We’re all familiar with the ZipCar by now, that car rental line that offers driving freedom to urbanites who don’t want to bother with the hassles that come with owning a car.  But what you may not be aware of is that, if you have an iPhone, you’ve just opened up the entire world of ZipCar.

iPhone users will now be able to lock and unlock ZipCar car doors remotely with their iPhones, as well as start their engines remotely.  Plus you can even locate and reserve a particular car from the ZipCar lineup with your iPhone.

Seems that one third of all ZipCar customers use iPhones for one purpose or another, and so, offering iPhone connectivity represented a significant advantage to ZipCar users.  This in turn helps fuel brand loyalty.

It’s a smart idea for the ZipCar company, and if you’re an iPhone user who’s looking for a rental car, ZipCar may just be your ticket after all.

Tags: iPhone, remote start, rental car, rental car company, zipcar

Continue reading...

Motorists eyeing the best pre-owned programs in the market today may want to shift their attention a bit to Hyundai. Hyundai’s certified pre-ownership program has suddenly found itself at number three in the non-luxury category, making 24 jumps since its debut two years ago. At the moment, it is trailing the Mini and the Volkswagen.

Those are quite glaring numbers and considering that Hyundai is aggressively exhausting all efforts to make its business flourish, it seems that Hyundai has become the people’s choice with their various tactics.

Here is what the CPO program of Hyundai offers:

• Vehicles up to five model years old with less than 60,000 miles are eligible
• 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty (from original purchase date)
• 150 point inspection
• $50 deductible
• Roadside assistance
• Rental car coverage (up to $35/day for up to 10 days per occurrence)
• Towing coverage (up to $75 per occurrence)
• Travel breakdown coverage (up to $375 per occurrence)
• Diagnostics
• Related damage for specific parts
• Fluids
• New car financing rates through Hyundai Motor Financing Company

These numbers may seem common but what you don’t see is what Hyundai provides as far as comfort and economical factors are concerned. But with practically the motoring industry acknowledging it, what else would you need to be convinced?

(Source) Press

Tags: blossoms, car coverage, debut, economical factors, financing company, flourish, glaring numbers, Hyundai, hyundai motor, luxury category, motorists, new car financing, new car financing rates, occurrence, powertrain, rental car, roadside assistance, volkswagen, warranty

Continue reading...

If car purchases are falling, you can just imagine why car rentals are holding back. People turning to car rentals are sure to be decreasing as well and it seems that this is more than enough reason for them to stop new car purchases for now.

A noted practice that car rental companies do is to unload old rental cars to interested buyers. However, it seems that this practice has been affected to by the credit crunch and they are forced to make do of what cars they have on hand. A fraction of their funds used to buy new cars is taken from amounts they get from selling old cars in their fold.

Rental car operators have been hit by the same credit problems that car dealers and consumers are facing. As a result, drastic cuts for new cars are being experienced by automakers. The car rental companies are also finding it difficult to find car dealers willing to purchase their used vehicles thus forcing them to put on hold the purchase of new vehicles available in the market.

Via CarRentals UK

Tags: automakers, car dealers, car purchases, car rental companies, car rentals, car roster, credit crunch, new cars, old cars, rental car

Continue reading...