A driver has managed to boost her income by £7,000 this year from her car.
Xenia Muether, 32, bought a Volvo XC40 for her 30th birthday and while it met her needs for weekend trips with friends, she found she wasn’t using it as much as she thought she would.
Speaking to GB News, she said: “Initially, my idea was I would be able to get out of London and go to the countryside on the weekend and go for a nice hike. But realistically, you don’t do that every weekend.”
Rather than let the car sit unutilised for weeks at a time, Xenia decided she would transform the vehicle into a route to making some extra cash.
Turo is a peer-to-peer car rental platform
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She got the idea after seeing an advert for peer-to-peer car rental platform Turo and a couple of weeks later, Xenia checked out the website.
The car owner downloaded the app and browsed her local area to see what people with similar cars were charging, soon realising others were earning between £70 to £90 each day.
She said: “I thought, ‘Well if my car can work for me while I am at work, that would be brilliant. So I thought I’d give it a try.”
Xenia has found the level of demand depends on the season, with summer being a lot busier than the winter.
In just one month this summer, Xenia made £1,200 from renting out her car.
She usually gets bookings around a week in advance, although there are clients who get in touch at shorter-notice.
In the beginning, Xenia was “nervous” and preferred to meet the customers when they came to pick up the car for the check-in, but she now sometimes lets the car without a face-to-face interaction.
She said: “My experience has been so positive, everyone has been so careful and considerate with the car, and making sure it came back in perfect condition.
“There was one guy who dropped it back and he’d washed it. He didn’t have to do that, but it was really sweet.”
Customers driving Xenia’s car mean it’s not being damaged through disuse, and she’s enjoyed the financial benefits too.
She said: “It’s nice, I’m not reliant on that income but it’s nice money on the side.
“I mainly use it for travelling. I put it in a separate account and then use that for my travel budget.
“On top of that, if there’s ever any repair work or anything I need to do with the car, the money helps with that too.
“Although it’s a fairly new car, so that hasn’t really happened. It’s a good buffer though.”
The environmental impact is one of the main reasons Xenia decided to continue renting out her car.
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“If you look around in London there are a lot of cars out there. Most of those cars are not really being used frequently. We don’t need to add more to the roads. I think if we have the opportunity to car-share, that’s an amazing step in the right direction.”
Since joining the platform, Xenia has secured more than 60 five-star reviews.
Asked for her top tips on making money with Turo, Xenia highlighted the importance of communication.
She said: "I try to meet with guests when I can. I think, in general, friendly and open communication is really helpful. I put myself in their shoes.
"Be friendly and flexible helps as well. Put their mind at ease and explain how the process works."
"I also think it's little things, like wishing them a safe journey wherever they are going."
When tourists rent the car, Xenia suggests asking where they're going and giving some tips for the area, if the vehicle owner has been before.
In general, Xenia suggested: "Create a good line of communication and help them feel relaxed about their upcoming trip."
