Woman Rents Man Her Jeep Wrangler on Turo, After Which It’s Stolen
Making matters worse, the Jeep Wrangler owner can’t even report the vehicle as stolen, thanks to some strange state laws.
In lieu of a traditional rental car, many people have been flocking to apps like Turo in recent years, which gives them the ability to rent a vehicle from an individual. The appeal here is that you can find some pretty cool stuff there, vehicles that wouldn’t normally be available via a traditional company. For owners that rent their vehicles out on Turo, it’s also a nice way to pocket some extra cash, though as one might imagine, such an endeavor can quickly turn south, with some having their vehicles damaged or abused. Or, in the case of Atlanta resident and Jeep Wrangler owner Lyne Davis, you could just have your vehicle stolen altogether, as Fox 5 recently reported.
Davis rented out her Jeep Wrangler to a man earlier this month for one day, and met with him to hand over the keys. However, in less than 24 hours, things quickly unraveled when she received a notification that the SUV’s tracking device power had been disconnected. If that wasn’t alarming enough, she also received a notification that the vehicle had been involved in a crash.
The next day, the man who rented the Wrangler contacted David through the Turo app and requested an extension of his rental, followed by another message telling her that it had been stolen. The man even went so far as to file a police report, but then, he suddenly and unexpectedly disappeared. “At first, he was cooperative,” Davis said. Then he disappeared. “He stopped responding. I started calling. He didn’t respond.”
Davis’ next step was one that we would all take – she reported her Jeep Wrangler stolen, but to her surprise, police informed her that she couldn’t do that, since she had entered into a civil contract with the man that rented it. Instead, she would have to file for the man to be arrested if she suspects that he is, in fact the culprit here. “They told me it would be two to three months before I could get an appointment to see a judge to tell my side of the story to determine if they’d issue a warrant,” Davis said.
In the meantime, Davis is left with no vehicle and no clear course on how to either get it back or at least be compensated for its loss. While a bit shocking, this story is also a nice heads-up for anyone that rents their vehicle on an app like Turo or is at least thinking about it – you may want to check your own state laws to ensure that you’re protected if something like this does occur.
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