No Prius' in Mississippi!

A car rental company is only going to have cars they think their customers want. If only one person a month is going to request a Prius, they will lose money having one sit on the lot. Mississippi is not exactly known as a hotbed of environmentalism. In addition, they'd have to train all their people to drive it. With conventional cars, every kid they hire off the street can drive them.

On the other hand, the high re-sale value makes the Prius a good choice for a rental company. But only in a location where the customers will rent them.

Finally, with all the disinformation floating around out there, a poorly-informed rental-company executive might have a lot of (incorrect) reasons not to buy Priuses.

It's coming though. Slowly, but it's coming. Higher gas prices and more exposure will gradually increase the demand.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ May 29 2006, 08:54 AM) [snapback]262331[/snapback]</div>

There may be another reason why it's hard to find a rental car company with a Prius on its lot. I know someone who is a district manger for a major, very well known rental car company. He told me they buy Priuses at a big fleet discount and then can turn around and sell them for a good bit more than what they paid for them. He said if they do rent them out, they only do so for about 6 months, then they sell them.

Gary
2006 Super White

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ May 29 2006, 06:54 AM) [snapback]262331[/snapback]</div>

So where can I go to get one? Not Columbus Ohio, Not NY NY, Not St Luis, Not anywhere I go. Every time I call they offer me a Hummer!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hdrygas @ May 29 2006, 05:26 PM) [snapback]262517[/snapback]</div>

Patience, Henry. Gas prices may have to go up before there's enough demand that more rental places have them.

When I was in Hawaii I almost couldn't rent any car! I never borrow money, and until I came home from Hawaii I never had a credit card. Just debit cards. They'll rent you a car on a debit card if you have a good credit history; they'll rent you a car on a credit card without a credit history; but they won't rent you a car on a debit card if you have no credit history. I'm not taking a bad credit history. I've never paid a bill late in my life. But I've never borrowed money. So they would not rent me a car. Finally found one company (I forget which one) that would rent me a car, but it took an hour, what with finding them and filling out the second set of paperwork. And that was after 2 hours to report my lost luggage. Now I have a credit card, but I use it like a debit card. I pay off my balance in full before the bill comes, and should the date sneak up on me, it gets paid in full automatically out of my checking account. Hawaii, BTW, was nice, but over-rated. Canada has better hiking and Mexico has better beaches with warmer water and friendlier people. Unless you're a surfer Hawaii isn't worth the time you have to spend in an airplane.

 

Hundreds of Priuses on the lots here in Florida