National Rental Car -- Renting 370Z
 

I was at the knoxville airport picking up a car, and saw that National Rental Car had a white and red 370Z for rent. Premium car rental.

Just found it interesting

Nice! A few years ago hubby tried every car agency within abt 50 miles to try and rent one for me for the day. He knew it was my dream car and wanted to surprise me for my bday.

Rental
 

Hey! Good info. We are going to Knoxville this spring!

My friend at work rented a 370 two weeks ago when he had to go to Cali. He said he hated it. Lol.

datz cool. next time im in knoxville i will ask for a z. :ugh:

I travel often and if I found a 370Z a choice to rent I would and drive the S**T out of it. :happydance:

yes, 370Z is a car that certain companies rent. Enterprise also rents 370Z's, which means National and Alamo will also since Enterprise is the parent company of both. Chances are though, you are more likely to find the Z, and other nicer cars, at the airport locations. I used to waste my life away at Enterprise when I worked for them :shakes head:


But i'm not sure why people would find this surprising. I mean you have car companies that rent out higher end cars at regular car rental companies.

I've seen a 370z at Avis before but it's was already taken. I rent from national every week and sometimes some cool cars pop up.

Do they have the sport package?

$100 brake upgrade....

the ones i've seen, no they are the base model

370Z rental from Enterprise Car Rental In Chicago Burbs
 

I actually rented a new 370z (base) from Enterprise Car Rental for less than $50 bucks (before taxes, gas, etc) from one of their locations in Naperville, IL. Was looking for a cheap ride for the weekend and asked for the cheapest car they had. When I went to check-in they upgraded me to their 370Z for free.

Had a great ride from the burbs to the city. Now I am seriously considering buying a 370z, although concerns with the clutch issue have made me a bit apprehensive.

Pros:
Beautiful Exterior Styling
Small, easy to park in the city
Fast, even with an automatic transmission
Cockpit feels sporty, decent interior quality
Not very common sight as far as affordable sports cars go

Cons:
Very stiff/rough ride.
Flimsy/cheap feeling doors (no confidence inspiring "thunk" when door is shut)
Engine noisy was not very sporty
Loud interior/wheel well noise
Expensive, relative to other options

I should go rent it since mines in storage and I'm getting the itch to drive it, haha. That's not to far from me.

The VQ37vhr is course and raspy, but get a nice sounding exhaust and you won't even notice it anymore. Regarding road noise.....It does suffer from a lot but I sound deadened the my hatch and doors and it helps with the 'hollowness'. I'm happy with it. Getting better tires are key to reducing the road noise but at the end of the day it's a sports car and my weekend car so I don't mind.

Hmm, engine swap...lol

I am never in Knoxville, but I rent from National every week and have seen 370Zs at a few rental lots. They are always base models.

I have a sports car this week from National. You guessed it -- it is a 20016 Maxima. It's a 4 door sports car. it is true.

Nissan said so.

Holy crab they still have Nissan Maximas in 20016? :icon17:

4.D.S.C. for life! :rock:

Unfortunately...

Your friend must NOT like sports cars. Aside from stupid issues. The Z is everything a sports car is supposed to be. The only way I see having issue is if you own one. Renting one... This car should be heaven

I just spent 6 months for work in Hawaii checked all the rental joints for a Z because I was having withdrawals. No Z's to be had but every one had a mustang, camero, or challenger they wanted to saddle me with. A couple tried to pawn off a panamerica. Ended up just going with out.

wait.. people 'work' in hawaii?

yea, us poor peasants have to work.

i knowz dat feeling... :ugh:

haha......I'll take that over my Hyundai Santa

I've seen 370s at National as well, but they'll never let me have it for my corporate rate. But they'll give me an Armada for the week instead :ugh2:

Can you rent one with MT?

are u needing parts, mr.jar? :rofl2:

Surfing is work :p

I will say my last week there where lots of half days for surf, and late shows for surf as well. knowing your getting back to the east coast in time for the winter you take full advantage.

I tried upgrading my government rental to any thing beefier than a fusion, but it turned out our contract had so many damaged vehicles and accidents on it we are prohibited from upgrades to specialty cars.

Being that you drive a 330i, I can appreciate some of your con points. The ride is stiffer than your car but it has less body roll. I wouldn't call the 370Z's ride rough, but it does have loud interior/wheel well noise, but as b15 pointed out, this can be reduced by putting insulation to the hatch & doors (inexpensive & easy to do). Add Michelin PSS tires and it's much more compliant. I've done these to my Z and it's quieter and smoother than my stock GTI. However if your 330i is stock, it's most likely still quieter than my Z, due to the hatchback of the Z with no trunk like your car, to absorb some of the rear wheel noise.

Engine noise, never thought about this, but it could be that I have an exhaust which make the VQ sound wonderful and maybe overshadows this. However this engine is definitely noisy and rough at 5,500+ rpms unlike the 330i's which is well mannered all the way to redline.

Expensive, relative to other options? Yes, but not by much if you compare it to a FRS/BRZ or Miata. No, and not even close if you compare it to a Z4, Cayman or Cayman S.

Regarding your concern about the csc, try installing the RJM clutch pedal ($250). I have not seen anyone on this forum who had a csc failure with one of those, plus makes the Z easier to drive. I've had mine for 3 1/2 years and it's been fine (knock on wood).

Don't think so. I can't even recall the last time I saw a manual car in any rental fleet. The majority of American renters are just too dumb for manuals

Not for the clutch hydraulic system! I've already replaced everything I can in it - I don't want more OEM crap :icon17:

But I can't deny that the thought of renting one to swap out my driver side door seal did cross my mind ;)

Me either and :iagree: I was mostly kidding, figuring the chances were slim-to-none.

:rofl2:

:iagree:

You've been warned:

NEVER buy a 370Z from a National (or from any rental company for that matter).

Don't buy cars from rental companies in general. We used them to learn how to wire ****