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Purchasing Rental & Program Vehicles

188 messages,  Last post on May 17, 2009 at 10:54 AM

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#119 of 188 RE: Hertz Car Sales ...... by prophet2 Aug 21, 1999 (7:02 am)
I have several friends who have bought from Hertz and were quite happy with their deals. The cars seemed to be in better condition AND lower-priced than those of the other rental companies. Around here, Hertz takes them out of service in the low 20K mileage and offers a limited one year/ 12K warranty. A somewhat reasonably-priced extended warranty is also available. I don't know about the other Hertz locations around the country, but the one in Honolulu has a lot of GM (Grand Ams, Luminas, Cavaliers) and Ford (Escorts, Contours, Mustangs) vehicles, plus Camrys, Accords, 626s, and Proteges every so often. An unusually wide selection and they've got their competition beat on prices, too.
#121 of 188 Unarchived by request by Sylvia STAFF Jun 27, 2004 (7:46 pm)
#122 of 188 Hertz and other rental car resales by buyrite Jun 28, 2004 (6:30 am)
Has anyone had recent experiences purchasing rental cars from Hertz or other car rental companies. Can you negotiate with them? Are their cars well maintained as they claim? Are these cars as I suspect driven more cautiously than personal car, or do renters treat them abusively. any information you can provide will help me make a decision as to whether to shop at these sources? Thanks. Replies to this message: tunabreath (Sep 17, 2004 3:15 pm)
#123 of 188 My experiences and opinions ... by jlawrence01 Jun 28, 2004 (7:54 am)
Personally, if I were going to purchase a rental vehicle, i woudl probably limit my purchase to Avis and Hertz. Both companies are solid and financially and in general, take pretty good care of their vehicles. I would AVOID Enterprise as I have had a lot of problems with the condition of cars that I have received in rentals (and my spouse is an indurance adjuster).   As to your questions.   1) Generally, you do NOT negotiate with the rental agency. OTOH, my first purchase from Avis (an '83 K-car) was for $6800 vs. $7200 sticker. They had three cars that were identical and I took the one with the greater mileage. I was happy as I took the car from 28k to 192k. I would say that you almost always pay the sticker price, but what does it hurt to ask??   2) Avis and Hertz take care of their cars. Generally, they have a service record that you will find on the inside of the trunk lid. I would ask for service records as they are generally available.   3) Do people abuse their rental cars? I am sure that some do. Most don't. I believe that there are also people (especially those who cannot afford to keep their cars) who abuse their cars, especially when I see the shape that a lot of private sales are in. Personally, I know of few people who crack open their owners' manual and actually perform all of the service.   Rental cars are like ANY used cars - they carry more risks than a new car purchase. AND THAT RISK IS REFLECTED IN THE PRICE (emphasis intended). You need to treat the purchase like ANY other used car purchase. Have the car inspected by your own TRUSTED independent mechanic.   One advantage of rental cars is that they generally come loaded with most of the options. On occasion, they come with additional safety/security equipment (steering column protection).   I would strongly advise that you check the pricing at the rental car agency against what you can get at a dealership.   Hope that helps.
#124 of 188 Enterprise by leeandgina Jun 28, 2004 (9:23 am)
I spent over 3 years working for Enterprise (ultimately as a branch manager) and my experience would be buying a rental is just like buying any other used car.   Enterprise car sales only picked the "best" cars for resale on the car lot and the prices were fixed (no haggle). All the service records were available and generally the cars were low enough miles that an oil change or 2 were the only manufacturer requirements. Almost all the cars still have warranty too.   Of course there are some people that abuse rental cars but those same people own a car of their own a lot of the times, and you could end up buying their car off a dealer lot when they trade it in.   Any cars that Enterprise bought that dont make the grade for resale direct either go back to the manufacturer as they are program cars or goto the auctions and you as a consumer end up buying a "rental" anyways, except the dealer probably wont tell you Replies to this message: kmauss (May 04, 2007 8:46 am) metro123 (Aug 17, 2007 5:20 pm) joel0622 (Aug 18, 2007 5:04 am) and 7 more... nthe (Nov 27, 2007 9:21 am)
#125 of 188 I just bought a "Hertz" unit from a Mitsu Dealer by chuck1 Jun 28, 2004 (5:40 pm)
I just purcahsed an '03 Mitsubishi Galant ES that at the time had 16,900 miles on it. The Mitsubishi dealer had at least 16 of them. I picked out one that was really clean. After much haggling it was $10,400.00 In California they have to disclose if they are "former rentals". I didn't know it was a Hertz unit until I found the insurance paper left in the glovebox. This car was in great shape, I don't know why Hertz put it out to auction. The same car sold at a local Hertz store for $9,995.00. However, I had a trade that was worth $3,000.00 and Hertz doesn't take trades, generally. BTW, this is the 3rd "former rental" I have purchased, all cars have served well. I always make sure they still have some warranty left so if there are any issues, they can be taken care of with out cost to me.
#126 of 188 Hertz by wildcorgis Jun 29, 2004 (11:59 am)
I almost bought a 03 Camry from Hertz. The info I got was that there was no haggling, no trades. The price went down 500 buck every month it went unsold. The salesman showed me a bunch of cars Civics and Galants, I think, that were being sold to local car dealers. Confirming what someone previous said, that the good cars went up for sale on this lot and the rest of went to auction. If you saw something on another car of the same model he would let you switch, i.e. mats, tires,simple stuff. Stuff I didn't like; got very few options,few color choices( no Phantom Gray) generic floor mats. Stuff I liked ; no pressure, test drove w/o salesman, Hertz has their own warranty.Walked in got a list of every car and price   All in all , a great buy, except I couldn't see myself driving a Camry. Anecdotally, I ve known a few people who bought from Hertz and no one has ever complained. Can't remember who told me this but he said most rentals go to business people and they rarely drive like maniacs. Steve
#127 of 188 Coworker just bought a 2003 Altima from Hertz... by asafonov Jul 01, 2004 (9:02 am)
not sure if this was an S or an SL (my rental in March was an SL, but, strangely, with cloth seats). Said she paid about 15.5k + taxes and fees. Nice car.
#128 of 188 Re: Hertz and other rental car resales [buyrite] by tunabreath Sep 17, 2004 (3:15 pm)
Replying to: buyrite (Jun 28, 2004 6:30 am) bought a 2002 mazda 626 for my wife from Hertz. $9500 with 25k miles. had it for a year. runs great. the buying process was real simple. I would probably look at them again for a SUV/Mini van.

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