Security deposits

Fast Facts:

  • We charge security deposits for trips in high-value vehicles and for some other US trips.
  • In most cases, Turo refunds security deposits to guests 80 hours after their trip ends. Bank processing adds at least three to five business days to the refund timeline.
  • Guests don’t have to contact us to ask for a security deposit refund -- in most cases our system auto-refunds them.  

Deposit charges

Deposits make the marketplace safer, increase vehicle satisfaction, and lower costs to you. They also bring more hosts with more cars to Turo. That means more choices when it comes to finding the best car for a trip.

Turo charges a security deposit for:   

  1. Guests who book Deluxe Class and Super Deluxe Class cars

  2. Guests chosen by our security system  
    We charge a security deposit to roughly 30% of new and returning guests who book a trip in the US. A guest’s auto insurance score, the trip’s details, and some other factors determine the charge. 

In all cases, our security system automatically applies these deposits. Neither Turo nor a host can waive a deposit. 

Deposit amounts

Deluxe Class cars

In the US, guests ages 25-29 pay a $1500 deposit. You must be age 30 or older to book a Deluxe Class car in Canada and Germany. Guests in those countries don’t pay a deposit. In the UK, all guests who book a Deluxe Class car pay a £500 deposit.

Super Deluxe Class cars

All guests pay a $1500* deposit. US guests can submit their personal insurance information to receive a $500 discount. These guests must enter their insurance details when the system asks for it. We can’t apply the discount once a guest submits their trip request.

Other US cars

US guests chosen by our security system pay a deposit of up to $250. Once the system charges you a security deposit, it’ll charge you a deposit on all future trips. The Turo system processes the deposit as a separate transaction. It itemizes the trip costs and the deposit costs and display them on the trip checkout page.

We will never charge guests who book a trip in a high-value car a second security deposit. Guests who book with a Commercial Host won’t be subject to a Turo security deposit. 

*Values are in CAD for trips in Canada, € (euros) for trips in Germany and all countries in the eurozone, £ (pounds) in the United Kingdom, and US$ for trips in the United States. 

Deposit refunds

We automatically refund security deposits 80 hours after the trip ends. There are two exceptions to that rule:  

  1. If a guest disputes a host’s reimbursement request within that 80 hours, we’ll freeze the deposit. If we resolve the dispute for the host and the guest’s payment method on file fails, we’ll use the deposit to reimburse the host. We’ll refund the deposit balance, if any, to the guest.

  2. If the host files a damage claim within that 80 hours, we’ll freeze the deposit. We will subtract the initial damage coverage cost from the security deposit. Once we resolve the claim, we’ll refund the balance, if any, to the guest. If we find the guest to be not at fault, we’ll refund the full deposit amount. Learn more about guest responsibilities in case of an accident. 

You can read our full Security Deposit policy on the Turo website.

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