Is Turo a safe way to get to Big Sky?
Perhaps. You may save a little money, but you have much greater risk. In the Bozeman Car Rental Gold Rush of 2021 countless individuals purchased vehicles to rent on the online platform, Turo. Roughly 200 individuals rent cars on Turo in Bozeman, many of them have “fleets” or multiple vehicles. You may save a little money renting through Turo, but you have a much greater risk of something going wrong versus renting through an actual established car rental agency. First, these are individuals renting cars. Not professionals. There are no standards of safety and maintenance. Most of them are recent Bozeman transplants that have no idea about winter safety and the risks involved. Yes, many of them have countless five star reviews on Turo- but it is incredibly important to note that Turo has the ability to edit and delete all reviews (unlike Yelp or Google). At Explore Rentals we have had countless Turo renters come and rent camping gear from us, and we have heard an equally countless number of complaints about cleanliness (note: many Turo renters make you return your rental clean or face penalties) and safety of their Turo rentals. A small example of comments include brakes being completely shot and tires so bald they were were terrified to drive. Yet there are nothing but 5-star reviews on the Turo platform. Seems fishy. Another issue is that if your Turo breaks down, or you get in an accident, an individual is unlikely to have the ability (or experience) to handle the situation like an actual car rental agency. Oh- and finally- there is always that very gray area of Turo and insurance…