Peer-to-peer car rental apps have made it easier than ever to earn extra money from your vehicle. But one Chicago man's attempt to rent out his car turned into a nightmare involving a fake police report, a sold vehicle, and a damaged car that isn't even his being returned in its place.
Man's Rental Car Disappears, Wrong Vehicle Gets Returned
In a viral video with more than 102,000 views, Chris (@chrisactual_) documents the shocking aftermath of renting out his white Toyota RAV4 through what appears to be a peer-to-peer rental platform.
The footage shows Chris circling a gray Toyota RAV4 with significant damage—whole exterior pieces are missing, and one tire is slanted as if the vehicle had been in a serious accident, hit from behind and crashed into something at the front.
"This is the car that they brought back. This is not my car," Chris says at the beginning of the video.
According to Chris, the woman who rented his vehicle ended up selling it. When he reported the issue, she provided him with a police report that turned out to be fake—generated by ChatGPT.
"She forgot to take out the tracker in the vehicle," Chris explains in the video. Because his car still had a GPS tracker installed, he was able to determine the vehicle's actual location despite what the fraudulent police report claimed.
"Once I found out that she was in Wisconsin the whole time, and she sold the vehicle to a gentleman who tried to register it in Wisconsin for about, like, $10 or $12 [thousand]," Chris says in the video. The buyer attempted to register the vehicle but was arrested because the title was fake,” he says. "So he lost out on his 10, 12 [grand]."
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Adding to the confusion, Chris isn't even getting his original white RAV4 back. Instead, a tow truck delivered the heavily damaged gray RAV4 shown in the video—a vehicle that doesn't belong to him.
"I'm so confused on why the tow truck driver dropped this off," Chris says in the video. "As of right now, no further updates on where my real vehicle is at."
Chris theorizes about what might have happened: "They probably really did sell him my white vehicle and just traded him this bogus vehicle. Or they kept the white vehicle and they traded the bogus. I'm confused on whose car this is."
People were shocked by the brazenness of the attempted scam.
“Damn everybody playin’ in yo face, even the tow truck driver,” one commented on his post.
“I'm confused. Didn't she think anyone was going to check the VINs?????” another said
“The poor guy who bought a stolen car. I almost signed a pink slip and realized the name on there wasn’t the dude he said it was his ‘boss’ from across the country. I scratched out my signature so fast,” a third shared.
What Protection Do Peer-to-Peer Car Rental Platforms Offer?
While platforms like Turo and Getaround have made car sharing convenient, The Zebra notes that safety is a primary concern for both renters and car owners. After all, owners are letting people know the general location of their car, which can make it a target for theft. The Federal Trade Commission encourages reporting fraud or bad experiences related to peer-to-peer car rentals.
Most peer-to-peer platforms implement safety measures, including user verification, rating and review systems, and insurance coverage. However, The Zebra emphasizes that the extent of coverage can vary, and users are encouraged to review the terms and conditions to understand the level of protection provided.
An important caveat: According to Progressive, your personal car insurance policy typically won't cover your car while it's being rented out via a car-sharing service. In some states, your insurer may even deny you coverage if you rent out your car. This means car owners must rely on the insurance offered by the rental service itself.
For car owners, platforms typically offer protection plans through third-party liability companies. The Zebra notes that Turo includes a standard $750,000 in coverage through Travelers with every host plan, plus multiple levels of protection for car repairs and damage. Progressive explains that peer-to-peer insurance coverage may include liability coverage, repair reimbursement, cleaning reimbursement, and roadside assistance.
The Zebra recommends that car owners take additional protective measures, including installing security devices like GPS trackers (which proved crucial in Chris's case), setting specific rental terms, understanding local laws around peer-to-peer car rental, and regularly reviewing insurance coverage.
Motor1 reached out to Chris for comment via Instagram and TikTok direct message. We'll update this if he responds.
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