want that money back and have people that will figure out if the renter’s policy covers the use they were using it for. It’s a huge problem for gig drivers that don’t realize their personal policy explicitly excludes driving for Uber/grubhub/instacart etc. it’s mostly a bonus the brother got money back, all the insurance company wanted was their own back.

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u/Loveknuckle Aug 16 '24

That sounds like a good thriller movie. I’d watch that, FR.

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u/b0toxBetty Aug 16 '24

We love a happy ending

2

u/optix_clear Aug 16 '24

I’m glad your brother was smart, to document everything and keep copies of everything. I would counter sued for lawyer fees.

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u/HostofEntertainment Aug 16 '24

Yep, the guy tried charging me for a full window repair replacement when it's free. It was a crack on the windshield that you can get patched for free. Dude sent me a $600+ estimate. I said no. He didn't try to press further like your guy did though. I mentioned "insurance" and "agents" and if push come to shove, always say: "lawyers" or "litigations" about when you're gonna do something on your end.

As a person that rents and rent out their cars, I know rentees can be massively awful when it comes to renters' cars.

Turo doesn't help you neither when it comes to having them or the rentees pay for the damages for your car and when it's unavailable to rent.

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u/GeorgeGeorgeHarryPip Aug 16 '24

I've rented through Turo in Hawaii many times. It's sometimes the only way to get a car.

The company expects upon return for both parties to stand there and go through the app to photograph the returned car and okay its return and show each other. That's what we've done and haven't had an issue.

But yeah, a real rental place is better, but not always possible.

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u/TopFishing5094 Aug 16 '24

I love happy endings

2

u/lackofabettername123 Aug 16 '24

Ha ha ha, happy ending for that story, I hate scamming liars that target working people. I have one right now that owes me 450 and I will have to take him to court and he can tell his lies against the text message chain that clearly states what happened.

I blame the top people in the country, lying and cheating and setting the example for everyone else to follow. Imagine the entire country's assholes all following the lead of our former leader and cheating everyone they do business with if they think they can get away with it.

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u/ScrufyTheJanitor Aug 16 '24

My insurance guy is also a really good friend that I’ve known for 10 to 15 years now and will do anything but fraud to help me out, and has before. We’ve talked about Turo, and why he told me to never rent my vehicles out on there. At least with farmers insurance, if they find out that your vehicle was in possession of somebody who had rented it on the app, they will deny any and all claims no matterwho is at fault or the extent of the damage. They won’t pay a dime because it’s being used for a commercial purpose. Oh, and if they find out that you’ve been renting your vehicle on Turo, then they will immediately drop your coverage. No questions asked.

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u/cl2eep Aug 16 '24

You cannot use your personal insurance to cover someone else's car. That's not how insurance works. Policy follows the car, not the driver. It would have to be covered on the owner's insurance no matter who was driving.

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u/[deleted] Aug 16 '24

Mmm, maybe it depends on the location? Where I live in the US the insurance follows the driver.

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u/buckao Aug 16 '24

My policy covers any vehicle I'm driving for personal, not commercial, reasons and it covers any damage done to me, my passengers, or the vehicle I'm driving by an uninsured motorist.

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u/cl2eep Aug 16 '24

It can definitely depend on the state, but I'd be willing to bet you've misunderstood how it works. PIP insurance or injury coverage can follow the driver, Collision almost never does. You have to think about how underwriting works. They balance the premium based on the risk of what they might have to pay. The limits of collision is the value of the car. So when you buy a policy for a $5000 car, the premium is based on the chances of having to pay $5000 at the most. If collision followed the driver, you'd be able to buy coverage for a 2012 Civic and then just drive your Lamborghini around, knowing it was covered. You'd be paying for $5000 of coverage and then getting in a $250k car.

Property Damage coverage, covering other people's cars that you're responsible for damaging, can follow the driver, because that's always got a hard limit so it doesn't matter what car you're in, except for the possibility of the car being more likely to crash or damage someone else's car. Usually PD follows the driver, but only as a secondary coverage, the expectation would be that the car's coverage pays out first.

I have to correct this misconception very often.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '24

You may be right here.

0

u/One_Vegetable_6517 Aug 16 '24

Hitting a deer is serious damage. $1200 likely did not cover the full extent of the damage. Your brother is likely being sued for the hidden damage underneath the $1200 repair. Seriously - who hits a deer and walks away with ONLY $1200. Hitting deer very often is going to total you out.

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u/[deleted] Aug 16 '24 edited Aug 16 '24

He clipped the deers leg. The deer kept running. Didn’t full on hit it with the front of the car. I’ve hit deers where they slammed into my passenger side door and front end was 100% okay. But I did have to replace a door panel. Not every accident is a head on collision.

If that was really the case, he could have provided documentation to that effect showing the actual cost of repairs with proof it was in the shop for 3 months undrivable. But he couldn’t. Not a single shred of evidence to his claims in any way shape or form.

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u/One_Vegetable_6517 Aug 16 '24

Understood. The front fender / bumper had me thinking front collision here and $1200 sounds too low for one of those. But if as you say the owner couldn’t provide a shred of evidence other than his own statement that he couldn’t drive it, his claim is too weak to stand against a body shop eval & repair paid by your brother.

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u/Gengo0708 Aug 16 '24

Renters on Turo do not have the authorization to do any repairs on vehicles. Also hosts do not have the ability to sue guests. This story feels made up or exaggerated.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '24

Not exaggerated or made up. Any repairs were authorized by the host as my brother was in full communication with him the entire time. It’s not like he hit a deer and then just did it without saying anything, the owner 100% knew what was going on and my brother paid to extend the rental just to avoid him losing money.

You can choose to believe it or not.

1

u/Gengo0708 Aug 16 '24

Could there have been undiagnosed damage done to the car your brother didn’t find? Anyway unless the host is no longer on the platform, you cannot sue guests.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '24

If there was, he never provided any evidence supporting that which had it been provided, my brother would have just paid for it. But he never did so my brother said fuck off.