Milrent, Cortlandt
Photo credit: Neal Rentz
Cortlandt resident Bob Miller has for many years owned business related to cars and other vehicles.
Prior to opening his current business, Milrent in Cortlandt, in 1982, Miller owned gas stations in northern Westchester and a Subaru dealership in the area. His current business is a car and truck rental business.
Miller recalled last week how he became involved in the vehicle rental business. “I visited Rent-A-Wreck out in California and they were offering franchises,” Miller said. “We were known as Miller’s Rent-A-Wreck first in 1982. We opened with 11 cars and trucks. They sold us the franchise. And we were the first in New York to be Rent-A-Wreck. Then others picked up on the name.”
It took time for local residents to know what his business was about, Miller said. “Most people didn’t understand the concept,” he said. “Rent-A-Wreck was for renting used cars. Whereas the other car companies were renting new cars. So that was the reason for the catchy name, Wreck.”
Miller recalled that when his business was known as Rent-A-Wreck the rental rate was $9.99 a day in 1982, while the other car rental businesses were charging $30 per day. Having Wreck as part of the name had a negative connotation for some customers, Miller said.
Miller changed the name of his business to Milrent in 1987 after his contract with Rent-A-Wreck expired. “We have a newer fleet now,” he said.
Milrent rent trucks are typically used for moving to a new house in the area. Miller said most of his customers come from Cortlandt, Peekskill and Yorktown.
Miller worked out of Washington Street in Peekskill for 35 years before moving to his current Locust Avenue location in December 2016. “It’s difficult to get the people here,” Miller said because many of clients previously saw his ads in the Pennysaver, which now has many fewer pages than it did in the past. Milrent is now attempting to promote itself on social media, he said.
Miller said he had simple goals for Milrent. “The goals at this juncture would be to increase the business in this location,” he said. “We were very busy when we on the Washington Street address. Now we have to rebuild the business.
Milrent is located at 100 Locust Ave. in Cortlandt Manor. For more information, call 914-737-6492, send a fax to 914-737-3111 or visit http://www.milrent.com.
