Got My Yaris From Hertz

[chrisj]

Yes, I bought my '09 Yaris from Hertz rental. I saw them on eBay and went to the airport where I "rented" it for 3 days to see if I liked it. I did, then bought the car. It had 29,000 miles on it, and I paid $10,299.00. It had power, cruise, and the MP3 stereo in it, automatic trans. I paid cash for the car to Hertz. All in it was $11,063.00.

I must admit that I have never bought a car this way before, but it was checked out well before the purchase. It did have a ding or two in each side but those were taken out by the people who put on and painted my wing.

I am happy with the purchase, and feel like I got a good deal. I don't know if anyone else here has purchased their car this way, but buying it was easy as click, click, pay.

[47_MasoN_47]

That seems a little high to me... My sedan was $16.5k new ($12,005 total out of pocket after trading my broken down Ranger for $4500 on the cash for clunkers deal). Mine was loaded with everything but the satellite radio and premium wheels.

[sleey0]

I would NEVER buy a rental.

People abuse the shit out of those cars. When I was in the Army my buddy rented one with the full insurance and waiver just to go total it. He ran it down a street and ran into everything he could. Funny shit.

Anyways, anytime someone can rent a car for a day or a week, AND get insurance that clears them from anything, they will not have a care in the world about the car.

That and the people at Hertz that maintenance them are lazy fools. Half the time they don't even change the oil - they just slap a new sticker on the window and say they did.

Listen, I am not trying to scare you or anything, I am just telling you how it is.

I hope you get many years of trouble-free use out of it! At least it is made by Toyota so you have a chance at getting a used car with great reliabilty.

These are great cars and enjoy:D

[chrisj]

I felt that $10.3k was a decent price for the car, and it was checked out before purchase. I've rented cars myself and know that people are not the most careful with them, but there might be a little difference in buying a post-rental Mustang than a post-rental Yaris. I would probably expect rougher driving out of the sports car. Besides, there was no way I was getting a deal like I got in our area. I checked around and had decided on a Yaris but had not found one within my budget of $10k.

[WeeYari]

My '06 is an ex-rental which had been maintained by Toyota. Absolutely no issues encountered while under my care and custody since Feb '07. Its build date was Sept '05 and had been on the road since November of '05. I got it with 39,000 km on the clock and it is now up to 118,000.

As I often tend to drive it like I stole it, it makes me sometimes think that life with me is harder than it had prior.

Sure, ex-rental carries some element of risk. As with acquiring any used vehicle, buyer diligence in inspecting the vehicle it critical.

[why?]

congrats on the new car, good luck with it.

[MadMax]

The first Yaris I drove was a rental down in Tampa when I was there for work. I had been looking at them, and when I arrived there the rental car place told me to pick any car in the subcompact lot. There was a bunch of Pontiacs and a Yaris sedan in the corner. It was an easy decision.

No, I did not drive it like a maniac, but I did try and get as much time behind the wheel as I could during my three-day stay. I had a brief "oh shit!" moment when I turned the lights off to go on base, and when I turned them back on I couldn't see the instruments! Well, about a half-second later I remembered they were in the center!

Obviously, I was impressed...I bought mine about a month later. It reminded me of the cars I've owned and driven in Europe, and when I went back to Germany and the UK a few months later I saw tons of them.

Plus, the majority of subcompacts around here are Civics and Neons...

Cheers! M2

[chrisj]

I am hoping the car works out. I plan on keeping it 10 years before getting a new one.

[STC]

If the Yaris was a rental, I still think it could handle a lot of rental abuse compared to most other rental cars sold on the market!

Congrats on your purchase! :clap: The Yaris is a wise choice... :smile:

Cheers!

[chrisj]

Thanks, STC! Hoping for many years.

[Red Horse]

cool, its cheap

[kimona]

Sounds like a decent deal to me. Rental or not... if it checks out, so what... it's a Toyota!

[chrisj]

That's the way I feel about it, Red Horse and kimona!

[TheDriver916]

hey i bought mine in july from toyota and its a previous rental. it doesnt have a scratch or a dent on it. the e brake does feel a little light but the engine runs smooth tranny shifts nice and it does everything i need it too. i purchased the warranty, which i now regret. Now im limited on modifications, but i do have a bumper to bumper to bumper warranty for 50k more miles. And considering ive put 4k miles on it in two months it might pay for itself. now im stuck with the dilemma of, should i drive it hard and let something go out before the warranty runs out... or just baby it for its entire life. i do drive like a grandpa on the streets but ive raced shifter karts since i was 12 so i do have a lead foot every blue moon. what do you all think?

[chrisj]

Hi TheDriver916. We got our Yaris knowing very well that it was not going to scream down the road like our Avalon did (that car would fly...), and we drive ours with the knowledge that it's just gonna take a little longer to get up to speed, and we do drive it a little slower. Thing is, we got the thing for gas mileage, and flying down the road or modding the car so it's not a Yari anymore kinda defeats the purpose, in my mind.

Many years ago while the Oil Embargo of 1973 was going on (yes, I was driving then), a study was done to see the best speed to get the best MPG out of a car. The best speed for best mileage was 50 mph. Not 60, 75, 85. Fifty. Although we don't go quite that slowly, I don't want to pay one more cent for gas than I have to, so our driving habits are a little different now that we have the Yaris.

I'm sure that probably helped you little if any at all. lol!

[why?]

hey i bought mine in july from toyota and its a previous rental. it doesnt have a scratch or a dent on it. the e brake does feel a little light but the engine runs smooth tranny shifts nice and it does everything i need it too. i purchased the warranty, which i now regret. Now im limited on modifications, but i do have a bumper to bumper to bumper warranty for 50k more miles. And considering ive put 4k miles on it in two months it might pay for itself. now im stuck with the dilemma of, should i drive it hard and let something go out before the warranty runs out... or just baby it for its entire life. i do drive like a grandpa on the streets but ive raced shifter karts since i was 12 so i do have a lead foot every blue moon. what do you all think?

drive it like you stole it, you will still get better gas mileage than almost anything out there.

[pip]

I did buy my yaris 09 hetchback 4dr with 23000 miles on it from Hertz as well for 9200$ at their Boston, MA Logan airport location.
They choose the best of cars to go for sale. Scrap metal cars with bangs, huge scratches and problems stay aside.
The best experience of buying anything. Click online, Test, Confirm you want to buy it, Wait for papers to arrive, Sign + include a certified check, Receive title (From Hertz... they do it for you) and Plates, Send old plates back to Hertz.
Car is yours.

[shinlee]

I had a brief "oh shit!" moment when I turned the lights off to go on base, and when I turned them back on I couldn't see the instruments! Well, about a half-second later I remembered they were in the center!


Cheers! M2





lmao max, that's awesome!!!

[chrisj]

Well pip, I am still waiting for the 3rd time for Hertz to get the title signed in the right place for Kentucky. They have FedEx'd paperwork to me twice already and it's been wrong when I went to the clerk's office. We are getting our own plate...IF we can get a title that can be transferred. Hopefully the 3rd time will be the charm.

[vwtech]

as long as its in good shape I wouldnt hesitate to buy a rental yaris. if it does break out of warranty these cars are cheap to fix the only thing I could see getting damaged by beating the tar out of it would be the transmission.

[chrisj]

Well, my son will be getting his first car in a few months, and if mine works out I will likely steer him in the same direction I went.

[tomato]

Congratulations and don't worry about it. You got factory warranty on it, and it's a Toyota. enjoy! :D

I would have done the same thing, in fact I did look for a while at the local rental agencies' offerings but I wanted a manual so that didn't work for me. Price seems relatively decent to me.

I bought mine used, too, with a 55K miles on it and not a single problem, knock on wood.

Sure, you can probably always find a better deal if you keep looking [I probably could have gotten a new one if I had waited, since they didn't have 0% financing and sales when I bought mine) but in the meantime while you take your time deciding, you don't have a car... So, eventually you have to decide on something.

Congrats and good luck with your new car :)

[chrisj]

Thanks tomato. A big key for me was price. I don't finance. I hate payments and swore I would never be shackled by those again. In feeling the way I do, that means I have to find a car that fits within the range of dollar bills I have in hand. I would never have wanted any sort of new car because of the value dropping, and have always bought cars at least a couple of years old. We bought our Avalon with 53,000 miles on it in 2001 and my daughter still drives it...and it runs fine. She got it with 196,000 miles on it. With tax and license our Yaris went just a hair over $11k, but that was expected.

I love the car, and especially since it still has that new car smell...I feel like we're the first people to ever own it. :)