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tag100uk	Hi all, We are coming over to Florida from England and have managed to hire a Prowler for 3 days while we are here. This has long been a dream of mine, the nearest i have got so far is to sit in one both in Florida at a dealer 2 years ago and one here in England last year. I would love to own one over here in England, but the few there are here command the highest prices - £30,000 is the price tag on the two that are for sale. Thats about 54,000 dollars at the moment! So hiring one is the next best thing. We fly over on 19th Nov and pick her up on 22nd. If anyone has any advice for a complete Prowler novice driver then we would love to hear from you. We do own an Electric Cruiser here in the UK, not quite in the same league but appreciated and enjoyed all the same. Ron & Teresa
Black Tie 161	If you are renting it, I would suggest you drive it like you stole it. Have fun and beat the crud out of it...Power slide into some turns if ya want...LOL. Seriously....The only thing is to not pull too far up to the curbs, you will scrape the nose and the rental company might hit you for the scrape damage... Have fun!
Rpowell593	Yeah, if getting from rental car place - then no concerns - drive it in auto-stick the whole time and have the RPM's up there so you can punch it any time you want and HAVE FUN.
BeWare	During the Prowlin the Riockies event several memebers rented some Prowlers. They were in pretty rough shape. So just in case the one you are renting is also beat, please don't think of a rental Prowler as an example of what most Prowlers are like. Enjoy
ed monahan	You are flying into Florida. The big Turkey run is going on that week. You could see about 50 of them, if you like.
larrypen	Boys--Boys Nothing takes turns better, stops quicker,accelerated faster than a rental. BUT we are talking about a Prowler here. A little respect here please. What the Hell am I saying. Go drive that thing like a Kerry supporter on the way to the crying hole. Have fun Oh yeah don't worry about shifting it will let you know when.. Uncle Rental This message has been edited by larrypen on 11-05-2004 at 10:58 AM
ALLEY CAT	Rentals??? Drive 'em like you stole it!!! They will be called "rats" after rental service, instead of "cats", but there is always somebody out there looking at only PRICE when buying a Prowler and will get what they are paying for. JMO
Marty Usher	Just don't get going 70 MPH on the Interstate and try to the shifter into "R" for RACE!
idive	LOL! I went to Jr. High with a guy who used to get rentals on the weekend and do that. One time he ended up leaving the rearend on the road. He ended up one time rearending someone on the freeway, which opened the hatchback on the car and a kid flew out. He ran, and said the car was stolen. His dad, the lawyer, always got him out of things like that. I got lots of stories about that guy...
Dead End Don	Before I bought my car from a Texas dealer, I rented one locally in L.A. that had close to 13,000 miles on it. The car was immaculate, ran fine, and I even tried to talk the company into selling it to me when they took it out of service at 15K miles, as they do with all their rental cars. The guy gave me the number of the local dealer they took the car to for service, and I actually spoke with the service manager, who knew the car (they had 2 at the time). He said that the rental company was scrupulous about regular maintenance, and did not scrimp or avoid repairs. His opinion was that although the car may have been used hard by customers, it was in sound condition. He said he would not have a problem or a second thought about buying it if he was in the market. I followed this idea up before I found POA (where I ultimately found the car I bought), and ended up talking to the owner of a rental agency on The Strip in Las Vegas. At the time, he had 10 Prowlers. Again, I asked him who serviced his cars, and I ended up again talking to the local service manager, who told me the same story - good, regular care and service, and no shortcuts on repairs. I came very close to actually buying my car from this guy, but he wasn't taking the color I wanted out of service (seems like most rental co's sell their exotics off at 12K to 15K miles). Bottom line is, I don't know that rental cars are necessarily the dogs that everyone assumes them to be. At $300/day rental plus a credit card deposit with at least a $10K limit, there aren't going to be too many "trashy" renters. That's not to say that they all treat the car with the same respect they treat their own, but with all that dough on the line, and a car that isn't the easiest in the world to get used to, I don't know that they see much harder use than we give them...the occasional burn-out and tire squealing, lots of "foot to the floor" stoplight starts, but how is that any different than how we normally drive these things? So, I don't know if it is correct to assume that any ex-rental Prowler is going to be thrashed by the time they get sold. I'm sure that many of the cars that go through the auction process or end up on Ebay through dealers may have been acquired from rental agencies. I'm wondering how many total rental Prowlers there might be out there - maybe 100?? 150?? Just my experience, for what it is worth...
ed monahan	Dead End, I agree with your theory. HOWEVER, not all people with money are on the up and up. Think white collar criminals, drug dealers with a lot of cash, etc., scam artists. That does not mean all of them are hard on rental cars. If I rented a car, I might abuse it more than my own that I was planning to keep. I am not trying to give you a hard time, seriously. Maintenance is important and great but maintenance does not discount abuse by drivers.
ALLEY CAT	Dead End - I really have to disagree with you about Prowler rental cars. I looked at six Prowlers in Vegas [2002] at a rental store on the strip,,,,ALL were trashed units. Holes in tops, tires and wheels bounced off of curbs, nose into curbs, window/door rattles, uneven tire wear, and that is without even starting them up to hear the motor run. Of course any service department manager is going to tell you 'what' you want to hear,,,,,the rental store owner is doing business with them, not you. Looked at one yellow Prowler at a Vegas rental store just this past week,,,,,trashed out! A friend of our's owns the Corvette rental store here,,,,rents Vettes, Boxsters,Mustang converts, Vipers, and cats in the past. I personally see the abuse to these units, no wonder he gets big bucks daily to rent! I could go on about the "thousands" of lease and rental car returns I see every week at the Adesa Auto Auction in Chandler, Az. Their head tech at Adesa claims 90% of these one and two year old cars to be trashed out and need work/parts before going through the ring.....and he doesn't have the time or $$ allowance to fix them right. Buyer Beware! JMO This message has been edited by ALLEY CAT on 11-06-2004 at 09:26 AM
Marty Usher	I drive mine like it's a rental everyday!
ALLEY CAT	quote: Originally posted by Marty Usher: I drive mine like it's a rental everyday! Marty - some how,,,,,,it must be a tax deduction for you In 2007,,,,I'll be looking for a replacement for you, lol.
tag100uk	many thanks for all your replies, i will be sure to check out the condition of the car before i pick it up. I will also be looking to check out the turkey run, we usualy go to Daytona anyway. One slight concern - please forgive me for being niave here - i am hearing about the gear shift and the need to drive differently.. can anyone elaborate? Would appreciate any advance advice, having no experience whatsoever of this car... apart from sitting in one at a local dealer here in the Uk last year! Ron & Teresa
CJ	Not sure what you heard or what you mean, but the Prowler is an autostick..........you can either leave it in drive or you can shift it like a manual transmission. ------------------ CJ - The One and Only 1999 Black - PPROWLR 2002 Deep Candy Red - CJPROWLN Classic/Beautiful - I'm referring to the Cat of course!
ed monahan	It has a slapstick, no manual clutch to work on the floor.