Turo is by far one of the most renowned vehicle rental marketplaces out there. It’s been around for quite a long and has all the safety measures checked. But, hey! Nothing on this sacred earth is 100% risk-free.
Despite all the safety and security, there’s a tiny-weensy chance of car theft. Turo and your car insurance might cover that up, but why let your car get stolen in the first place? Place a hardware-based tracker and become the all-seeing eye for your beloved ride.
Of course, not every tracker will be able to protect your car. You’ll need the best GPS tracker for your car, and this is where we come in. We shouldn’t spoil all the fun in the intro, should we? So, start your engines and prepare for a risk-free drive.
6 Best GPS Tracker for Turo Car Reviews
Our list of top 6 GPS trackers for Turo car rental comes with all sorts of safety alerts, real-time tracking, and sometimes even free map subscriptions; of course, all of them are easy to install.
Our main objective is to find the most reliable and easy-to-use GPS tracker for your Turo rental. And, of course, our picks are compatible with almost all cars, let it be a 2023 model or a 2000 model. So, without further ado, let’s show you whether we have the best ones or are just bluffing.
Invoxia Real-Time GPS Tracker
Specifications
- Tracking Type: Real-time
- Powered Using: Internal battery
- Battery Backup: Good
- Alerts: Yes
- Subscription Fee: Free for 2 Years
- Compatible With: Cars, trucks, motorcycles, and scooters
Invoxia has been producing excellent GPS trackers for a while, and they’ve stepped up their game with this tracker. It has a shared-vehicle security system, so renting your ride in Turo will be safe and secure. More details are in the full review below.
Tracking
The quality of a GPS tracker is determined by how well it can track the specified device/vehicle. If you’ve read the specifications, you already know that the Invoxia GPS tracker has a real-time tracking feature. Unlike other trackers that delay the date and location of the tracker, Invoxia does it in real-time.
It means there’s no delay in sending and receiving location data. You’re always getting the most up-to-date information about your vehicle’s whereabouts, and that’s crucial when you’re renting a car. There’s also a boost mode that updates the location every 30 seconds for 30 minutes straight.
The best part is that the service is available 24/7. It means the tracker will continue to track your vehicle even when you’re asleep. Well, that ensures a peaceful sleep, right?
Alerts and Battery
Even though the GPS tracker can do 24-hour shift seven days a week, you can’t look at your phone every few seconds, right? You have other things to deal with, which gives the thief an edge.
Or that’s what a thief would think. The Invoxia GPS tracker has an alerting system that immediately sends notifications if something suspicious happens. The tracker can pick off theft easily, thanks to the built-in tilt and proximity sensors. Yeah! You thieves better get a new job.
As for the battery life, it’s perfect, considering how compact the GPS tracker is. You can easily hide the tracker, and no one will even notice it. Okay, back to the main topic. You can expect five days of battery life if you use it for 8 hours daily.
It is based on a 10-minute interval; the battery will drain faster if you select a lower response time, like 1 minute or 30 seconds. But fear not; you can quickly charge the lousy boy up to 100% within 80 minutes. The charger cable is included, so that’s a relief.
Setting Up
If a GPS tracker is complex, it becomes less desirable to customers, and Invoxia knows this very well. It is precisely why their tracker is super easy to use. All you have to do is pair it up with your smartphone using the Invoxia app, and that’s all. The app is available on both Android and IOS platforms.
The best part is that you can pair it for yourself only or for a shared vehicle (turo car). It also lets you choose between a car, motorcycle, truck, or person. Yes! You can even track people.
Pros
- Real-time GPS tracking sends immediate location information to your smartphone.
- Excellent battery life that gives you over a week of battery life, and it has quick charging.
- Hardware anti-theft alerts detect suspicious movements and keep your vehicle safe.
- An easy-to-use GPS tracker can be set up using the Invoxia app in under two minutes.
- Built-in e-sim that comes with two years of free subscription for saving hundreds of dollars.
Cons
- The GPS tracker only works on major US regions (it doesn’t support Canada).
Optimus GB100M 4G LTE
Specifications
- Tracking Type: Real-time
- Powered Using: Car battery
- Battery Backup: Amazing
- Alerts: Yes
- Subscription Fee: Monthly fee
- Compatible With: Cars and trucks
The Invoxia GPS tracker we reviewed earlier was geared toward beginners and people who don’t want to go through the hassle of learning new stuff. But what if you’re not a beginner?
What if you already know a lot and want an advanced GPS tracker for your Turo car? It is where the Optimus GB100M comes in.
Tracking
As techy as the name sounds, the actual GPS tracker is even more advanced. Unlike the previous Invoxia GPS tracker, which had a variable tracking time (1 minute or 10 minutes), the Optimus GPS tracker updates the location every 30 seconds. So, it’s even better than real-time.
The 30 seconds option was only available in the boost mode of Invoxia. So, if you do the math, the Optimus GB100M tracker is on boost mode 24/7. As it updates the location information almost instantaneously, it’s way safer than most other GPS trackers available in the market.
Even customer service responds like the tracker. Optimus doesn’t use machines or bots, professional people run the full customer service, and you’ll find it very helpful.
As good as everything sounds, it’s not free, and that’s a bummer. You must pay $12.95 monthly to use the sim and data ($11 if you use a yearly plan).
Battery Life
As for the battery, it can be a pro and a con depending on how you look at it. Unlike other GPS trackers that use built-in batteries, the Optimus GPS connects directly to your car battery with simple positive and negative wiring.
It gives the Optimus GPS a limitless juice supply. As your car has a big battery, there are no worries about the GPS going dark. Remember when we said that it could update the location every 30 seconds? Well, this is how it’s possible. With a built-in battery, the GPS would have died within an hour.
The installation can be complicated if you’ve never opened your car before, which shouldn’t be the case because knowing your car from the inside is essential.
However, if you know the interiors, it’s as simple as taking candy from a baby. Just stick the negative wire to the negative and the positive wire to the positive end of the car battery.
Alerts
We’ve already established that alerts are crucial for securing your vehicle when renting in Turo car, and Optimus just took it to the next level. The number of alerts it provides is perfect for the value.
For starters, you get an anti-theft alert, which notifies you of something unusual happening to your vehicle via SMS, email, or push notifications in the app. This alert is very crucial to protect your ride.
Secondly, you get speed alerts. It is a feature you didn’t know you needed. This alert will help you avoid getting speeding tickets. Like before, the tracker will send an SMS, email, or push notification to your smartphone when you cross the speed limit.
It even has a driver history to check where it went wrong. It will be beneficial when renting your car and the guest tries to hide things from you.
Pros
- The GPS tracker updates location information every 30 seconds for real-time tracking.
- Anti-theft, speed alert, and driver history for a safe and secure driving experience
- Almost unlimited battery backup prevents the GPS tracker from dying when needed.
- Easy to install GPS tracker that can be powered from the car’s battery using two wires.
- It comes with data and a sim compatible with the maps of the USA and Canada.
Cons
- It has a subscription-based service requires $12.95a month, which is a bit expensive.
Brickhouse Spark Nano 7 GPS Tracker for Vehicle
Specifications
- Tracking Type: Real-time
- Powered Using: Internal battery
- Battery Backup: Okay-ish
- Alerts: Yes
- Subscription Fee: Monthly fee
- Compatible With: Cars, motorcycles, and trucks
If you’re a person who values their vehicle’s security over everything, this might be the best GPS tracker for your Turo car rental. Brickhouse’s features and security are unmatched, but they come at a cost. So, are you up for it?
Plans
Brickhouse is like the Apple (smartphone brand) of the GPS tracker industry. It’s a tried and true brand that provides top-of-the-line security, and with that comes the price tag. They provide three different subscription plans for your tracker: basic, plus, and premium.
The basic plan allows you to have an update rate of 60 seconds. It means your GPS tracker will be able to update the location information every 60 seconds. It will cost you about $17.99 each month. That may seem too much, but you must take the brand value, after-sales service, and impeccable security.
The Plus subscription will update the location every 30 seconds. At this point, this is the fastest we’ve seen on all GPS trackers. It will cost you about $22.99 each month. As for the premium plan, it lives up to the name. It can update the location every 5-freaking seconds. That’s lightning fast. But you have to empty your pockets as well. It costs $27.99 a month.
The best part is that they’ll still provide support through their call center even if you don’t buy their monthly subscription. So, if you have any problems, just hit the dialer.
Features
There’s no doubt about the tracking time. It’s super-fast, but what about the other things? Well, rest assured. Like all other top-end trackers, it has an anti-theft alert, which will notify you when suspicious things happen.
The best feature is viewing tons of traffic and map-related information using any web browser you want. It applies to both Google Android and Apple IOS. You can check driving history, speed limits, and even geofencing. All these are accessed using the 4G LTE network, so it’s fast.
These features will allow you to enjoy a safe and secure driving experience. The Brickhouse GPS tracker can store the tracking history for a year. It means you can go back to any information you need.
The Rest
Installing the GPS is one of the easiest. There’s no hardwiring or anything. You only have to put it inside the box and slap it on a metal surface. The box has super strong magnets that can hold it in place firmly. Also, the box is waterproof, so there is no doubt about durability.
Since it can magnetically hold itself in place and is tiny, you can just slap it under your car, and no one will notice it. In the unlikely event of theft, the thieves won’t notice their every move being watched.
If you feel unsafe, the GPS tracker has a physical panic button that can immediately send your loved ones and friends a SOS containing your whereabouts. So, you’ll always feel safe despite the situation.
It’s also compatible with Amazon Alexa, so you can enjoy all the benefits of using voice commands. Regarding compatibility, it’ll give you complete coverage of the USA, Mexico, and Canada via a 4G network.
Pros
- Subscription-based tracking that can provide blazing-fast 5 seconds location updates
- Super tough waterproof box that houses the GPS tracker for safe and secure tracking
- Easily pairable with any Android, iPhone, or Amazon Alexa for receiving quick alerts.
- Physical panic button for sending emergency SOS signals when you feel threatened.
- Tons of features, including anti-theft, geofencing, and driver history, for a safe ride
- A quick and responsive tracker that works well in the USA, Canada, and Mexico regions
Cons
- If you plan on using five or 30-second updates, the 2600mAh battery might die quickly.
Vyncs GPS Tracker for Vehicles
Specifications
- Tracking Type: Real-time
- Powered Using: OBD- II
- Battery Backup: Amazing
- Alerts: Yes
- Subscription Fee: Yearly
- Compatible With: Cars and trucks
The problem with compact-sized GPS trackers is that they tend to run out of juice pretty fast, especially if you have a high update rate. The only solution is to buy trackers you can hardwire with the car battery. That’s a bit tricky, so this is why we bring you the Vyncs tracker.
Subscription
Unlike other GPS trackers with monthly subscription fees, the Vyncs GPS tracker has a yearly plan. Before you jump to conclusions, no, the yearly plan is not more expensive than the monthly plans combined.
Other GPS’ have monthly plans that start from $17 to $20 and can go up to as much as $30. Guess how much the Vyncs’ yearly plan costs? $200? $300? Nope! It only costs $110, including the activation fee. That’s like half the rate of monthly fees.
That’s wild if you consider the features and security you’re getting. Things get even better the next year as you don’t have to pay any activation fee of $30. It means that you’ll only have to pay $79.99 each year, and that’s an insanely good deal if you ask us.
It even has a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can send it back and take a full refund if it doesn’t perform as expected. You have nothing to lose using this GPS tracker.
Tracking
“Well, since the yearly plan is so cheap, the location update rate is slow.” Yeah! We thought that, too, until Vyncs proved us wrong. The GPS tracker has a real-time 4G tracking feature that updates every 20 seconds.
Yeah! You heard that right. Even monthly subscription-based GPS trackers don’t have this fast location update rate. For comparison, Brickhouse’ plus plan has a 30 seconds update rate, which costs $22 each month. That’s like $264 each year, whereas Vyncs costs only $79.
Since it uses the 4G LTE networking system, there’s no chance of any miscalculation of location. All the location information is 100% accurate, so you can quickly pinpoint where your Turo car is.
Installation and Other Features
As we’ve said, there’s no hardwiring, although it must be connected to the car. There’s an included cable that you can use to connect the tracker directly to your car using the OBD-II port. Just plug and play, no extra hassle. As it connects to the car, there’s no shortage of battery life, thus the 20-second update rate.
You can also check your vehicle’s health using the supported app. It will let you know what needs maintenance and when.
However, as the tracker connects to the OBD-II port, it’s visible to everyone. Unless you hide it inside the dash, the thief can quickly yank it out of the car and stop you from monitoring its location. So, don’t forget to hide it well.
The neatest part is that even the Vyncs app installed on your phone or computer can act as a tracker. This way, you can monitor your loved ones when they’re out. That is, if they are using the Vyncs app on their phone.
Other features include various alerts if something suspicious happens, geofencing, speeding notifications, trips, and driving history. It also supports up to 200 countries, so there are no boundaries.
Pros
- $79.99 yearly super cheap subscription fee that provides 20 seconds location update
- The tracker has a global 4G LTE sim card supporting up to 200 countries.
- Easy-to-install tracker that uses the OBD-II port and provides excellent battery backup.
- Geofencing, speeding, and anti-theft alerts for a safe and secure driving experience
- 4G LTE-based networking system for more precise and real-time location information
Cons
- Since it connects to the OBD-II port, it’s visible and can be easily picked off by thieves.
Brickhouse GPS Tracker with Real-time Alerts
Specifications
- Tracking Type: Real-time
- Powered Using: Car Battery
- Battery Backup: Amazing
- Alerts: Yes
- Subscription Fee: Monthly fee
- Compatible With: Cars and trucks
Our and most users’ major complaint with the previous Brickhousegps tracker was the lackluster battery life. It was a fast GPS with an internal battery, so the poor backup wasn’t shocking to us. So, if you want the same top-notch features with better battery life, here’s our pick.
You’re in Control
One of the biggest fears of a Turo car rental is that you’re unsure how your car is being driven. That fear is about to end because the Brickhouse VOLT has all the necessary alerts to give you peace of mind.
To start, you can set a defined area where your vehicle can stay. The minute the vehicle exits the defined area, you’ll get a notification. This way, you won’t have to constantly monitor the vehicle because you’ll receive alerts when the guest takes the car out of your determined zone.
This feature can also be used as vice-versa. You can set areas where the vehicle is not supposed to enter. So, if the car enters those areas, you’ll get a notification.
You can also set a determined speed limit so that the guest doesn’t exceed the speed limit and receive speeding tickets. This way, you can keep the car safe and also your reputation. Lastly, you get an anti-theft alert for suspicious activities around your vehicle.
Subscription
Brickhouse is like the Apple of the GPS tracker industry. It’s a top-tier brand that provides top-of-the-line security, but this security comes at a price. They provide three different subscription plans for your tracker: basic, plus, and premium.
The basic plan allows you to have an update rate of 60 seconds. It means your GPS tracker will be able to update the location information every 60 seconds.
It will cost you about $17.99 each month. That may seem too much, but you must take the brand value, after-sales service, and impeccable security.
The Plus subscription will update the location every 30 seconds. At this point, this is the fastest we’ve seen on all GPS trackers. It will cost you about $22.99 each month.
As for the premium plan, it lives up to the name. It can update the location every 5-freaking seconds. That’s lightning fast. But you have to empty your pockets as well. It costs $27.99 a month.
Installation
Unlike the first one that used an internal battery and would run out of life pretty fast, this one connects directly to your car battery. So, what’s the advantage?
Well, you get an unlimited supply of backup. It means you won’t have to think twice before purchasing the premium plan for a lightning-fast response rate.
Since it connects to the car battery, it’s way out of touch with everyone’s hands. Thieves won’t even find the tracker, so throwing it out is out of the question. It has a drawback, though. It lacks the physical panic button to send an immediate SOS. Well, even if it had one, how would you reach it?
The tracker has IP67 resistance, which means 100% protection against dust, and can survive fully submerged for 30 minutes. It should give you an idea about the durability.
As for the installation, it is super easy. Just connect the two wires (positive and negative) to the car’s positive and negative wires. There’s an LED indicator to ensure whether it’s connected or not.
Pros
- Subscription-based tracking that can provide blazing-fast 5 seconds location updates
- An easy-to-install GPS tracker that connects directly to the car battery for considerable battery life.
- Tons of features, including anti-theft, geofencing, and driver history, for a safe ride
- A quick and responsive tracker that works well in the USA, Canada, and Mexico regions
- IP67 rating that protects the tracker from dust and water submersion for 30 minutes.
Cons
- Unlike the previous model, this one has no physical buttons for sending SOS.
Bouncie GPS Car Tracker
Specifications
- Tracking Type: Real-time
- Powered Using: OBD port
- Battery Backup: Amazing
- Alerts: Yes
- Subscription Fee: Monthly fee
- Compatible With: Cars only
GPS trackers with fast location update rates are excellent, but there’s always a catch. Yep! The subscription fee slowly empties your pocket more than you’d initially realize. So, what will it be? Fast location update or saving your pocket? Or how about both? No, we’re not bluffing.
Tracking and Subscription
Let’s start with talking about the tracking and subscription fee because this is what we’ve invited you for. You might be wondering how fast a cheap subscription-based GPS tracker can be. Well, it’s certainly faster than we expected.
It’s not as fast as the Brickhouse GPS trackers that have $28 a month for 5 seconds update rate. But it doesn’t have to be that fast. The Bouncie GPS tracker can update/refresh location data every 15 seconds. That’s much faster than 80% of the tracker available in the market.
And the most shocking part is that you won’t have to pay even half of what Brickhouse demands. The Bouncie tracker has a monthly subscription fee of only 8 USD. That’s unbelievable for a 15-second refresh rate. For the Canadian fellas out there, it’s 13 CAD.
Well, that’s it. That’s all you have to pay. “But, wait! There must be activation charges, hidden fees, and other shenanigans, right?” Sorry to disappoint, but no! You won’t have to pay for anything else.
One neat feature of this tracker is that it can show you whether the vehicle is parked. The location will be marked on the map so you can watch the parked vehicle.
Installation and Battery
The Bouncie GPS tracker is one of the easiest-to-install trackers on the market. It’s plug-and-play, so there’s no hardwiring or lengthy setup process. All you have to do is connect the tracker to your car’s OBD port, and that’s it. After that, install the app, and you’re ready to roll it out.
As for the battery, you can already guess what we will say. Since it connects to the car, the tracker has a nearly unlimited battery; hence, it can quickly update its location without running out of juice.
However, as the tracker connects to the OBD port, it’s visible to everyone. Unless you hide it inside the dash using an extended cable, the thief can quickly yank it out of the car and stop you from monitoring its location. So, don’t forget to hide it well.
Rest of the Features
Since the tracker connects directly to the car’s OBD port, many valuable features surprise you. For starters, you can use the app to check the health of your car. It will help you maintain your ride better.
The tracker even has a crash detection feature that immediately sends an SOS to your and all the other connected smartphones. And the road assistance feature is just a “chef’s kiss.” Bouncie will send help to you, anywhere, anytime regarding the car.
Other features included speed limit and geofencing, which we’ve discussed extensively in past reviews. All of these features make the Bouncie GPS tracker one of the finest on the list—a well-deserved title.
Pros
- Fifteen seconds location update rate with only an $8 fee for a cheap yet powerful experience
- Road assistance feature that includes towing, refilling fuel, and battery for a safe ride
- Tons of features, including geofencing, accident detection, and vehicle health check
- Easy-to-install tracker that uses an OBD port for fast refresh and unlimited battery life.
Cons
- Since it connects to the OBD port of your car, it’s visible to suspicious eyes.
Things You Should Consider Before Buying the GPS Tracker
Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could just barge into a store, get a random gps tracker and expect it to perform like a champ? Well, wake up from your slumber because that only happens in dreams.
If you want your GPS tracker to perform the absolute best, you must keep a few critical aspects in mind before making the purchase. It’s not like you have to tick all the boxes, but the more, the better. So, without further ado, let’s start.
Tracking
Well, it’s a no-brainer that tracking would be the most crucial aspect of a tracker. It is the sole reason why you’re getting a GPS tracker. However, not every tracker can track the same way, which makes the best “best.”
Since you’ll be installing the tracker on a car that someone will rent out, you’ll need constant updates on its location. A tracker with a 5 to 15 seconds location update rate is recommended. It will give you real-time location data.
However, such a high update rate tracker will cost you a lot. If you don’t want to empty your pocket, you can make do with a 20 to 30 seconds tracker. It’s not as snappy as 5 seconds but does the job nicely. We wouldn’t recommend trackers that take minutes to update, though.
Alerts
Even if you have a tracker with a high location update rate, you can’t monitor your vehicle 24/7, can you? It is where notifications/alerts come into play. As the name suggests, alerts will send notifications/emails/SMS to your smartphone or computer when something suspicious happens.
The GPS tracker uses various 3D motion and proximity sensors to determine what’s happening to your vehicle. Of course, not all the alerts will be accurate, but it’s better to get false alarms now and then than not to get anything at all, right?
Extra Features
The best GPS tracker for Turo cars won’t only have a fast-tracking rate and anti-theft alerts but also extra features that make the overall ride a lot safer and secure. For instance, it should have geofencing. It will help you keep the vehicle in check.
How? By setting up areas that the car can enter or exit. You’ll instantly get a notification if the vehicle enters a no-go zone. Same with the exit. If it exits your specified area, you’ll get a notification.
Speeding alert is another extra feature you should look for. It’s not mandatory, but it’s nice to have. As the name says, it alerts you when the vehicle crosses your pre-determined or limited speed. It helps keep the guest in check.
Last but not least, don’t forget about your history. No! Not your internet history. It’s your driving history and trip advisor. Many GPS trackers save your driving history so that you can use them later on for optimal driving experience.
Battery
If you use your vehicle or rent it for a few hours each day, you can get away with GPS trackers that have internal batteries. These batteries can be recharged using USB cables, so no worries about juicing up the cute fellow. They also last weeks when used for a few hours.
However, if you use the vehicle a lot, GPS trackers can be hardwired into the car battery to give a near-unlimited battery supply. This way, you can use trackers with super high update rates without worrying about the battery running out.
Hardwire trackers sit inside the car’s interior compartment, so thieves will have difficulty finding the tracker and an even harder time getting rid of it.
FAQs
- How Do I Install A GPS Tracker That Uses an Internal Battery and Use It in My Turo Car?
To start, turn on the GPS tracker. There’s either a power-on button or a USB cable (included) that you’re supposed to plug in. After that, visit the Google Play store for Android smartphones or the iPhone app store, and download the GPS tracker app. Install the app, follow the prompts, and pair the tracker using Bluetooth.
- How Do I Install A GPS Tracker That Uses the Car Battery?
First, locate the car battery and loosen up the positive (+) and negative (-) bol terminals. After that, connect the red wire of the GPS tracker to the positive bolt terminal (usually red) and the black wire to the negative bolt terminal (usually black). Now firmly tighten the bolt terminals and use double-sided tape to stick the tracker onto a safe surface.
- Why Isn’t My GPS Tracker for Turo Car Rental Showing Accurate Location Information?
It happens to newly installed GPS trackers. It’s because the tracker is starting to calculate data. To fix this, try driving the vehicle for 10 to 20 minutes and ensuring there aren’t any signal interfaces.
- Why Isn’t My GPS Tracker for Turo Car Rental Responding or Updating Location?
As with any other electronic device, trackers can also malfunction. In the unlikely event of that, just reboot or power off the GPS tracker and turn it back on after a few seconds. To reboot, just hold the power button.
Final Words
So, get the best GPS tracker for Turo car, and install immediately to ensure top-class security. Car theft? Thieves will have nightmares now.
Wait! Are you still here? Which can only mean you need more suggestions. Well, we can’t turn you down. Here’s our recommendation that’ll help you make a decision.
Get the Invoxia Real Time GPS tracker if you want something fast and responsive without breaking the bank. It has all the alerts and sensors for protecting your ride, and the battery is good. Even the subscription is free.
People who want unlimited battery life and fast location updates can get the Brickhouse VOLT GPS Tracker. It connects directly to the car battery and provides a 5 seconds location update.