I’ve raked in £1,000s with my side hustle and don’t have to do a thing… we turned family hassle into easy money
A WOMAN has revealed how she rakes in an extra £1,500 per month without having to do anything.
Moji, from South London, found a way to bring home some additional cash after signing up to a car sharing platform.
The 41-year-old stumbled across Turo after her partner was gifted a van from his cousin. The couple quickly started seeing cash roll in.
The secondary school head-of-year explained how renting out the vehicle was so profitable, they added another to their growing fleet – and don’t plan on stopping.
It’s something we are definitely going to do very much long-term
Moji
Moji told The Sun: “My partner had been gifted a van and researched a few platforms.
“We stumbled across Turo and it was easy to set up as a host.
“How much you make is very dependent on the season, at the moment it’s really busy, there’s a lot going on.
“I’m not sure if it’s because of the summer but there’s a lot of people packing, moving, coming back from uni, goin to uni.
“So, on a monthly basis it’s quite possible to make anything from £900 to £1,500.
“It’s a lot cheaper than going through other rental companies, and Turo is a lot more convenient for us.
“Customers can pick up and drop off at different times in the day, unlike big companies that have set times and no Sunday rentals.”
They started last summer and took a break to fix up the van, but have picked up again where they left off.
“It’s something we are definitely going to do very much long-term.
“With the cost-of-living in London, it’s not very cost effective to own a car, it makes more sense to hire or rent it when you need it.
“There will always be a niche for it, even business people who have stores and markets – it might not be cost effective to own a vehicle, but it is to rent one.”
This is certainly the case for fellow Turo user Suzannah, who has saved around £5,600 on the cost of running a car since 2021 by renting from the platform.
The 52-year-old came across the car-sharing app and found it to be an “excellent” fit for her.
What other car-sharing apps are there?
Turo isn't the only app of its kind out there - as we explain below.
Hiyacar uses keyless technology to let renters unlock the car without having a key.
This means you don’t need to meet everyone you are hiring a car from.
You can book a car through the app, or its website and prices start from £28 a day.
All trips are fully insured and covered by roadside assistance.
Zipcar lets renters hire a car from just £3 an hour, and also offers a Flex “one-way” service in London with a per minute charge.
If you have a car, and are looking to cut costs, you could try BlaBlaCar.
It lets you carpool to share journeys rather than hire out your car entirely.
Suzannah and her husband sold their car six years ago and mostly use Turo for trips out of London to see family or for holidays in the UK with their dog Tucker.
She told The Sun: “I prefer Turo to traditional car rental as I’m able to have the convenience of using a car, without having the hassle of extensive booking and insurance paperwork.
“I also love the freedom of being able to use whatever car suits my needs at a particular time.”
Meanwhile, Moji and her partner rent their van for a day and Turo work out the rates.
Times of pickups will also affect the price, taking into account extra charges for unsociable hours.
If someone were to take out Moji’s van for 24-hours, the average price would be around £75.
Speaking of how many clients the couple see use their side-hustle business, Moji said: “This week alone the van has been out every single day to different people.”
And, the head-of-year mentioned how women more comfortable renting from them due to Moji’s presence.
“I imagine its reassuring for women because I’m a woman,” she said.
“It can be daunting for a female to go somewhere and pick up a vehicle while using a platform.
“We do get a lot of female drivers hiring our vehicle.”
Looking ahead, using Turo doesn’t appear to be a short-term money-maker for the pair.
After witnessing their success unfold, they plan on running their car share operations for years to come.
“We have two vans, we’ve increased because of how well it works for us,” said Moji.
“And different people need different sizes of van depending on what they’re doing, we’re trying to cater to as many people as possible.”
And, for potential Turo operators, the company are offering a £200 incentive to readers who list their van in London by July 31.
Anyone who signs up must read the terms and conditions before doing so.
RENTING THROUGH TURO
To book a car on Turo, you need to create an account, be at least 21 years old and have a valid driver’s licence.
When you’re booking your first trip, you’ll go through a quick approval process by entering your driver’s license and some other information.
You can then either choose to have the car delivered, or pick it up from your host.
The host with either hand you the keys, or you may be able to be unlock the car using the Turo app.
Only certain cars can be accessed this way, so make sure you check with the owner first.
Customers don’t need to take out personal insurance coverage either because all trips are covered under a third-party automobile liability insurance policy arranged by Turo.
You will, however, need to choose between three protection plans – Premier, Standard, or Minimum.
Under a premier plan, the excess a guest is liable to pay for damage is limited to £250 and the cost is 80% of the trip price.
So, for example, if your trip was £30, this plan would see you pay an additional £24 – taking your total to £54.