Hertz has filed for bankruptcy protection

[JulianHJ]

https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-hertz-glo-hldg-b...

A bit of a worry, they’re $19Bn in debt and have missed some payment deadlines.

Hopefully they’ll pull through - they seem to offer the widest choice of interesting cars in my experience.

I didn’t realise they own BCA as well.

[Reciprocating mass]

BCA is owned by TDR capital

[Lotus Notes]

You could run a small country with $19 Billion.
How badly run is this company or or more likely, who's bled them dry?

Blaming Coronavirus is an easy out for these guys (like many others)..

[captain_cynic]

Lotus Notes said:

You could run a small country with $19 Billion.
How badly run is this company or or more likely, who's bled them dry?

Blaming Coronavirus is an easy out for these guys (like many others)..

Rental cars are a highly competitive market in most countries.

But I think this is a case of the modern philosophy of running everything on debt and assuming nothing will ever go wrong.

[rich12]

They already filed for bankruptcy haven't they?

Yep.
https://www.itv.com/news/2020-05-23/car-rental-com...

Edited by rich12 on Saturday 23 May 09:13

[CambsBill]

They're $19billion in debt and they don't even own the cars Unless the vast majority of the $19bn is the future lease payments then that's a seriously badly run business.

[jhoneyball]

Hertz has filed for bankruptcy -- it has $18.7 billion debt and $1billion in cash.


https://www.itv.com/news/2020-05-23/car-rental-com...

[swisstoni]

That’s a bit of a bombshell. Hertz have been a huge US brand for decades.

[Dave Hedgehog]

its just the start

[nikaiyo2]

swisstoni said:

That’s a bit of a bombshell. Hertz have been a huge US brand for decades.

Chapter 11 is not end of brand and fire sale of assets, it’s protection from creditors to allow continued trading.

[alorotom]

I was amazed when I saw it on the news ... clearly they have a fine line on profitability vs asset cost

Most of their trade must be business usage.

[Chris32345]

alorotom said:

I was amazed when I saw it on the news ... clearly they have a fine line on profitability vs asset cost

Most of their trade must be business usage.

Obviously not been doing very well on the profit line since long before all this with debts like those

[parabolica]

Pretty sure I saw a Jalopnik article the other day about how dozens of Hertz Yellow Corvette Z06s suddenly appeared on the likes of AutoTrader US as they try to shift dormant stock.

ETA Business Insider not Jalopnik; saw the article tweeted by a Jalopnik writer. https://www.businessinsider.com/hertz-selling-chev...

Edited by parabolica on Saturday 23 May 11:03

[Barchettaman]

Not bad value; 650hp for $57k, even as an automatic.

[flatso]

Will be interesting to see if they dump their inventory on the used car market, driving prices lower! Maybe the creditors will hold back on that as it will diminish their returns even more.
I know that Hertz has some nice models in their line-up in the US, anything interesting in Europe?

I think it is just the start as well, with more car rentals following as tourism will continue to be stuck in the gutters for the rest of the year.

[av185]

Dave Hedgehog said:

its just the start

If not essentially the end for Hertz.

[Dixy]

They go in cycles.

[Dixy]

Don't wave them goodbye yet.

[HocusPocus]

All part of a turnaround plan for its US brands, Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty. Creditor protection strategy whilst they liquidate 30,000 cars a month to reduce debt, sack staff and beg for Federal support funds.

European rental companies will be sufferng the same with leased cars collecting bird poo with zero income receipts. The car dumping is about to begin as there are simply too many cars out there being unused.

[Wooda80]

Interesting dilemma for some people on here:

On the one hand they are desperately hoping for sellers to be stood forlornly by their cars bearing signs like 'Wife and family to support - any offer gratefully accepted'

On the other hand they wouldn't touch an ex-rental car because it must have been 'abused' in some way.