The Essentials

How to Save Money Buying a Former Rental Car

Are you in the market for a new car? Here’s a little-known travel hack that may or may not get you your next car but you’ll still save money in the process.

Consider this: Most major rental car companies sell their fleet vehicles at prices that range from 10% to 20% lower than car dealerships charge for similar pre-owned vehicles.

But you can also rent with an option to buy.

Simply go online to find the make and model you want. Then, rent the exact car you’re interested in buying.

You can either take a complimentary two-hour test drive or, with Hertz, test it for up to three days with discounted rental fees.

Recently, Hertz expanded its Rent2Buy program to 100 U.S. cities.

While 80% of those who use Rent2Buy end up purchasing their vehicles, the real travel hack is this: If you don’t buy the car, you’ve still received a discounted rental rate for a vehicle that would have cost much more through a standard rental.