Press Release from Lotus, Lotus Elise Hits USA Rental Fleets

[TimMullen]

Originally Posted by babak

A fellow etalker has done that before .

I remember a fellow etalker doing that at the LOG in Atlanta a few years back.

Driving the rented Pontiac with three passengers, he put most of the Lotus to shame (including mine).

[Spd_dmn]

Originally Posted by InTheRed

There will not be fleets of these available at you local Enterprise or Hertz. They will be available through exclusive outlets that cater to exotic cars. There are a few here in LA that I could see stocking a few Elise. The rental agreement would be similar to any other exotic as would the liability. As for the ability of the driver, I guess that the companies that rent exotics must have some way to vet the potential clients. I think it's a good idea overall and I don't see any harm to the brand (the brand will not be lessened) since the cars will have limited availability as a rental.

Enterprise is carrying them across the country. I don't think there is a minimum of days - in LA they're $200/day with 100 miles included, the girl I spoke to said they have 15 or so available in Los Angeles. Also - in the past I have been able to wheel and deal with them, so you could probably get it for less.

I know you have to have your own insurance - so you can't drive it like a normal rental car unless you want to pay for the damage. In my area there are a lot of Enterprises that are open 7 days a week, so this seems like a good idea, especially for someone like me who loves them, but doesn't quite have the means to buy one.

[WRRRX]

I work at Enterprise in L.A. and we just got a few in. If anyone is interested give me a call at work at 323 654 4222. Just mention you saw my post. I love the car, but I've been a car enthusiast my whole life. You'd be surprised by how many people have no idea how to drive stick and complain that the car rides too rough. What do they expect????

[Owen]

Well, I was interested. Right up to the 100 miles a day part. This is LA for crying out loud. I'll exceed that mileage limitation driving home and back. Makes $75 an hour look like a deal.

Is this where someone says they are worried that I might wear out the oversize brakes/hubs/bearings or are they worried I might run a Toyota Engine into the ground with...mileage?

O

[RyanB]

Originally Posted by WRRRX

I work at Enterprise in L.A. and we just got a few in. If anyone is interested give me a call at work at 323 654 4222. Just mention you saw my post. I love the car, but I've been a car enthusiast my whole life. You'd be surprised by how many people have no idea how to drive stick and complain that the car rides too rough. What do they expect????

I am interested, but it would help if we knew your name , so we could ask for you. I test drove an elise with at Lotus of BH. But I'd like to rent one for a couple days to make sure. The initial impression of the car is amazing and I loved it. But coming from cars with 500-600rwhp I am afraid I may get bored with the power. I know that I can always mod the car but I was trying to find something that I will be happy with out of the box , at least for a little while.

Thanks
-Ryan

[Serebo1]

Originally Posted by Owen

Is this where someone says they are worried that I might wear out the oversize brakes/hubs/bearings or are they worried I might run a Toyota Engine into the ground with...mileage?

O

No, more that we're worried you might lift at the wrong time and lose it or break the front clam exiting a drive, blah, blah...

[WRRRX]

My name is Noah. You can reach me at 866 4 LUX CAR (our nex luxury division branch number). Also, if you want more than 100 miles per day, we can arrange that as well, it will obviously just cost more.

[ColdPass]

Alas, no Houston area Elise rentals from Enterprise. Plus one of the local luxury car rental places just had theirs totalled last month. The remaining place in town is asking $300/day, which seems steep, as the other places mentined in this thread are in the $150-$200 range.

[ace3]

there are two Elises for rent at the Dollar Rent-a-Car joint by Eppley Airfield in Omaha. I couldn't believe it either.

[JK68LC]

All,

The whole need to drive various cars without loosing gulps of dough, I have found my solution.
Joined http://MyOtherCar.com and the new year looks great. An Elise is in the future.

LC

[sentino]

Just found two Enterprise Rent-a-Cars, here in South Florida, that carry Elises!! (Lantana, and Boca Raton). The two cars in Boca are Ardent Red, and White. They are in the body shop though due to damage by people who don't know how to drive . . . .The one in Lantana also has two: a Storm Ti, and White. I have reserved one for a day on Jan. 5th (Storm-Ti). Will be my first test drive, and I can't wait!! Been doing alot of research, and looking, but never driven one! Looking forward to it!!

[Brian 111]

originally posted by ivan1:

I cant wait to see the ecu dumps on those cars...

Who's breaking these cars in? Customers?

"Since there's no redline, they rev to 10K, right? And what's that flashy thing on the tach?"

"Hey, the power goes away when you rev it way up... Uh-oh, I think the last guy who rented this broke it!"