With EV prices dropping the way they are, has anyone considered buying up some used EVs and starting a Turo fleet? It’s highly dependent on your market and local area, of course.
In my area around northern NJ/NYC, many hackable EVs still have new '23 models sitting on dealer lots, going $10-15k below MSRP. Used prices are down even further and flirting with that $25k for the used EV tax credit limit for 1 vehicle. At $20k, you can get a lot of really nice used 2 year old EVs with 10-15k miles, whereas $20k in gas cars are at least 4 years old, 50k+ miles.
With how busy the metro area is, you can get a multicar fleet up and running pretty easily I’d think.
Its not easy, i thought about it too. Unless its a cyber truck or something nice like a taycan. But if you take at look at renting compared to leasing. Its really not worth the headache dealing with insurance too, these ev leases so cheap why bother renting if i can lease for 24 months. With almost nothing out of pocket
I mean to run as a side business, not as a personal lease. I know full time Turo hosts aim for >80% utilization rate; if that’s actually achievable, you can generate some serious cash flow.
It’s only like $18k after tax credit for a 2 year old used polestar 2… Ioniq 5s are like $21k. next year Ariya will qualify too. Used gas car prices are kinda stupid, there’s certainly a depreciation floor with these.
Looks like you’re a lot further away from NYC than I am. Daily rates here are usually $80+, more during hot travel times. I’m talking Hoboken/JC.
But yeah even at $50 gross, 60% program (so $30 net), on a used M3 you could probably break even at minimum. Teslas are a bit overpriced on the use side though, Ioniqs and Polestars are a lot cheaper but rent for the same amount.
I do this in real estate. Our homes are a lot cheaper and slightly worse condition than competitors, but I always buy in the best areas and my yield is a lot higher because of it.
You will need to deal with your vehicle coming back smelling like weed and constant body damage which you will need to fight Turo to cover. Then there are extra expenses like delivery/pickup, dealing with renters who forgot to charge and got stranded or brought the car back with no charge left. The margins are slim. It makes sense if you also own an adjacent business, like a body shop. Or your fleet is the cheapest vehicles Turo accepts.
I’m work in real estate, so my AGI is tends to be extremely low. Congress might add back bonus depreciation, too.
The tax credit only works for 1 vehicle in 2 (or 3?) years, but either way, good way to get started if one were interested. Might be able to use some family members’ eligibility too
I know a guy, he used to be a VP at Turo, left his SWE job to run a 200 car Turo fleet lol. The usual method is buy $5k cars and run them into the ground, but used car prices have made it difficult to grow. EV depreciation is much steeper in year 1 due to the tax credit, so if following depreciation for these 2-3 year old EVs are limited, there’s certainly a niche to be made.
I ran the numbers and it would definitely cash flow in my area. Just don’t know what utilization rate is reasonable, and what year 2-4 depreciation looks like, since there’s the cliff at the $25k level.
are the highest average fleet age, ever. pushing 14 years → putting upward pressure on used cars
record high average new car price, and no longer shortages but a glut of loaded high-end vehicles that were unaffordable when borrowed-money was free. Less lidar and more Sport/Special Edition models, please
Like any business, there are viable models here. I’d encourage anyone to explore the rental data to see what people are renting, for how much, before loading up on the wrong thing for their market. I linked to one of many scrapers below.
