Saleen Budget Rental Cars
I would be interested in knowing what information, literature, articles, posters, pictures etc are out there for the Saleen Budget cars. I would like to start putting together a collection and so far have seen very little. I know there is an issue of the Fastlane from 1997 I believe that I would like to get my hands on and beyond that, I have found very little. Can anyone help out?
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If I recall correctly, at one point the Budget locations that rented Saleens had a four-color cardboard promo sign that was sized about 8x10" or 10x12 or so and might have been a one-sided easel piece.
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Thanks for the information. If you have anything like that located, or anything else for that matter, please let me know.
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Budget
I have a few things about the budget Saleens, pretty interesting to find out about mine when I purchased it. I found a sales receipt in the glove compartment for Budget Rentals, Orange County, CA airport. If I can help lmk. 1997 S281 #83B
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I am interested in anything you know or have that I could get a copy of regarding these cars. Always more to learn!
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Bumping this thread because I am interested in same.
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budget tv commercial
You guys remember the Budget TV commercial with what I think was a black saleen vert with chromes? Ha I bet not lol. I saw it probably 3 times when I was a youngin...but remember it til this day.
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The Budget cars will be getting lots of love this year in August. Stay tuned!
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The feature car at this years Saleen Nationals is the Budget cars. August 6-9 Birmingham, AL
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I am in the possession of 1997 Saleen #26B, Moonlight blue with a white convertible top and an automatic transmission. The original motor gave out at 113K so it was just replaced with a 2000 GT motor with zero miles on it. Looking forward to spring so I can get the computer retuned and hit the highways.
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97-26B, sweet. Where are you located? How long have you had it?
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I have owned it over five years but had been fighting motor issues almost from the time I bought it. The computer had a board that was loose so the motor would sometimes cut out, then the new computer wasn't properly tuned for the aftermarket supercharger that was on it. The old motor put out about 300 HP with a supercharger, the new motor will be close to that because of the PI heads and other improvements. The car came to Michigan from Florida, and I bought it from a guy who had too many speeding tickets on his motorcycle.
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For all you fine folks with Budget cars, please post pics. I have been building a registry of these cars to see how many I can find left in existence. I have also started keeping pictures of each one and have also started a Facebook page just for these cars in an effort to find as many as possible. So if you have one, show it off!
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I came across this thread after searching on Google in regards to Budget Saleen's, I can offer some insight as my father was the GM for the Budget franchise (not corp) that purchased these vehicles back then. Their main location was in Santa Ana so these were rented out of John Wayne Airport in OC, LAX, and for awhile in San Diego.
My father drove one of the `96 speedster models (Rio Red, 5-spd) as a demo for a year, can't remember the number as I was 10 at the time. It did have an oil burning issue at the time. I also rode in many of them in the few years they were around, probably have been in some of the owner's cars on this board! Some random memories I can touch on: -White models had white wheels. -The kill switch starters were a pain for customers. -Curb rash was a constant issue with the low profile tires. -I remember some of these models looked and felt a bit rough after their rental stint, no surprise of course. -Rode in a cherry red (laser red?) model with no rear defroster which was odd. Great color though! -We had a deep violet 5-spd for a weekend, brand new. Loved that color! -We drove an automatic moonlight blue model for a few weeks, it had a light colored interior, pretty neat color combo. -Rode in one of those 2 green manual models, it felt like it had definitely been put through its paces. If anything else comes to mind I will make sure to add more! |
Welcome and thanks for sharing.
The Violet car is a one of one with the 5spd. The green cars were both 1998 models (#08B and #09B) and #08B was just sold in Texas last month. Would love to hear more or see any pics from the day. |
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OK, so I stand corrected. The name changed to Atlantic Blue Metallic. Duh!
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I currently own the 98-05B and was purchased at Windy City. The color is Atlantic Blue with Grey interior. It currently is unrest or ed with 70K miles.
Tim Ross ( timbossross@aol.com) Verona, Virginia |
Tim - Welcome to the forums! Hope to see you at some more shows in the area this summer.
Ray |
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96-0002B. It has been repainted to Dodge Viper Red. |
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Thank you for posting! Do you have photos? |
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Looks clean. Have you owned it long?
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Just picked it up from a consignment auction house in pal springs. So the story goes that it was owned by a budget executive who never put it on the rental fleet . He kept it till 2015 when he passed and the his daughter inherited it. Sold it to Alex McKenzie whol later sold it to the gentleman who I bought it from . 58k original miles. I picked it up because it was original unmolested example. Not a fan of black but couldn't pass it up plus the timing was right and that is always huge. Needs some minor things like sway bar bushings , they squeak, wheels need to be refinished and paint in black always could use a paint correction. Front bumper starting to sag a bit but not too bad but the interior is in great shape and everything works as it should. Really excited to tighten her up, would really want to purchase the shocks and struts from Saleen as they are available for purchase but for 900 bucks although I have heard there are better options. Any advice would be welcomed. On another note the springs in the rear look almost like the heat from the exhaust burnt the paint on the springs, not sure if that is normal. I do know the owner would drive from Palm Springs to Seattle inbewtween the restaurants he owned.
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The 5-speed manual rentals are interesting due to their low(er) production number.
Did Mr. McKenzie own "McKenzie Mustang?" Quote:
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Yes sirrrr.
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It is indeed a classic beauty. This car is surely well-maintained.
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Its interesting, that is seems to be the "norm" for these specialty rental cars, to have a few special ones with manuals, that were supplied to the inner circle executives. There are these cars, the Hertz Shelbys (2006-7), the Hertz Penske of 2014, maybe others. Both of these were under 10 units.
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Are there actual production numbers somewhere for these cars? Would love to find out how many were produced in my configuration.
I own 96-22B, White Convertible with manual trans, white 18” Magnesium wheels. 67,000 miles. It has the Speedster rear seat cover pins but didn’t have the cover when we bought it. |
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These are the actual numbers for the Budget Saleen cars. My wife and I actually own 96-0002B, the only Speedster with the 3.55:1 rear.
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Thank you for the info.
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