Buy Used Rental Car

Q.I'm going to help my friend get a Hertz used car this weekend in Los Angeles area. My friend is under the impression that the used car price is not negotiable at Hertz. Is it true? What are your experiences with Hertz used car dealer? I've had a lot of new car buying and bargaining experiences, is it the same with Hertz used cars?

A.They will negotiate a little, but the "rental companies" generally put reasonable prices on their cars to start with. And also note that not all the cars they sale are from the "airport rental fleet". Many are short term business lease returns. I have never purchased from Hertz. I bought a car from National in 1988 that I still think was a good deal. It ended up having a significant problem with the engine, but it was low mileage, under factory warranty and was resolved permanently in short order - in other words, it wasn't a lemon with a problem they could never fix. They fixed it and my family drove it for 100,000 mile after the repair with no recurrence. My wife and I bought a car from Budget a year ago. We got a few bucks out of an easy negotiation. They came through on financing - they shopped and got me a better deal through a credit union they worked with than I was getting from my own CU. This Budget dealer was recommended to me by one of my employees that had bought two cars from them. I have recommended them to several people as a place to at least consider when looking for a good low mileage used car. Of course you are going hear all the "horror" stories about buying from a rental company. There is at least one guy in that will likely tell you that you are stupid to buy anything but a Honda. If you were buying from a private party, there are those that will say your crazy. Then there will be the group than think buying a new car is a bad idea. You know what they say - opinions are like assholes... And everyone has their anecdotes - just like me.

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