ArcaMax

Latisha Thompson rents a car through Turo and is charged $500 for a paint job that she says was defective to begin with. Can she get a refund?

Q: I booked a 17-day National Geographic Expedition to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. I'm traveling with four other people. After I rented a car, I immediately reported an issue to the car owner and Turo, whom I rented the car from. But instead of acknowledging the problem, Turo blamed me and charged me $500 for a new paint job. Turo insists that I was responsible because the peeling occurred during my rental period.

This experience has shaken my trust in Turo's commitment to fairness and customer satisfaction. Can you help me get my money back? -- Latisha Thompson, Groton, Connecticut

A: I don't see how you could be held responsible for peeling paint on a car that you rented from Turo. I mean, if you had collided with another vehicle and the paint started peeling, then yes, perhaps. But you showed me pictures of your car, and it looked like a paint job gone wrong.

So, what happened? Your records show that Turo charged you a $500 deposit when you rented the vehicle. After you returned the Sonata, Turo's claims team sent you an email saying that the owner had filed a claim to repair the paint on the roof. Since you declined Turo's optional protection, you were liable for the damage, according to Turo.

You signed an agreement saying that you are financially responsible for "all physical damage to or theft of a booked vehicle that occurs during a trip" including any additional costs and fees resulting from damage, regardless of who is at fault. In other words, while the damage wasn't your fault, you were still responsible.

Turo strongly recommends that you take "before" and "after" photos of your car. It even has a feature on its app called Trip Photos that allows you to do so and store the images in the app. I think this is brilliant because if you can prove that the car was damaged before you rented it, you're far less likely to face a successful claim by your host.

Why didn't you spot this damage when you picked up the car? You say the vehicle looked "very glossy and shiny" as if someone recently painted it. The paper trail between you and Turo shows that the company was unconvinced. A brief, polite email sent to one of the Turo managers I list on Elliott.org, my consumer advocacy website, might have led to the reversal of this $500 charge.

I think there was enough reason for Turo to take another look at this claim. It's hard to imagine that you did anything to the vehicle to cause the paint to peel the way that it did. Something just felt off about it. So, I contacted Turo on your behalf. In response, Turo sent you an email that it had decided to drop the matter.

"We are pleased to inform you that we will be closing the claim, and you will not owe anything for damages at the present time," it added.

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Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy (elliottadvocacy.org), a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.

(c) 2025 Christopher Elliott

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