Used Car Deals: Program Cars, Rental Cars & Salvage Titles

Comments

• debralm Member Posts: 1

  June 2011

  I decided to buy a new car and go the internet route. I live in a very rural area of the Southwest (there is only one dealership within 70 miles of where I live) I decided on a 225 mile radius and contacted every dealership of 6 different manufacturers within that radius. That was 15 dealerships. I even went the route of getting car quotes through a major retail chain auto buying program. After 2 months of emails and phone calls I only could get 1 price quote on the internet, it was $500 less than MSRP on a Toyota when Toyota was offering a $500 rebate. Plenty of hype with no results. I decided to go used.
  I found Hertz was selling used rentals on the internet. Their program is for you to rent the car for a couple of days to see if you like it and then the rental cost will go towards the purchase if you buy it. This seems like a very reasonable idea because it gives you a chance to really test the car. Their prices were down around what you would pay from a private individual which was another plus. There are some drawbacks. If you are in a area where there is not a Hertz sales lot (and there are not many) you have to reserve the car in the future. Therefore it is not a look at the car now type sale. You can only reserve one car at a time so if you do not like it it is a drawn out process.
  I wanted to look at a Mazda3 and chose one of the 3 they had. The description they had was hazy on if it had cruise control or not. I sent a email and asked if it had cruise. No one ever responded, that should have been my first clue that this was not going to be a pleasent transaction. After a week I phoned their 800 number and asked, the pleasent person responded that they thought it did have cruise.
  I reserved the car, the nearest date I could get the car was a week away. I reserved it on the internet and they confirmed the reservation by email, but in big bold letters on the email it says DO NOT show up to get the car until we contact you because the car may be rented and not availble. I recieved a second email thanking me for trying Hertz rent to Buy program.
  Now understand this car is 130 miles from where I live. I decided to delay driving 75 miles closer to the car to spend several days repairing my Mothers roof that was damaged in a storm until the car was deliverable, there by saving time and extra driving.
  After arranging transportation to pick up the car and not hearing a peep from them for 6 days I finally sent them another email the afternoon before my reserved time asking if the car was available the next morning as reserved. I recieved a phone call within a couple of hours saying the car was NOT available and to not show up. I could not wait any longer to fix the roof so I went but took my computer hoping they would email me while I was there if the car was available. I recieved nothing by email in the 2 1/2 days I worked on the roof. I went back home, now I am 130 miles from the car again.
  I went to the store the afternoon we got back and when I came home my Wife said I had recieved a call from Hertz to set up picking up the car. I went to the internet and there was a email from them saying today was the last day I could pick it up and did I still want it. I called the 800 number on the email and was informed I had to set the pick up of the vehicle on the internet, not by calling. I went back to the internet email I had recieved and did a reply to it asking where and when I had to pick the Mazda up since this is the first I had heard about it. I recieved a response a little latter that I had set up the date and time not them. I responded that they had said to not show up until the car was ready. They responded that they had called and left a phone message that the car was ready. I responded that I was not home and that we must have missed connections and could I pick up the car tomorrow. No Response. A day latter I recieved a email saying the deal was off because I did not show up. I am waiting to see if they are going to charge me for the rental I did not get to use.
  Not a great experience. Their attitude is that you should wait around home until they do something in their own sweet time. They did everything by email except when I forced them to tell me the car was not ready and to leave me a phone message it was ready. They seem to be pretty unorganized, not what I expect from a company like Hertz.
  I have since gone elsewhere.

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• feryary Member Posts: 0

  April 2013

  There a lot of salvage cars driving in the border, that's because bodyshop workers whit in México do a very good gob in fixing this kind or problems and at a very low cost.
  It's always recommended to shop arround and compare.

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• gcfa Member Posts: 1

  July 2015

  I understand cars with Salvage Titles lose any reminding factory warranty and any rights to recall repairs (safety or drivability/mechanical).

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• stever Guest Posts: 52,454

  July 2015

  Looks like recalls are still covered per this quote from a GM manual over on the Trailvoy forum.

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