That Hertz
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So we should all band together and do everything we can to save our beloved restaurants, including introducing legislation to try and protect them from profiteering delivery drivers (damn bastards want $3.00 to deliver a $10 burrito to a 10th floor apartment!), but screw the car rental business. Got it.
Maybe we should get a law that makes Lyft and Uber so expensive that nobody uses them and rents a car instead?
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"My pronouns are FA/FO." - Mik, 2024
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@Mik
I rented a Mustang convertible when we were last in Hawaii.
Frankly, when I could, I drove the hell out of it.
Much as I tried, it would not launch like I expected when power-braked, and it was unsteady on rough road curves. But, I expected it to handle worse since it was a convertible.
Not sure I would want to buy a rental from Hertz or Enterprise, although I've looked at their offerings as they have sales lots nearby. Some people drive their rentals pretty hard, even when engine is cold. -
I meant to post about this months ago.
In February I was in Florida with the boy and we ended up renting two different convertible muscle cars (Long story, itself thread-worthy). Mustang 5l gt and Camaro SS. I greatly preferred the Mustang for comfort. It sounded more badass and I think accelerated better, though the comparisons weren’t close enough in time and place for me to know for sure.
Didn’t get a chance to test handling so much.
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We have bought cars from Hertz on two occasions.
One was a Ford Escort, I think it was a 1998, that got totaled in 2002. We had no trouble with it until that time.
Then, we had a Ford Focus, we had it for about 5 years until it gave up the ghost. It gave little trouble as well.
They were both "kids' cars".
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When I worked for the American Bar Association, I negotiated the Hertz deal for the Society. We were their largest customer after the Federal Government. Still, even when times were good, one had the sense that they were operating on slim margins and were one step away from oblivion.
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I’ve rented cars on a weekly basis probably 150 or more times since 1985. Very few of them have I driven hard at all. Mostly the Maximas when I would take the Blue Ridge Parkway to the client. With no traffic at all I threw them around pretty good. Fun. But most renters are business folks and just drive them normally. I would not hesitate to buy one.
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@Mik said in That Hertz:
I’ve rented cars on a weekly basis probably 150 or more times since 1985. Very few of them have I driven hard at all. Mostly the Maximas when I would take the Blue Ridge Parkway to the client. With no traffic at all I threw them around pretty good. Fun. But most renters are business folks and just drive them normally. I would not hesitate to buy one.
Agreed, especially considering they are yakking on the phone most of the time while driving. No one feels sporty in a rent-a-car.
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Yes but again it depends on the car.
Business guy doesn’t request the convertible. He orders the midsize or whatever and they give him the car and he drives it as you describe.
But the people going out of their way to order and pay extra for the convertible are usually going to enjoy it.
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One of my son's friends worked for Enterprise. His favorite car was the Chrysler 200 or 300, as it had a lot of horsepower. He would talk about how they would take certain cars out and see how much rubber they could burn.
No, I would not buy a rental car. They can be stripped down models or might have been built specifically for the rental market at a special price. That's what I heard, not sure it's any more factual than some of the other posts on this topic.
Although. . . I do recall looking many years ago at a rental, and was surprised that they still made cars with roll-up windows! -
When I rent a car I get the midrange in size. Go too cheap and you get some little crackerbox, go too big and I feel like I'm buying the thing. I once had reserved a Ford Taurus, but when I got there the only cars they had left were Jaguars, so they gave me a Jaguar to drive. That was an amazing car. The last time I rented a car when I got there the only thing they had left were Chevy Sonics. I was pissed. I thought "ok, I'm going to be wedded up in a little crackerbox car that rides rough, with no power, handles like crap..." - I opened the door to get in and it was roomy. It handled fine. Plenty of power. Quiet. An hour later I loved the car.
