Driving Up Profits

This story appears in the June 2000 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Thrifty Car Rental Inc., one of the world's largest car rental franchises, hit it big in January 1999, when it announced its newest affiliate, Thrifty Car Sales Inc. The franchised retail used car sales network currently has 15 dealers, each in a different U.S. city, with plans for 60 more stores in the next year.

At last year's National Automobile Dealers Association convention, more than 500 dealer prospects expressed interest in Thrifty Car Sales franchises. Jay Betz, president of Thrifty Car Sales, says Thrifty is an ideal franchise for local dealers.

"Thrifty is a viable franchise alternative for local entrepreneurs looking for the leverage of a national brand in used car sales," he says.

With projected sales figures of $348 million by 2001, Thrifty Car Sales hopes to sell 29,000 cars annually. To achieve this goal, the company has added automotive and financial partners, such as PRIMUS Financial Services, Banc One Credit Co. and Automotive Finance Corp., to provide additional products and services to new dealers.