US man buys 2016 Chevy Sonic for $1,000 to rent out on Turo for 30 days and shares how much he makes from it
Published on Mar 26, 2026 at 5:41 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Mar 26, 2026 at 4:53 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
Did you know you could buy a car for just $1,000, such as a 2016 Chevy Sonic, and then rent it out on Turo to make as much money as possible?
Well, that is what YouTuber Alex Profits and his partner did, buying one of the cheap Chevrolet cars, and then offering it for others to rent via Turo, a car rental marketplace.
Alex decided to have it offered for 30 days to see how much money he could make back on his initial investment.
And the results of this little experiment were eye-opening.
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Why the YouTuber bought the 2016 Chevy Sonic
At a cost of just $1,000, it made sense to buy the little Chevy to rent out.
The cars have to be 12 years old or newer, and have less than 130,000 miles on the clock.
As a 2016 model with 113,000 miles on the odometer, it was perfect for Turo.
Plus, as a relatively compact car and just a good daily driver, it was ideal for the platform.
Turo isn’t for exotic vehicles; it’s for people who just want to get from A to B in whatever car is available.
With a base 1.8-liter inline-four engine offering 138hp, you won’t get Bugatti Veyron speeds.
But that isn’t what the platform is for.
In addition, registering the car is easy, as you just need to input the VIN, add it to the account, and then Turo will approve it.
This is how much money the Chevrolet made on Turo
After just four hours, Alex and his partner had their first booking for the 2016 Chevy Sonic.
This guest rented it for six days, and that netted them $250 in an instant.
In one go, a quarter of the car’s purchase price had already been recouped.
But there are, of course, fees and other hidden costs that do impact the overall profit.
After 30 days on the platform, the car had been booked up for virtually every day it was listed.
It was out on the road for 20 days during that window.
Come the end of the rental period, they had made $692.58 in revenue once expenses were factored in.
While expenses such as tires and fuel saw the overall cost of the car rise to $1,600, that wasn’t all bad.
Because soon, this little Chevrolet will have paid for itself.
So renting on Turo looks like a great way to make a bit of extra cash.
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Henry joined the Supercar Blondie team in February 2025, and since then has covered a wide array of topics ranging from EVs, American barn finds, and the odd Cold War jet. He’s combined his passion for cars with his keen interest in motorsport and his side hustle as a volunteer steam locomotive fireman at a heritage steam railway.
