Amazon and Hertz partnership

[demarpaint]

It should work if they are selling quality cars and priced reasonably.

+1 As long as the cars are good and priced right it should work well. Having said that I'd never buy a rental, opinions vary.

 

[Bailes1992]

I bought a 6 month old Volvo V40 back in 2018 that had been an ex-rental. I think it had ~5k on it when I bought it. I had it for a year, put 20k or so on it and it was perfectly sound. I'd probably buy one again! Just had a look at it's MOT history and it's well over 100k now so clearly been a decent car.

 

[bovine1]

My last 2 cars have been Hertz. 2005 chevy classic I put 100k on and sold in 2019. We bought a 2017 Corolla in 2019 and it's had zero issues so far. I realize rentals are sometimes abused but I've got along OK with them.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

I don't think Amazon will ever get stretched too thin. If it don't work, they'll just bail out of the whole thing. Amazon is gigantic. They have plenty of capital to play games with their money. Would be a home run for Hertz and the consumer if it works.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I wonder if this will stretch Amazon thin? You can't possibly sell, service and repair everything. If Amazon takes on sales of Hertz vehicles, they'll need people who understand sales/service/warranties, have auction experience and so on. Is this something that Amazon would want to take on?

Amazon is a store front. They don't service the vehicles but could sell services for shops.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Would never buy a rental.

I've had good luck with Hertz rental sales. At least they came with a service history.
And any owner can beat on a car.

 

[CKN]

Would never buy a rental. They get the crap beat out of them most of the time. Now, if they were selling Hertz/Amazon new vehicles, that would cut out the middleman ( dealership), and be a home run for buyers. I mean the car has to come with a factory warranty, I would imagine. I guess we'll wait and see how this plays out. Amazon has deep pockets.

It used to be you could buy off rentals with less than 20,000 miles on them-still with the remainder of the 36,000 mile bumper to bumper. They were great bargains. Yes-a small percentage MAY HAVE BEEN abused-but otherwise they can be a competitive buy-at least they were in the the past decade or so. Now-rental car companies are keeping them much longer-and perhaps there is more of a gamble. No one-and I really mean no one should be a late model used or new car without a warranty. Far too many electronics in today's vehicle to think You can fix a problem yourself-especially with the software that is unique to the manufacturer who made the vehicle.

 

[Elkins45]

I can’t imagine buying a used car without an inspection and test drive unless it came with an airtight warranty from a company with a good reputation. Does Hertz have a good reputation? Does Amazon?

I would buy a new car sight unseen as long as it were from a legitimate dealership, although I would probably have test driven the same model locally first.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I can’t imagine buying a used car without an inspection and test drive unless it came with an airtight warranty from a company with a good reputation. Does Hertz have a good reputation? Does Amazon?

I would buy a new car sight unseen as long as it were from a legitimate dealership, although I would probably have test driven the same model locally first.

To repeat:
I believe Hertz says you can return it within 7 days/250 miles (whichever comes first) for a full refund of the purchase price.

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

To repeat:
I believe Hertz says you can return it within 7 days/250 miles (whichever comes first) for a full refund of the purchase price.

The hang up would be if there is a trade involved. What if you want out of your new used car, but they’ve already begun the inspection and repair process on your trade in.

I agree with whoever said it’d be impossible to buy a used car sight unseen. Noises, tire wear, brake wear, interior condition or smells and more is impossible to judge online.