Avis Budget Group Inc. today announced that its Ultimate Test Drive program now accepts trade-in vehicles.

In collaboration with auto retailer AutoNation Inc., Ultimate Test Drive offers consumers a selection of late-model Avis and Budget rental vehicles for purchase at competitive prices. Customers can shop online at www.avis.com or www.budget.com and schedule their "ultimate test drive."

Customers with trade-in vehicles are assigned a personal auto consultant via AutoNation Direct, who can collect personal vehicle information to provide fair market value on trade-in vehicles. Then this value can be applied toward the new vehicle purchase.

"For many individuals, vehicle 'trade-ins' are an important component of the car-buying process," said Tom Gartland, president, North America, Avis Budget Group. "We're excited to give potential buyers the option to receive a trade-in value for their vehicle. We look forward to capturing these used vehicle sales as part of our strategic initiative to accelerate growth."

Ultimate Test Drive is available in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Jersey and Texas. The program features more than 75 makes and models, ranging from Ford and General Motors to Kia, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen. These test drives are free-of-charge for two hours or can be as long as three days for a nominal rental fee. Then if the customer decides to purchase the vehicle, the base rental fee will be refunded once the purchase is completed through AutoNation Direct.