Hertz Begins Online Car Sales in Competition With Carvana
CEO Gil West Aims to Grow Retail Sales
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Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and Carvana Co. are becoming frenemies.
The rental car company said Sept. 30 that it’s launching a platform to sell used cars directly to consumers online, which would put it in competition with online retailer Carvana along with CarMax Inc. and the independent dealers who aggressively employ the web.
Hertz also sells some of its cars to Carvana.
Representatives for Carvana didn’t have an immediate comment.
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While Hertz has offered its rental cars for purchase on the web, this is direct selling instead of simply showing a digital catalog of what’s for sale at its retail outlets. Going online is the latest move by CEO Gil West, who took over last year, to further grow retail sales, which gets the company much better pricing than selling its rental vehicles at wholesale auctions.
Hertz said shoppers can peruse thousands of vehicles, receive a trade-in offer, get pre-qualified and secure credit approval to finalize the deal online. It offers a 7-day, 250-mile buyback guarantee, compared with Carvana’s one week and 400-mile limit. The company puts cars through a 115-point inspection, compared with 150 items that Carvana’s mechanics check.
Hertz will schedule delivery of cars ordered on its site anywhere in the U.S. The company announced an agreement in August to sell cars on Amazon Autos, allowing customers to shop cars on the Amazon site, complete the purchase and pick the vehicles up at any of the 45 Hertz Car Sales locations.
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