now we all know that I deeply love my element and honda cars in general. they have received many accolades for their “environmentology” and for being the greenest car manufacturer in north america. while I love the versatility of my vehicle, the amount of stuff I can cram into it & the great mileage and features; I wish I had gotten a hybrid. the truth is- that the hybrids really came to the forefront just about a model year after mine, and even with all my offsets, it is my only car buying regret.

with ellie in the shop after being rear-ended, I decided that I would rent a car for a couple of days to get some final new york errands done, and my hybrid search began. so I started with all of the usual suspects: zipcar, travel sites, rental agencies, discount fare search engines- only to be left greatly disappointed. but when I googled “prius rental”- I stumbled upon something that I didn’t even know existed.

toyota dealers rent cars!! what?!?! yes. toyota dealers rent hybrids. highlanders, camrys, and yes- even the highly sought after prius. now it goes without saying that there are just a few bumps in the greener paved road when one decides to rent directly from a dealership, but there are just as many perks. there are far fewer dealers that do rent, but there is an efficient website directing you to those that do and there is an easy online reservation request form to start the process. they will ONLY accept major credit cards for the transaction and the deposit is on the steep side (around $500); however, you are getting a brand new vehicle. the vehicles only rent for 4 months, then they go to the used selling floor, so every car is in impeccable condition. the cars rent for about half of what hertz was renting them for, at just about $45 a day, and just under $280 for the week. that is the biggest perk of all.

I found out that toyota has been renting cars since 1989, and I am honestly amazed that more people don’t know about this wonderful resource. so next time you want to rent a hybrid and you’re feeling blue that you don’t live in a major city- call your local toyota dealership, they may have just the right vehicle to give you that “oh, what a (green) feeling!”

namaste.