Rental cars getting longer in the tooth

WASHINGTON – There has been a big change in the rental car industry.

The Wall Street Journal says a lot of frequent travelers are getting cars with 35,000, even 50,000 miles on them.

Seems rental car companies are doing what a lot of consumers have been doing for years — holding onto cars much longer than they used to.

Rental car companies used to lease new cars directly from the manufacturers and leave the vehicles in their fleet for a couple of months.

Now, they are holding onto them up to two years in some cases.

The rental companies tell the Journal that cars are better made and maintained these days. All the same, consumers should be on the lookout for problems common to heavily driven middle-aged vehicles, such as worn tires and wiper blades.

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