Sulu

What about reliability, serviceability and maintainability? Don't fleet managers look for vehicles that are reliable, and are easily (and cheaply) serviced? Not necessarily applicable to rental car fleets (which are typically sold off relatively quickly), but applicable to corporate and government (including police car) fleets.

Sulu

I reported to a manager who told me he bought a Ford Taurus (the 'original' model, not the Ford 500/Taurus) because he spent so much time on the road driving rental cars that he decided to buy a car he had become familiar with.

FrankReynoldsCPA

I almost bought a Chevy Cruise after we had one as a rental in Hawaii.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using IB AutoGroup

spwolf

well, Taurus was supposed to be Camry killer and even got few car of the year awards from american press :-)

mmarshall

I have to agree with Hoovey. A fleet sale, by the numbers, is no different from any other. Now it is true that profit margins on a fleet sale may be somewhat different (either more or or less, depending on the specific circumstaces), not only because fleet sales are usually negotiated at a bulk-price, but also because those vehicles usually cost less to produce. They cost less to produce because the factory is generally turning out the same trim level, paint-codes, options, etc...... on one vehicle right behind the other, without having to reset things for each car moving down the line. This saves time, labor, computer-programming, and money.

spwolf

Absolutely, this is how it works everywhere, even here in Europe... in western europe, passenger vehicles go into company as expense, so your company gives you a car and deducts it from their earnings. It is so widespread that in Germany, 70% of cars are bought by fleets and some of the most popular cars like BMW 3 series, sell only 10-15% to private buyers, rest is fleets, at 30% average discount.

speedflex

The original 86 model Taurus was the top selling car in America for several years before the Camry took the title. And it did win tons of awards. You must be referring to the second generation model.

pbm317

That's one tactic some companies have used, just to get awareness/familiarity up. The Detroit 3 are using this right now. They just need to get more butts in seats, and once they do, they will likely blow some peoples expectations away. This usually requires working with the rental companies to get them to buy some of their higher trim levels to make sure that people are experiencing the best possible model to create some positive buzz.

It could also be that your manager was someone who simply saw a vehicle as an appliance, and thus purchased one that he felt familiar with.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

The trucks we have are just as reliable as any other truck on the market, and they're probably cheaper to fix than the equivalent Toyota/Nissan. We log in over 50,000 miles a year on our trucks and the only thing we replace are tires and fluids. Obviously cost isn't the only factor, but when you can have a car/truck that performs just as good, why pay more?

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Senior Technology Specialist

That is a great point nor do I argue it.

The thing is, there is no right answer. Both those for and against fleet sales have valid points

84Cressida

At Enteprise, the Accord is a "premium" car. It's a humongous joke and nobody is fooled, but it is. Simply because the acquisition costs are higher so they price it higher to make up for it. The Camry is a fullsize. Which is also bogus, because it's a midsize car.

Civic is an intermediate, same as Corolla.

IS350jet

Nobody ever said Honda had zero fleet sales. Even after reading the article that Mike posted, it's clear that Honda still has a tiny fraction of Toyota's fleet sales. It doesn't matter how they're doing it, but it doesn't appear to me that Honda is doing anything "deceptive". American Honda Corporation doesn't have a fleet department, that's a fact, not a deception on Honda's part.
A sale is a sale, there's no arguing that, but when you want a clearer picture of how the retail consumer votes with their own dollar, you have to take fleet sales out of the equation. In other words, how many consumers are purchasing the car for themselves with their own hard earned money? In this case, the Accord almost ALWAYS comes out ahead. That's a clear indication to me that consumers prefer Accord over Camry, always have.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

the whole rental car industry vehicle classification is a joke.

but there is merit to the point made that rental cars do expose people to brands they would otherwise NEVER be exposed to. and while fleet cars sold to rentals often have either lower or odd trim levels, they still can make a positive impression. i've had many surprising (positive) driving experiences with rentals, and a few not so positive (never want to drive a pontiac grand am ever again although of course since that's long gone that's not likely, lol). in recent years i drove a hyundai in costa rica, a skoda in england, and a citroen in ireland. all good fun and positive experiences for different reasons!

Sulu

The acquisition cost of the Accord may be higher because the Enterprise location had to buy their Accords retail, from a dealer, rather than wholesale, directly from Honda.



I have found that most (if not all) car rental agencies classify their cars one size larger than the commonly-known classifications. So a Corolla is an intermediate car and the Camry is a full-size car in rental car-speak.

I too have had impressions made or broken from rental cars. The early-1990s Grand Am felt like it was built from cardboard, it was so flimsy; I have not driven a rental GM car since and I don't miss them. The late 1990s Ford Contour was so gutless (or at least very reluctant to downshift) that I made up my mind then never to rent "intermediate" cars again, only "full-size" cars with larger engines.

But the new Ford Fusion I drove recently (with the 2.5-litre engine, I believe, not an EcoBoost engine) was so smooth and refined that it changed my mind about the Ford Fusion -- perhaps the hype I have read about it is at least partially true.

I find myself wishing that rental agencies carried more Japanese cars, so I could try them out before deciding on my next car. I find the Camry was much more popular as a rental car in the late-1980s / early-1990s than they are now. I have not myself driven the current-generation Camry as a rental (only rode in Camry rentals) and never see late-model Accord rentals.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

haha, remember that contour, and who can forget the tempo?



same experience and agreed! also same experience with nissan sentra - very nice!