Would you rent your car for extra money? Some Canadians make $800 per month doing it

There are about 23 million cars on the road in Canada and a recent survey by the car sharing platform Turo found that many of them sit idle most of the time.

“So many people have a car and the fact they are spending so much money on their cars, but in the end that asset is vastly underutilized," said Cedric Mathieu, Vice President of Turo Canada.

Turo has been around for about five years in Canada and it's been called the Airbnb of car sharing. It’s car ownership survey found that 83 per cent of Canadians own or lease a vehicle, but those vehicles sit idle 95 per cent of the time.

The survey also looked at the cost of vehicle ownership and found the annual cost of owning a car, not including gas, maintenance and other expenses, is $4,937 nationally and slightly higher at $5,249 in Ontario.

Turo says 1.2 million Canadians have signed up to rent more than 55,000 cars through its platform on its app and website. Clients can rent a vehicle from a private owner often cheaper than a traditional rental company or rent a luxury vehicle for a special occasion.

Mathieu says vehicle owners who want to become hosts on the Turo platform can rent out their cars to generate income with a vehicle that may be sitting idle in their driveway anyway.

"It's really a platform that connects car owners who have a car but don’t use it all the time with people who need cars,” said Mathieu.

Tamer Gargour of North York doesn’t own a car and sometimes needs one for a long period of time and said he finds it easier to rent one from another car owner through the platform.

"I never had time to invest in a full-time car and I have used it (Turo) consistently every month. I’ve used it for a year and half non-stop," said Gargour.

Turo has insurance, which can help protect both renters and hosts who provide their cars. The company says it's an option for those who need a vehicle occasionally, but don't want the expense of ownership.

"Our mission at Turo is paving the way for a future where there are fewer cars on the road, but the those cars are accessed by a larger number of people," said Mathieu.

Renting out your personal car to strangers may not be for everyone, but Mathieu said the concept is gaining traction with more users and that hosts in Canada who rent out their cars make an average of almost $800 a month.