If you’re in need of cheap transportation you can score a deal on a used car from Hertz Car Sales, which sells certified pre-owned cars, the majority of which are sourced from rental fleets. I did it years ago as a broke college student when I picked up a Chevy Sonic hatch for under $10,000. Unfortunately, not every car Hertz sells is a good deal, especially if you’re in the market for a Toyota 4Runner or a Ford Mustang Mach-E.
First spotted by Carscoops, Hertz has a number of late model Toyota 4Runners and Ford Mustang Mach-Es for sale at its dealerships across the country, and not a single one is listed for a good price. The 4Runners are the worst. As of this writing, Hertz currently has 151 Toyota 4Runners for sale in its inventory. Usually, these prices wouldn’t be much of an issue given how firm of a grip 4Runners have always had on resale values — it’s why you can still find some 25-year-old examples going for over $30,000 — but this situation with Hertz is a bit different.
For one, these are used rental cars, which often have rough histories that not many owners are aware of. Second, a new generation of Toyota 4Runner just went on sale, which makes these prices even more ridiculous. Take this 2024 4Runner SR5, the base model of the old generation. With just 12,560 miles on it, Hertz is wanting $43,710 for this 4Runner. If you check that price against other used 4Runners for sale it fits right in line, but again, this is a used rental car that’s likely led a rough life. Don’t think about going for a higher trim if you don’t want to pay more. A ‘24 4Runner TRD Off-Road with 24,806 miles is listed for $47,594. Keep in mind a brand-new 2025 4Runner starts at $42,220, including destination, and a new ‘25 TRD Off-Road is only $3,046 more than that used Hertz offering. What’s worse is that many of these 4Runners are listed without photos, so if you’re interested in one you have to either make your way to the dealership or request pics from the dealer.
If you’re in the market for a Ford Mustang Mach-E, you should also look elsewhere. There’s currently 90 Mustang Mach-Es listed for sale at Hertz; 19 of them are top-of-the-line Mach-E GTs, and not a single one can be had for under $35,000. Meanwhile you can find lower-trim Mach-Es under $20,000 if you can deal with higher miles, and it’s not hard to find GTs with relatively low miles for well under $30,000. This 2023 Mach-E for sale in Southern California has just over 6,200 miles on it and it’s just $27,998. Many of the examples at Hertz have low miles at least, under 10,000 in some cases, though that’s not an excuse for this pricing. The other 71 Mach-Es Hertz has for sale will set you back nearly double those prices, and for good reason: Every single one is a Hertz-only Shelby special edition of the Mach-E GT, and they all wear $60,000 price tags. That’s a big ask for what’s basically some special trim, paint and a few aero bits. You can easily pick up a brand new Mach-E GT for less than the price of a used Shelby Mach-E. Some dealers even still have 2023 models that are thousands off MSRP.
These prices are confusing in that they don’t really seem to take into account depreciation or follow general market trends. Wanting to know more about Hertz’s pricing strategy, we reached out to see how the company goes about pricing its vehicles, specifically the 4Runner. I was told that, like most dealers, market conditions and vehicle supply are the main drivers of how Hertz determines its pricing. Since the 4Runner is in high demand, they’re going to get priced accordingly. Combine that with the 4Runner’s near-immunity to depreciation and Hertz’s no-haggle pricing, and you have some high priced 4Runners. Of course, I was told that Hertz always aims to price its vehicles below market values, and the 4Runner is just an “outlier.”
So if you’re in the market for a Toyota 4Runner or a Ford Mustang Mach-E, our advice is to shop around before you commit to paying new car prices for a used ex-rental model.