# Claims for vehicles with prior damage

> How does Turo assess new damage vs prior damage     Prior damage is any damage to the vehicle that  rsquo  s more than 3 in length and   existed 

Source: https://help.turo.com/en_us/claims-with-prior-damage-rkv98EeNc

Last updated: 2026-04-28T20:46:02.037Z

#### If a vehicle has eligible existing damage but is damaged again during a guest’s trip, Turo will consider the cost to repair prior and new damage in determining your payout for the claim. 

## New damage vs. prior damage

Turo defines “prior damage” as any damage, excluding glass damage, that’s more than 3 inches in length and existed before the start of the trip during which the new damage occurred. All glass damage, regardless of length, is considered “prior damage” if it existed before a guest’s trip. 

We examine all damage closely to determine the costs of the new damage versus the prior damage. We do this using the pre- and post-trip photos you must take and upload to Trip Photos. You must upload these photos within 24 hours before and 24 hours after a trip.

We encourage you to take pre-trip photos as well to help ensure eligibility for physical damage claims; otherwise, we charge US hosts a $25 processing fee for submitting a claim without photos. Learn best practices for [taking photos for damage claims.](https://help.turo.com/en_us/taking-damage-photos-Hk6tLVlN5)

## Calculating physical damage costs for claims involving prior damage

If we discover that a vehicle had prior damage, we'll make two calculations. First, we’ll estimate the cost to repair the prior damage. Then we’ll estimate the cost to repair the new damage. We'll pay you the difference between the two estimates. This ensures we pay you for costs related to damage that occurred during the trip and don’t charge guests for damage that occurred before their trip took place.  

#### Examples of calculations of costs for claims with prior damage

**Example 1:** Before a guest’s trip, your vehicle’s bumper had a 6-inch scrape that would have cost you $350\* to repair. During the trip, the bumper received new damage. Due to the new damage, the bumper's repair cost has increased from $350\* to $500\*. Turo would pay you the difference—$150\* for the new damage.

**Example 2:** Before a guest’s trip, your vehicle’s wheel has a 4-inch scrape. Scrapes to wheels are common, and most shops charge a flat fee to repair and refinish a wheel. During the trip, the guest adds new scrapes to the wheel, but the wheel's repair cost remains estimated at the same flat fee. The new scrapes don't increase the repair cost from the previous estimate, so Turo would not pay any physical damage costs for the wheel. 

\*Amounts are in $A for Australia, CA$ for Canada, € for France, and £ for the United Kingdom. They’re in US$ for the United States and its territories.

**You may also find these helpful:**

*   [Claims dashboard | Hosts](https://help.turo.com/viewing-and-managing-claims-dashboard-S1FAwXad5)
*   [Contacting claims | Hosts](https://help.turo.com/contacting-claims-or-hosts-rya5IVlN5)