SpeedRicer

Got back into SFO earlier today and saw a 325i parked in one of the Prez Circle stalls (with no name assigned). Thinking it was a customer/employee car, I walked up to it and noticed that it had barcode stickers. Interesting!

Went to the Gold counter, and asked about the car, but the agent didn't know anything about it. So I went out and grabbed the keytag from the ignition -- was noted as a Class H. The agent was willing to give it to me for the F rate ( ), but unfortunately, the computer had a DO NOT RENT notation on it for some reason. Probably reserved for a Platinum member or something...

Any ideas if Hertz has started buying BMWs lately, or is this an isolated case? I'm thinking the latter, since no one knew anything about it, and since it was a local car (had a BMW San Francisco dealer sticker on the decklid). Interestingly enough, it was the last-generation E46 model, not the current E90 that was just released...

UAPremExecflyer

Can't add to the sum of knowledge on this one. But would be GREAT if Beamers were being added to the fleet nationwide. I would take a 325i over the Kia Amanti any day of the week. H class also is the Toyota Avalon -- nice car but not a patch on a 325i. Fingers crossed it's not an isolated case.

Tummy

My guess is that they're having difficulty moving the remaining E46 and got a good deal.

KosherKimchee

BMW typically offers massive incentives to get outdated body styles off dealer's lots. I've twice bought BMW body styles in their last model year to get the BMW "trunk money" discounts.

That said, unless that E46 was a very hard model to sell (no sunroof, leatherette upholstry), I'm surprised to see it end up in a Hertz fleet. The free maintenance doesnt do Hertz any good, it's not like they are going to send a yellow jacket off to a BMW dealer with the E46 for the free maintenance -- too much time lost. But the BMW itself would be very expensive for Hertz to maintain, expensive oil/oil filters brake rotors/pads if Hertz wasnt using the BMW free maintenance. Coupled with the very lucrative BMW incentives to late E46 buyers, I'm shocked.

I have seen E46s with Enterprise plates, but I figure those are insurance replacements for German car owners.

dhl

My guess would be that the BMW was a service vehicle i.e. a free car to a land lord that was recently returned by the landlord after a certain period of time (Term of Lease?).

Tummy

I'm not sure it would be that expensive for them. I had a 2000 323i and it only required service every 15-20k miles, according to the computer. Other than that, I think almost every thing else would last until Hertz gets rid of the cars. Typically after 30-40k miles at most, they auction them off or return them. By then, the tires might be bald and the brakes would probably need to be replaced, but I think the car would hold up better than most Fords or Toyotas. Plus the long service interval would allow them to have it available more often than cars that use dinosaur juice for their oils.

SealBeach

• Premium cars are rarely bought by rental companies; they're usually leased and then returned.
• Although I'd doubt it at such a large location as SFO, it might be the case that the Hertz operation is owned by a franchisee, in which case there might be oddball cars on the lot. This is true at the Columbus, OH airport, where the owner of the location also owns a VW dealership and puts Jettas and other VWs into the rental fleet.
• If you want a deal on a BMW 3-series sedan, now's the time to act as the new bodystyle sedans are arriving. The same thing will be true for coupes and convertibles when the new bodystyle arrives in North America for them a year from now.

ALARISstl

Considering Hertz has had the Mercedes C230 in their fleet (LAX, SFO, PDX, SEA....) and the 3 series BMW is in the same catagory/price range, I wouldn't be suprised at all.

silver-tls

Saw a black 3 series at the Van Ness and Pine St. Hertz with a huge 'RENT ME' sticker on the windshield so hopefully we'll be seeing more of them?

Dave Noble

I am not surprised ; Hertz has had 3 and 5 series in their Australia fleet for a long time. Group P for 3 series and Group G for 5 series

Dave

SpeedRicer

Woohoo, I'm not crazy! I can't remember if the one I saw was black too, but it looks like Hertz may start to bring these into the fleet locally (LAX had a few "local" specialities like this, such as the Porsche Cayenne ). ^

Probably not as likely, but it would be nice if they started bringing in the new 3 as well -- as Dave mentioned above, they have them in Australia, and the ones I've seen there are nicely equipped. ^

noah

I've also seen a BMW with rent me parked in front of the Hertz near Union Square. Perhaps somewhere in SF has a number of local-only BMWs for rental and one ended up at SFO (and got a do not rent because it was being held for a runner or a one-way rental back to the same station)

SpeedRicer

Looks like the above is probably true -- I just rented from the location on Mason Street (near Union Square), and it is one of the main offices for Hertz in San Francisco.

The agent told me that certain locations in the city have 3-Series as part of a local fleet, which also includes the Mercedes-Benz ML350 (the newly-released model) and Lexus RX330, among other cars. ^