Buying a former rental car is an increasingly popular option for consumers here who are leery of high-pressure sales tactics and vehicle prices at other used-car lots, say rental car agencies and credit unions.


Whats more, the rental companies and credit unions have teamed up to make such purchases easier for credit union members.


Ive been in this business for 25 years, and I would say more people are buying used cars from rental agencies than ever before, says Jerry Young, a sales manager for Thrifty Car Rental here. We get a lot of business from credit unions, and a lot of business from people who have just come from another dealer.


Rental car agencies are known for the pricing and quality of their vehicles, and for a no-haggle sales approach, claims Spokane Teachers Credit Union CEO Steve Dahlstrom.


Our members who have purchased cars from rental companies have been very satisfied, Dahlstrom says. Theyve never complained about high-pressure sales tactics.


Terry Fiorelli, general sales manager at Gus Johnson Ford, believes that rental car sales lots havent hurt sales at other dealershipsand that some people have misconceptions about how theyll be treated at big used-car dealerships.


I think some people go to a rental dealership because, honestly, theyre intimidated by the mystique of a big dealership, he says. I am sure other dealers have done things wrong in the past, and maybe it still happens, but we believe buying a car should be fun. Were not going to push.


Fiorelli also says that conventional auto dealerships have more vehicle selection than rental car sales lots, and the used vehicles that big dealerships sell are put through a rigorous screening process to ensure theyre running well. He adds that dealer financing on used cars compares well with or is better than credit union financing options.


Credit union connections


The Spokane and Coeur dAlene sales outlets for Thrifty Car Rental, Dollar Rent A Car and Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co. maintain symbiotic relationships with at least a dozen Inland Northwest credit unions.


The majority of our business comes from credit union referrals, says Frank Cheyney, a sales manager at Dollar, in Spokane.


Tim Walsh, senior vice president of Enterprises national car sales office, in St. Louis, says credit unions benefit from their arrangements with rental agency lots by making loans they otherwise might not get if their members bought cars from dealerships with which they had no affiliation.


Enterprise opened a used rental car sales dealership at 7501 E. Sprague, in Spokane Valley, about five months ago, Walsh says.


Rental car myths


Credit unions and rental car agencies assert that buying used rental cars is one of the best ways for a consumer to get a quality used car at a fair price. Both are quick to counter the criticism that rental cars have been driven hard or abused by uncaring drivers while they were in agencies rental fleets.


When do you buy a used car thats been washed every time its driven? Dahlstrom says.


Rental car sales operations sometimes hold special sales that credit unions promote in their branches, via direct mail, and on the Internet. Credit union members typically receive a discount from a rental car sales lot when they buy during such a sale. Spokane Teachers Credit Union, for example, currently is promoting a $500 discount on its Web site for members who get preapproved for a car loan from STCU, then buy a vehicle from Thrifty during a semiannual sale.


PrimeSource Credit Union, formerly Telco Credit Union, has worked with rental car companies sales operations for years, and has seen a solid increase in the number of members who buy vehicles from rental agencies, says Kevin Spoerl, the credit unions loan manager.


There is no real benefit to us or kickback from the rental car dealership, says Spoerl. We see it as a good opportunity for our members to get a car at a lower price than at a dealer.


Customers generally get preapproved for a loan from their credit union before they pick out a vehicle to buy, says Cheyney. That cuts down on the time they spend at a rental car sales lot and makes buying a vehicle relatively fast compared with buying a car from a conventional used-car dealer, he says.


It takes 10 minutes to do the car, he says. Customers are in and out. They cant believe how fast it is. Theres no badgering.


Busy sales lots


Spokanes Dollar rental car operation, a franchise of a Los Angeles-based national chain, has sales lots at 2405 N. Division, in Spokane, and at 800 Northwest Boulevard, in Coeur dAlene, Cheyney says.


Dollar sells between 300 and 420 vehicles a year at its two Inland Northwest sales lots and generally has a total of about 75 vehicles for sale at the two lots, where vehicles typically sell in less than 45 days, he says.


Thrifty Car Rentals Spokane car-rental franchise operates sales lots at 8022 E. Sprague, in Spokane Valley, and 6418 N. Wall, on the North Side, and usually has a total inventory of between 50 and 170 vehicles, depending on the time of year and demand trends, Young says.


Some national rental car chains dont sell their vehicles to consumers, opting to sell them to dealers at private auctions or to sell them back to automakers. Others operate large regional used rental car sales centers.


Hertz Corp., for example, has more than 500 former rental vehicles at its regional lot in Boise, which sells rental cars for Hertzs Spokane operation and other Hertz rental outlets in the region. Thrifty and Dollars sales lots here sell only vehicles taken out of service by the two companies Spokane-area rental agencies. Enterprise sells cars here that it brings from rental operations from all over Washington, Oregon, and California, although most of the vehicles come from Washington. Last month, it sold 25 vehicles here at its relatively new lot.


Nationally, Enterprise buys and sells about a half-million cars every year, moving most of its vehicles at wholesale auctions after it takes them out of service, Walsh says. It only sells 10 percent to 15 percent of its cars itself.


We take the cream of the crop and earmark it for our sales program, Walsh says. We select vehicles that to the best of our knowledge have had no kind of accident. Then we have an ASE-certified independent mechanic go through the car and check it thoroughly. Then the car is detailed. The ASE, or the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, sets standards and appropriate tests for selling used cars and certifies automotive repair professionals.


Enterprises used cars have between 12,000 and 35,000 miles on them, and are in excellent condition, Walsh says. The car rental company offers buyers of its used rental cars free roadside assistance for a year and says that many of its cars still are under factory warranty.


Our customers can drive off a car that they dont have to worry about, Walsh says. If customers do have concerns, Enterprise has a seven-day or 1,000-mile return policy, which allows a customer to return a vehicle to an Enterprise sales lot and get their money back, no questions asked, Walsh says.