Age of fleet increases at some US car rental companies

The rising cost of acquiring cars from auto manufacturers is leading to an increase in the average age of rental vehicles at many major US outlets, according to the Charleston Post. Although most major rental companies, like Hertz, National and Alamo, still offer clients relatively new vehicles, with low mileage, the age of these cars appears to be slowly creeping up and some customers are taking note. Vanguard Car Rental, the company that operates both National and Alamo, has conceded that the average car now has about 2,000 more miles in it, when compared to 2006. Hertz, however, noted that there has been no change in the age of the fleet, nor in the average mileage. Yet this does not mean that the company is not trying to save money elsewhere, in order to compensate for the rising costs of buying new cars. For example, it now may cost extra to drop cars off after-hours, and the Post also notes that Hertz has tightened its loyalty program.

Despite the increase in mileage at Vanguard rental outlets, the company was quick to note that this does not mean a decrease in service, or poorer quality vehicles, at National or Alamo. The 2,000 miles increase is actually quite nominal and clients should not notice any change. Additionally, Vanguard only tends to keep cars in its rental fleet until they reach 20,000 miles. After this point, the cars are generally retired, or sold.

In the past, rental companies were able to acquire new, so-called “program” cars from automobile manufacturers at discounted prices. These cars tended to sell more slowly than other models, which is why companies were willing to offer rental outlets special deals. Over the past few years, however, manufacturers have been less inclined to do this, thus raising the costs of operating rental outlets.

www.vanguardcar.com