Does It Make Sense To Rent Flex-Fuel Cars?

Its a rental car, and they'll never know. So, even if it isn't a flexfuel car, I'm putting in the cheapest fuel available. Even if its E85.

Enjoyed this article. For the longest time I assumed FlexFuel was the US car brand’s version of the Eco car decal. Guam doesn’t sell E-85 gas so had no idea it existed.

I’ve been doing this for years. One thing worth noting is that the vast majority of renters don’t know what e-85 is, where they can get it, or even that their rental can use it, so I’d guess your odds of happening on a vehicle filled with e-85 are pretty low.

It's not worth wasting your time thinking about it.

I believe your math is off. If you're getting 28% less mileage per gallon of gas, you need the E85 gas to be 39% cheaper for a wash.

Allen,

Wrong. You can't change point of reference from one calculation to next.

It should be .28/1 Not .28/.72

While I see your point, the "stick it to the next guy" philosophy seems harsh. To each their own, I guess.

Debit,

This kills me -- it really does -- but you win Best Post of the Day.

Corporate finance evidently does translate into everyday life.

I personally don't think it's ethical to try to separate the macroeconomic and ecological aspects of the E85 programme from the personal. Biofuel from corn is ecologically irresponsible and drives up the cost of food, particularly in poorer countries. I just can't justify a tender in my pocket against that.

The top post is about to make a costly mistake. E85 means ethanol 85%. It does NOT mean 85 octane. In other words, you're not putting 85 octane gas, which might be passable. You would be putting 85% ethanol in a car made for 10% ethanol maximum. If the car's engine has trouble, you could be in for a big repair bill.

Based on your extensive calculations I think I've come to the conclusion that the search time to identify E85 vehicles in inventory at my car rental facility, whether very near stations offer E85, and whether any stations along my intended route offer E85, whether said E85 stations are in fact close enough to the airport that I can return the vehicle "full" after filling there, the additional planning to make sure I happen to hit said E85 station along with the probability I can pull it all off simply isn't worth the possibility of $10.

One trick that takes less time and probably can save that much is just watch your odometer and fuel gauge when you start and figure out how many miles you can drive before your fuel gauge no longer reads full to figure out how many gallons you've used. Often it's 3-4 gallons worth. Then don't fill your tank up all the way when you're returning your vehicle based on that (and how far you are from the airport).

Otherwise I like @warreng24's advice to always fill any car with E85. Just play dumb if anyone calls you on it.

As a Midwesterner and one whose families grow corn, we appreciate you using E-85. E-85 is suppose to promote energy independence to reduce our need to import oil (even though the USA is starting to become a net oil exporter thanks to fracking and the oil fields in North Dakota). It's suppose to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels (which it does... somewhat). And finally, the cost for E-85 is subsided in part through the generosity of the US Government (that means you, fellow taxpayers). So you through your taxes pay for E-85 anyway. If there was no subsidy, E-85 costs a heck of a lot more than regular.

In Brazil, they have used biofuels for years very successfully. Cars are developed there to run on E-100 (100% Ethanol). Pollution has dropped, and their dependence on fossil fuels had lessened.

So is it worth it to use E-85? If you can save money in your rental, go for it! If you are into reducing your dependence on depleting stocks of fossil fuels, thanks for your support! If the car you are driving doesn't support E-85, don't do it. Don't be an idiot and fill up with fuel you know will damage the car. Karma will pay you back big time.

As for me driving in the Midwest, if it's my personal car, I never use E-85 (yea, my cousins may complain, but heck, they can grow soybeans for bio-diesel or jet fuel if they want). It reduces car performance and can increase car maintenance. That and I really hate the subsidies that E-85 gets. So if nobody uses E-85, the Government will stop giving out welfare to the farmers, and maybe my taxes will drop (wishful thinking).

$6.73 per gallon in Ireland at the minute, you do have crazily cheap prices in the US

DKB, go to Egypt instead, $1 per gallon.

DKB Come to Venezuela.. way less 1 cent a GALLON at this moment.
Guns are totally banned too (a Liberal Paradise down here!) which makes it the saf... err, sorry, it is currently the most dangerous country in the world.
But cheap AF without a doubt.

The problem with rental cars is that even though the fuel gauge says FULL most cars can drive about 50-60 miles on a new tank before the needle gets off the FULL reading.

So I always find that the last person who filled the car did not fill it completely and thus the first tank gets "really poor mileage" because the tank is not full.

I was surprised to read above that the loss of efficiency was as high as 27% but did check it in the literature. The producers suggest that the loss is probably in the range of 15% to 27% depending on the actual ethanol content of the fuel which could be as low as 51% and still be called E85. This low level would result in a lower loss (15%).

I know this sounds incredibly simple, but it is. Want to know if you have E85 in the tank? When running the car, does is smell like a bar? If yes, it is E85. It really is that simple. I have an E85 truck and use it all the time and my garage smells like a bar when I do.

I own a e85 car. I fill the tank with e85 every other fill. I also never let my car get much below a 1/2 a tank. By doing this I get close to the same miles per gallon that I would running gas only.

If you’re planning a long trip, don’t forget that lower fuel economy of E85 also means more stops to refill, because you’ll get less miles per tank, too.