What do people think? Should Toyota give away Prius' as rental. I saw many on the budget, enterprise and Avis lots. I think, you kind of lose on the exclusivity. What's everyone's opinion?
I seriously doubt Toyota gave them away. These rental agencies buy cars in bulk (at a discount), use them a few years, then sell them. Anything that exposes people to the Prius experience seems like a good idea to me. Once you've been in one the vehicle doesn't feel "small" or "underpowered."
Ditto. People won't test drive cars because they either think that a test drive means they're committed to buy or they don't want to deal with pushy salespeople that make you buy the car or simply those that won't let you on one unless you say you're gonna buy from them. Anything that gets them into the car and exposes them to the vehicle is a good move.
Renting one from Enterprise 3 years ago for a three day trip out of state was my first exposure to them. It was the best low stress way to test drive, and the longest test drive you can possibly get! How many other people out there got one (either by specific request or by chance), found out they liked the car, and then later bought one? Probably more than a few. I'd say making them available to rent is a great idea.
Toyota doesn't have to give them away, just offer the same package deals as for other cars for rental. I agree that putting them into the hands of Avis, Hertz, Budget, etc is the best free PR Toyota could have for the Prius. They should off all of their hybrids for this kind of fleet purchases at a reasonable discount. Best exposure for people that might not otherwise take a test drive. And the rental companies won't lose money when they go to sell them. Even though they were rentals, I'll bet their resale value is still higher than other cars.
I tried to rent a Prius for a trip and was told the agency no longer had them in their fleet. Reason given: Too hard to replace lost electronic keys. BTW. This is my 99th post. Do I advance in poster status with my next?
From my experience, most of the rentals are in California, with almost nothing available anywhere else in the US. As for seeing many on the lots, I have also found that the rentail companies all charge a premium if you want to rent one, although I did end up with one in LA last time as there were no "compacts" available, so they just do not get rented as quickly as the rest.
I once rented a Ford Ka, glad I did because I thought about buying one before that, I wouldn't now. I took the Prius for an overnight test drive before I bought it.
That's a reasonable point, and not really unique to hybrids. I guess they didn't want to charge people $100 for a lost key?
Agreed. My wife's vehicle was wrecked (nobody hurt) and we rented one for two weeks. It was a good way to see how it would work during a normal commute, plus trips. One of the biggest complaints about the Prius is the seats and renting is a good way to see how you feel after a few hours.
You don't want too many of these in fleets..... When they sell them 1 year down the line it DESTROYS the used car market in terms of pricing and resale value.
