Finances & Money

Hertz Rent2Buy Review: Would You Rent A Car Before Buying It?

Many people dread the process of buying a vehicle. It’s a major financial commitment for a mechanical object that comes with a great amount of uncertainty as to it’s reliability and whether it’s really going to meet the day to day requirements of the buyer. It’s extremely difficult to make such a decision based on a short test drive down the road and back. The Hertz Rent2Buy program helps consumers alleviate these concerns before putting the keys to a new vehicle on their key ring.

How It Works

• Visit their website and select the type of vehicle you’re interested in. You will be given a list of vehicles in your area as well as information about the vehicle, including the price.
• Rent the vehicle for three days, costing $49 a day for vehicles priced under $25,000 or $99 per day for vehicles priced over that amount.
• Use the vehicle in your normal daily routine during the three day rental.
• If the vehicle is purchased, the cost of the rental is waived.

Advantages

Test Drive Time : Instead of a short test drive with a salesperson, a potential buyer can develop more accurate opinion of how the vehicle will work in real life.

No Haggle Price: The advertised price is final, no negotiations allowed. Many people love haggling, and would list this as a negative. I personally think it’s silly that how much someone pays for a vehicle can depend upon their negotiating skills. Having a non-negotiable price allows consumers to not worry about whether they got the best deal possible. They simply have to compare the listed price to the Kelly Blue Book value or other vehicles under consideration and make the best choice for them.

Known Service History : A buyer doesn’t really know how the previous owner cared for the vehicle. With Hertz Rent2Buy, since the car was owned by a rental company, a potential buyer knows that the car had it’s maintenance services done on schedule to keep the car in the best running order. It’s in the best interest of Hertz to do this, as a car that breaks down is a car that doesn’t make them money.

Warranty : Cars purchased through the Hertz Rent2Buy program come with a 12 month, 12,000 mile warranty. I listed this under advantages as it’s always good to have a warranty. However, since rental companies retire their cars while they are still relatively young, it may still be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty.

Disadvantages

Rental Price : If you decide not to purchase the vehicle, you’re out the $150 – $300 you paid to rent the car. That’s a fairly large sum of money just to help you make a decision. There should be some investigation performed up front, and the vehicle be under serious consideration before renting it for three days.

Distance: There may not be any vehicles that match your requirements in your area. This either means you have to drive a long distance for the car you want to test drive, or you simply cannot use the Hertz Rent2Buy program.

Mileage: Rental cars make the company money when they’re being rented and driven. This means that they are driven a lot, and may have higher miles than a consumer may be comfortable with in relation to the age of the vehicle.

Buying a vehicle is a major commitment that shouldn’t need to be made after a short test drive with a stranger looking over your shoulder. While the program isn’t perfect, the Hertz Rent2Buy program gives consumers the option of having a vehicle for a few days of real life to help make them decide.

How about you, Clever Friends, have you heard of the Hertz Rent2Buy program? Would you pay to rent a car for three days to help you decide to purchase it?

Brought to you courtesy of Brock

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Brock Kernin

Brock is a software engineer by day and personal finance blogger at night. He is a fitness junkie and enjoys grilling and smoking meat. Married with two children,  Brock strives to improve his skills as a husband and father, and is always on the lookout to stretch his family’s budget as far as he can.