Hertz Australia to enter retail car sales market

Hertz is to move into retail car sales in Sydney, opening its first  direct-to-public licensed used car dealership on Friday 4 April 2003.

The Sydney used car location is the first to be opened by Hertz Australia in a major city. The US based Hertz Corporation operates a network of 44 US Retail Car Sales locations and has been in the retail used car business for nearly 30 years.

Initially, Hertz Car Sales will display up to 30 vehicles direct from its fleet at a pilot site on Parramatta Road in suburban Granville, the heart of Sydney's  "auto alley" precinct.

The National Fleet Manager for Hertz, Mr Stephen Short, said the first vehicles to be offered by Hertz Car Sales would range from four-cylinder Ford KAs, Mazda 121s and Nissan Pulsars to Holden Commodores, Toyota Tarago vans and a small number of Ford Mustang convertibles.

"All will be young vehicles, aged between nine and 24 months, and the majority will still be covered by the balance of a manufacturers' warranty," said Mr Short.

"Before being included in the Hertz Car Sales inventory, all cars will be evaluated for suitability, and inspected by the NRMA. Recommended repairs will be carried out before a vehicle is offered for sale, and if it does not meet our strict quality criteria it will not be offered for sale by the new division."

Mr Short said used vehicle prices would be fixed under a "no haggle pricing policy" - typically A$11,200 - $12,200 for a Mazda 121, A$37,300 - A$38,700 for a Toyota Tarago van and approximately A$55,000 for a Mustang.

"We will not accept trade-in vehicles," said Mr Short. "But we expect to introduce finance referral sources soon.

"We expect the majority of buyers will be members of the general public who are looking for a quality vehicle from a reputable source. We also expect that some of our rental customers will be among those looking to buy vehicles from us."

Mr Short said Hertz Car Sales had already acquired its dealers' license and secured accreditation as an NRMA-approved user car dealer.

The Managing Director of Hertz Australia, Mr James Bowyer, said the establishment of Hertz Car Sales was intended to improve the return on assets to the company, and reduce net vehicle costs in its core vehicle rental business.

"Hertz Australia operates a diverse fleet of vehicles, ranging from small passenger cars to sedans, prestige cars and light commercial vehicles," said Mr Bowyer.

"Our fleet is rotated regularly, and Hertz Car Sales will be used to dispose of rental vehicles which are not contracted for return to manufacturers.

"Once the Granville facility is operating successfully, we will consider expanding to other sites, initially in Sydney and later to regional and interstate locations."