Zhen Tang said when he put his cars on Turo he thought he would just make enough to pay for the maintenance, then it turned into a full-blown side gig.
He said he put three cars on the car rental app about a year ago and since then he has grown his fleet to seven vehicles and said that they stay rented out about 60-70% of the time.
At that rate, he said each of his luxury vehicles brings in about $2,000 a month. Some go for more.
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“The green Porsche brings in about $3,000 a month,” he said. “It’s just based on demand. I have dynamic pricing and when it is in more demand I raise the prices on them.”
Tang said his main job is real estate, but he has been interested in cars since he was a child.
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“It’s something I always dreamed about when I was little. I want to be a race car driver and I always loved cars,” he said.
He said his real estate company, Engine Realty, is even named after his love for cars. Tang has been flexing his business muscles since high school.
“I bought and sold old computers on eBay,” he said.
He said realizing there are so many opportunities in the U.S. is what drives him.
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“I grew up poor, but my parents instilled a great hustle mentality in me. Here in America, there are just so many things you can do with your time,” he said.
Tang said he is originally from China and that he and his parents moved to Orlando about 30 years ago.
Tang offered some advice for people looking to pursue their own side hustle.
“If you want something badly enough you can find the time for it,” he said. “I started doing real estate with my regular 9 to 5 job. I was a banker for 15 years and in real estate and banking for the last 7 years while I was in banking, so that allowed me to make enough money to quit my main banking job.”
To learn more about Tang, how he is using his cars to make more money, and what he has to say about the risk associated with letting strangers use his cars check out Florida’s Fourth Estate. You can download it from wherever you listen to podcasts or watch it anytime on News 6+.