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> I wish there was a service where you could give them say a hundred bucks and they'd deliver maybe your top 5 cars to your house to poke around and test drive.

> I wish there was a service where you could give them say a hundred bucks and they'd deliver maybe your top 5 cars to your house to poke around and test drive. Trying to imagine the logistics of getting this done - profitably - within a Carvana-like model for anything close to $100 just broke my brain.

lastofthemojito 4y ago
I live fairly close to the cluster of car dealerships in my area so maybe my perception is skewed, but it doesn't seem crazy to me that 2 sales guys from the Honda dealer would drive 5 minutes to my house to drop off an Accord (and then go back in 1 car), 2 sales guys from the Toyota dealer would drive 5 minutes to my house to drop off a Camry, etc... Seems like they're constantly making little trips to pick up cars from satellite lots, drop off cars for maintenance, fuel up cars, etc. This might only work for dealerships within a certain distance of course. But right, the part about doing it profitably would probably require a dealership that gets a successful sales lead to pay a fee to such a service.
bombcar 4y ago
Hertz has (or used to have) a "rent to own" deal with cars. You go to their lot of used cars, you poke and prod them, then you rent one you think you'll like for a week for a couple bills. If you decide to keep it, the rental cost is put against the purchase and you keep the car, if you don't like it you return and try again.
- toomanyrichies 4y ago
  Is this what you're referring to? https://www.hertzcarsales.com/rent2buy.htm https://www.hertzcarsales.com/rent2buy.htm
  - bombcar 4y ago
    Yep, that's the one! Seems it's 3 days now, or 2 hours free. Not all locations offered it, however, but it can be nice. Even if you don't use it, renting the car or type of car you're thinking of buying can be a good strategy.
    - ghaff 4y ago
      They'll tend to be low-end trim models but a lot of what you're evaluating in a test drive isn't how the heated seats work. I informally did that before my recent purchase but mostly in terms of what I didn't what to buy. One vehicle I knew I didn't care much for. And another, which was the same as I owned, I got hadn't really improved in 11 years, infotainment unit notwithstanding.
- kylehotchkiss 4y ago
  The problem with buying from Hertz or any rental car dealership is that many people (myself included) take rental cars on the highway and immediately press the pedal to the floor to see what it can do (or how loud it gets). People have zero incentive to drive rental cars nicely and Hertz has no incentive than to do the bare minimum of maintenance to keep the car on the road. They're gonna wear out faster than a privately owned car. See Jeremy Clarkson of former Top Gear glory describe it: https://youtu.be/NYt9DO5WXr8?t=65 https://youtu.be/NYt9DO5WXr8?t=65
  - EForEndeavour 4y ago
    Really?! Am I unusual for not being even a little bit tempted to drive like an asshole just because I don't own the car I'm driving and have a damage waiver through my credit card? The worse maintenance a rental agency does, the more likely customers experience problems, never rent from them again, and trash them in reviews. I'd say there's plenty of incentive to do more than the bare minimum of maintenance.

lastofthemojito 4y ago

I live fairly close to the cluster of car dealerships in my area so maybe my perception is skewed, but it doesn't seem crazy to me that 2 sales guys from the Honda dealer would drive 5 minutes to my house to drop off an Accord (and then go back in 1 car), 2 sales guys from the Toyota dealer would drive 5 minutes to my house to drop off a Camry, etc... Seems like they're constantly making little trips to pick up cars from satellite lots, drop off cars for maintenance, fuel up cars, etc. This might only work for dealerships within a certain distance of course. But right, the part about doing it profitably would probably require a dealership that gets a successful sales lead to pay a fee to such a service.

bombcar 4y ago

Hertz has (or used to have) a "rent to own" deal with cars. You go to their lot of used cars, you poke and prod them, then you rent one you think you'll like for a week for a couple bills. If you decide to keep it, the rental cost is put against the purchase and you keep the car, if you don't like it you return and try again.

toomanyrichies 4y ago
Is this what you're referring to? https://www.hertzcarsales.com/rent2buy.htm https://www.hertzcarsales.com/rent2buy.htm
- bombcar 4y ago
  Yep, that's the one! Seems it's 3 days now, or 2 hours free. Not all locations offered it, however, but it can be nice. Even if you don't use it, renting the car or type of car you're thinking of buying can be a good strategy.
  - ghaff 4y ago
    They'll tend to be low-end trim models but a lot of what you're evaluating in a test drive isn't how the heated seats work. I informally did that before my recent purchase but mostly in terms of what I didn't what to buy. One vehicle I knew I didn't care much for. And another, which was the same as I owned, I got hadn't really improved in 11 years, infotainment unit notwithstanding.
kylehotchkiss 4y ago
The problem with buying from Hertz or any rental car dealership is that many people (myself included) take rental cars on the highway and immediately press the pedal to the floor to see what it can do (or how loud it gets). People have zero incentive to drive rental cars nicely and Hertz has no incentive than to do the bare minimum of maintenance to keep the car on the road. They're gonna wear out faster than a privately owned car. See Jeremy Clarkson of former Top Gear glory describe it: https://youtu.be/NYt9DO5WXr8?t=65 https://youtu.be/NYt9DO5WXr8?t=65
- EForEndeavour 4y ago
  Really?! Am I unusual for not being even a little bit tempted to drive like an asshole just because I don't own the car I'm driving and have a damage waiver through my credit card? The worse maintenance a rental agency does, the more likely customers experience problems, never rent from them again, and trash them in reviews. I'd say there's plenty of incentive to do more than the bare minimum of maintenance.