Hertz - Buy a Hertz Corvette

Not sure I'd be interested after some of those photos of racing school in the vettes, or some of the stories I've read about your vette rentals here on FT, but if you wanted to pick one up, Hertz Rent2Buy now carries them

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/photo.php?pid=2534949&op=1&view=all&subj=178893106417&aid=-1&auser=0&oid=178893106417&id=91062694654

http://hertzrent2buy.com/Content/Default.aspx

I would never by a rental, and I would absolutely never, ever by a sports car rental like a Vette, 350Z, G37 or Mustang GT.

I would not buy a rental either.

I always thought I would never buy a rental as well, and of course if the ex-Hertz employee wouldn't buy a rental, that's probably as good of an indicator as you can get. ;) But, just for one sample good experience, we got great service from an ex-Enterprise 2003 Mistubishi Galant. Bought in 2004 with 30k, sold with 92k in 2008 and was still working perfectly well. We just decided to downsize to one car and kept the one worth less money. It happens the one we kept is also the one I've had from new, but really, the fact that the other was a rental did not figure into the sell decision.

Given some of the Hertz vehicles I've had recently, I don't think I would buy one of those....

Interesting to note the miles on the ones presently up for sale.. some are 30k plus.

Does anyone know if this mean that those cars are already actualy out of circulation or do they remain in the fleets until a buyer requests them?

(*3 All stated mileage is an approximation because the cars are actively being rented. Mileage is updated daily.)


I'm no expert but being that these cars are limited edition (500?) you can almost guarantee they will be collectors items in the future so $30k does not seem to bad a deal to me? One new (if you could buy it but you can't) would likely set you back what $70k or so?

These will be $100k plus cars if you can hold on to them long enough :D

Interesting to note the miles on the ones presently up for sale.. some are 30k plus.

Does anyone know if this mean that those cars are already actualy out of circulation or do they remain in the fleets until a buyer requests them?

(*3 All stated mileage is an approximation because the cars are actively being rented. Mileage is updated daily.)


I'm no expert but being that these cars are limited edition (500?) you can almost guarantee they will be collectors items in the future so $30k does not seem to bad a deal to me? One new (if you could buy it but you can't) would likely set you back what $70k or so?

These will be $100k plus cars if you can hold on to them long enough :D


Just because something is limited in edition, doesn't mean it will appreciate. They may not devalue as much as other cars, but it is unlikely they will ever appreciate, even with inflation.

If we were talking about a limited edition Toyota Corolla then I would agree with you, however being that it's a very respected and liked limited edition Corvette - I have to respectfully disagree.

Any Corvette collectors on this forum that might add there thoughts on this?

I would have a difficult time purchasing a former rental. I try to treat the rentals with some degree of respect but I see many others who treat them like a "red-headed stepchild". :(

Does anyone know if this mean that those cars are already actualy out of circulation or do they remain in the fleets until a buyer requests them?

(*3 All stated mileage is an approximation because the cars are actively being rented. Mileage is updated daily.)




I saw a few cars during my time that would have a stop hold added to it with the remarks "Sold" so the answer is yes. I don't think all of them are like that, though.

If we were talking about a limited edition Toyota Corolla then I would agree with you, however being that it's a very respected and liked limited edition Corvette - I have to respectfully disagree.

Any Corvette collectors on this forum that might add there thoughts on this?

If the price for the ZHZ is $30k, that's a steal! The ZHZ coupe would sell for $54k new, and the ragtop about $60k. For the collectibility, sure it will be a collector car in 30 years but the think to look at is the depreciation, which will be very low on these cars. Seriously, for $30k I would buy one except I already have an identical one in the garage for which I paid well more than that.

As to the abuse angle, the engine and transmissions are very strong and made to take light-racing conditions, thus it wouldn't be of any concern to me. I've seen quite a few of the ZHZs out in traffic, and not once have I seen anyone driving spirited or any different than a Kia.

Even the not-so-collectible Vette C5 models from 1997-2004 are holding their value in the high 20s. Buying one for 30k would likely result in owning a car for free over 3-5 more years.

A non-hertz Corvette with that many miles is not worth much more than $30k. While there is no guarantee that it has been treated any better, I would rather take my chances on the non-rental vs. the rental, unless the point was to park it for 25 years and hope it was a collector's item by then. In that case, either car would have very low mileage and would command a premium, the rest is unknown.

I've seen quite a few of the ZHZs out in traffic, and not once have I seen anyone driving spirited or any different than a Kia.


Rubbish

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=zhz+&search_type=&aq=f

I am well aware of the YouTube abuse videos of Corvettes and any other cars. As I stated, I've not witnessed any in person, and there are lots of ZHZs where I live. The videos are not indicative of the treatment of rentals as a whole.

It's very rare where I live (FL) to see a 20,000 mile Corvette for any less than $35k. Of course we have a high ratio of Corvette owners due to the weather and high vehicle demand. I'd still feel comfortable buying one and think it's a helluva steal.

I am well aware of the YouTube abuse videos of Corvettes and any other cars. As I stated, I've not witnessed any in person, and there are lots of ZHZs where I live. The videos are not indicative of the treatment of rentals as a whole.

I've seen quite a few of the ZHZs out in traffic, and not once have I seen anyone driving spirited or any different than a Kia.



Still trying to find those Kia abuse videos, as you said people drive the Kia's the same as the Corvettes :rolleyes:

Oh and your experience is not indicative of the treatment of rentals as a whole

Are you referring to the rental company employees who might drive a Kia really fast to the oil change place because they're in a hurry to rent it out again but it's on maintenance hold? ;)

I tried clicking around to see if the "3-day Test drive" was a cheap way to rent a car. It's not, and you don't see a rate ever - it just says 'regular daily rate'.


Edit: It looks like reservation email says "$99/day" while the internet reservation says "$46/day". No milage quoted. Might actually be cheaper way to go.

I've seen other price-sheets for high-volume liquidations, with price being functional to mileage. I always notice the "20k for $22k, or 40k for $20k" price structure, and wonder who would pay $2k less for twice the mileage.