I'm an outside sales rep. I have a VW Passat TDI, my company wants me to rent cars instead of paying mileage

Member5768

I'm driving a VW Passat tdi. I love the diesel, but my situation has changed a bit. The company I work for wants me to rent instead of paying .56 per mile, so the mileage of a diesel isn't as important. I herniated a disc and the Passat doesn't have as much lumbar support as I would like. I'm considering a Subaru Outback, but boy the reviews of the Outback are all over the place. The car will sit in the driveway most of the time. I'm considering a truck or maybe even an older model Jeep Wrangler, granted the Wrangler will ride like a wagon. Any thoughts or reccomendations would be welcomed.

Priorities: Front seat support & comfort / Ride smoothness / Handling / Reliability & durability / Materials & workmanship

Preferred Bodystyle(s): Sedan / Wagon / SUV / Pickup

Car Needs: Errands about town

Primary Driver(s): Tall driver

Need minimum of 4 seats

Will consider both new and used cars
Maximum mileage: 30000
Maximum age: 4 years

Maximum price: US $ 45000

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When they say they want you to rent a car, do they want you to lease a vehicle, of which I can only assume that they will be reimbursing you for all of your auto expenses, or are they asking for the make/model of vehicle you want to drive and they are going to acquire it and provide it to you?

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Response from Member5768

11:08 pm April 19, 2015

No, I'm renting 2-3 different vehicles a week. Based on the amount of miles I drive it is less expensive to the company forme to rent than for them to reimburse me .56 per mile. If I drive 500 miles in two days the rental costs about $114 vs the more than $250 it would have cost in mileage reimbursement.

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That sounds like a pretty bad deal for you. You'll spend a bunch of extra time renting/returning vehicles. If you're paid hourly, the company is going to have to add that to its cost. If you're salaried/commissioned, you're eating that time. Plus, if you don't like your Passat seats, there's no way a rental Chevy Sonic or whatever they give you will be any better.

If you otherwise like the Passat, I would go to a body shop and see if there's something upholstry wise they can do with the seat, although maybe this isn't possible if it has any heating/cooling features. Maybe check Passat forums to see if anyone else has done something similar. Maybe even put in a different seat entirely.

And I'd push back hard at your company to make sure you can drive your own car. Make it clear you have a bad back and you're concerned about incurring health problems and missing time at work if you spend too much time in a car that's not set up for you. The health issues are key - get a doctors note if need be. As a gesture of good faith, you could also offer to go a little lower than $.56 on the milage reimbursement. And that's to say nothing of the extra time they're asking you to put in with the rentals.

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Response from Member5768

9:50 am April 20, 2015

The rental car deal is a major time drain. We've got a national account with the rental car company, so the direction isn't going to change.

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Seat comfort is highly subjective. There's really no substitute to spending as much time as possible test driving the car and seeing how you like the seat.

My favorite seats have been in Fords, Volvos, Acuras, Nissans (2013+ Altima, 2015+ Murano), and Lexus (though certainly not all models of any of these).

I'd suggest rented different car models as part of the evaluation process, but your choices might be limited by your company's choice of vendor.

If the car is going to sit most of the time, I don't see much point in sinking much money into it, unless it's something you really like and will take weekend drives in, etc. Will you be off-roading, or just like the idea of a Wrangler?

Without knowing the specifics on how you'll be using it, the Wrangler doesn't seem like a good idea, as the ride can be quite bouncy and the seats are nothing special. Among Jeeps, the Cherokee has better seats (if you get leather) and a smoother ride, but long-term reliability remains to be seen. The larger Grand Cherokee rides well over fairly large bumps, but tosses a little over relatively minor road undulations. Its seats are pretty good, but not outstanding.

The Volvo XC60 might be worth a look.

The most comfortable cars tend to be large sedans. Recently I've been impressed by the overall comfort of both the 2015+ Hyundai Genesis (currently being discounted heavily) and the Dodge Charger / Chrysler 300. Both are available with all-wheel-drive.