What to check before signing a Turo car management agreement
The nine clauses that decide whether handing your car to a Turo manager works out, what a fair version of each looks like, and the questions to ask before you sign.
November 6, 2026 · 4 min read · by the Drifty team
A management agreement for a car on Turo is short, and most of it is boilerplate. The parts that matter fit on one page. Here are the clauses we'd read first if we were the owner, with what a fair version looks like. This is how Drifty's own agreement is set up; we're writing it down because owners should be able to compare.
1. What the fee is calculated on
The manager's share is a percentage of something. Make sure you know of what.
- Gross trip price is the headline number the guest pays. A share of gross means the manager earns the same whether Turo's fee is 15% or 35%.
- Net revenue, meaning what Turo actually pays out after its fee, is the fairer base. The manager's share then moves with what you receive.
- Ask whether extras (delivery fees, fuel, mileage, cleaning charges billed to guests) are in the base, and whether claim payouts are. Claim payouts should go to the repair, not into the revenue split.
Drifty's fee is a share of net revenue after Turo's fee, agreed before signing and printed on every statement.
2. Who pays for what
Write down every recurring cost and whose column it sits in. Typically:
| Cost | Usually the owner | Usually the manager |
|---|---|---|
| Insurance, registration, financing | Yes | |
| Routine maintenance and tires | Yes, sometimes from revenue | |
| Cleaning between trips | Yes | |
| Airport runs and hand-offs | Yes | |
| Consumables (washer fluid, wipers, mats) | Varies | Varies |
| Repairs from guest damage | Covered by the claim; deductible per agreement | |
| Repairs from the manager's own negligence | Should be the manager |
The last line is the one to look for. If the manager's driver reverses your car into a post, who pays? At Drifty, we do. If an agreement is silent on it, ask.
3. The deductible on damage claims
Turo's host plans carry a deductible, from $0 to $2,000 depending on the plan. Who pays it when a claim is approved? Which plan will the car be on, and who decides? The answer should be in the agreement, not worked out after the first claim. Read how claims work first so the clause makes sense.
4. Statement and payout timing
You should get, every month: gross bookings, Turo's fees, costs charged against the car, the management fee, and the amount paid to you. Ask to see a sample statement before signing. Ask when in the month it's paid and how. If you can't reconcile the statement to Turo's own trip list, you can't check it.
5. Your own use of the car
Can you block dates? How much notice? Can the manager override a block for a trip already booked? A fair version: you block dates in advance, the manager works around them, and a trip that has already started can't be interrupted. Be honest with yourself about how often you'll want the car. If it's most summer weekends, the arrangement won't earn enough for either side.
6. Where the car lives and who drives it
Where is the car kept between trips? Who has keys? Is it driven by the manager's staff for anything other than hand-offs, cleaning and deliveries? Is there a mileage allowance for that? Ask to see the location. If a manager won't show you where your car will sit, that is your answer.
7. Photos and records
The agreement should commit the manager to check-in and check-out photos on every trip, and to give you access on request. This is the evidence that protects the car. A manager who doesn't commit to it in writing may not be doing it.
8. Ending the agreement
The right exit clause is short: either side can end it with notice, trips already booked are completed, the car and keys come back cleaned, and the final statement is paid. Watch for minimum terms of a year or more, early-termination fees, or a clause that lets the manager keep the car listed for weeks after you've asked for it back. Drifty's agreement has no lock-in; you can leave at any time after booked trips are honoured.
9. Liability for the things that go wrong on the road
Tolls, parking tickets, red-light cameras and impound fees arrive weeks later, addressed to the registered owner. The agreement should say the manager traces them to the trip and recovers them from the guest through Turo, and what happens if the guest doesn't pay. Also check who handles roadside breakdowns, towing and a guest who has an accident at 2 a.m. The manager, every time.
Questions to ask on the call
- How many cars do you manage, and how many did you take on in the last year?
- What's your Turo profile? (Ours is public.)
- What did your average car earn last winter? Not last summer.
- How many claims did you file last year, and how many were paid in full?
- Can I see a sample monthly statement and your standard agreement before I decide?
- What would make you turn my car down?
A good manager answers all of those without hesitating. Then read the agreement against the nine points above. If you want to put Drifty's agreement through the same test, book a call and we'll send it over before we talk.