Buying an ex-rental car

My first car when I got home from school was a Oldsmobile Alero that has spent it's previous life as a rental. The starter and brake pads both went within 5 K of buying the car but after that the car was great for the 4 years I owned it. I still see it driving around town. I know the current owner through a business relationship. He uses it as his daily driver. The car now has over 140,000 km on it without any major repairs. With rentals I think you'll find the wear items like brakes, shocks, and other wear sensitive parts will go sooner but if the car itself is a good model then it's worth it if you can get the car for a steal.

My wife owns a 2013 Hyundai Sonata and, IMHO, it's one of the nicest driving cars I've ever been in that wasn't a luxury model. Came with all the options you could ever really want on the fairly base model too. The kind of stuff Toyota charges and arm and a leg for. The price of her Hyundai was right and we haven't had any issues 40,000 km into ownership. People knock Hyundai because they used to make cheap gimicky cars but there stuff is pretty high quality and holds up well from my experience.

 

I don't do that anymore, that was when I was young. My friends mom used to let us drive her rental car and it was a mess when returned. We joy rode in it hard. But hey that is what the insurance was purchased for.

 

My dads gen1 frontier does that and we beat the piss out of it

I would say go for it because of it being most likely ding and scratch free so something happens you can always sell it to someone who just cares about a cars looks

 

^ TRUTH

 

It's fairly easy to tell when a rental's been abused, though. Check the front skid plate/engine guard and the lowest point on the exhaust at both the midpoint and the tailpipe for scuffs/scratches (jumping). Check the E-brake cable for excessive play/travel before it engages (handbrake slides/cornering). Check the transmission fluid to see if it smells/looks burnt (overheating caused by abuse).

The dangers are the same as buying any used car; you don't know how it was treated.
Speaking from experience as a service writer at a shop that maintained cars for Enterprise, the cars were generally sold before they needed any 'routine maintenance' other than oil changes anyway. And the oil changes were generally done on time, but with cheap oil. I mean, most of the time they replaced the cars before they burned through their first set of tires, so it's not like the rental company had time to ignore maintenance schedules like transmission flushes and the like.

That being said, we did occasionally have a car come in that had been abused. We documented the damage done for the rental company and they'd go after the renter to cover the repairs, and after being repaired the car would go back into the fleet. The rental company should have a fairly detailed record of any services/repairs done during the time that they had the car. And generally the cars that were really badly damaged (body/suspension damage or major mechanical failure) went to auction rather than being sold outright to the general public.

 

ok

 

Just like any car you buy if you do your due diligence then their shouldn't be a problem. You can't take a salesmans word as it means shit. Have your mechanic look it over before you buy.

 

A colleague of mine, working under a NIOSH grant, did a long series of Toxicology studies of used motor oil. He obtained samples from the local car rental agencies in the Cincinnati area, most likely from the rental car fleets at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky airport. The AVERAGE oil change interval from the samples he received was 18,000 miles, from conventional oil, and typically it was the oil installed during original manufacturer.

This researcher, a full professor of Toxicology, at the University of Cincinnati, cannot reveal which rental car companies he obtained samples from, but is very selective on the companies he rents from these days.

On the other hand, I rented a wonderful, low mileage, full equipped Camry earlier this month in Dallas, and put almost 1,000 miles on it in a week, for a total cost of $253 plus two tanks of gas.

Personally, I would look for signs of abuse and lack of maintenance very carefully, is the oil clean, does it shift well, are there bent pieces in the undercarriage...

Howard

 

i just had a rental 2014 rav4 that had all sorts of lights on the dash, CEL, Oil light, TPMS that did not go away after inflating the tires. before i drove it off the lot i made sure the rental company knew about the lights, they said it was "normal"................

 

I used to travel a lot for work and have been in a lot of rentals. I think it's probably safe to say that with no exaggeration I've probably rented at least 500 cars. Personally, I treat them very gently. I've never turned one in that they came back and said I damaged in any way. But I have some manners.

One of my best friends didn't like the car the rental company gave him so he opened up the trunk floor and took a dump on the spare tire. Just because.

Whatever you're looking at buying, has probably been driven by someone like me and someone like him. Are you willing to risk who put more miles on it? The Jeff Foxworthy youtube video was already posted but I'll echo the sentiment: I wouldn't be any more likely to buy a rental than marry a prostitute.

 

Note to self; Check spare tire before purchasing any used car.

Seriously, don't buy a former rental car. Do yourself a favor and check out the used Honda Civics in your area. We've had Civics and Accords since 1990 and the only reason any of them were replaced was due to wrecks. In those 20+ years, the only maintenance we ever did was oil changes, brake jobs, and battery and tire changes. Not a single break down or problem in over 20 years. Her 2004 Civic had been paid off for over 6 years when she totaled it last year. It still got 36mpg/highway. We replaced it with (surprise!) a 2014 Civic EX and I frickin' love that car.

 

As long as it isn't a modded Honda. Lots of kids thinking it's cool to race Hondas out there and don't take care of them. And they are magnets for theives in most areas.

 

WUT

 

True. Stay away if it has a big-ass spoiler, coffee can (braaaap) muffler, or any other signs of a being a "Ricer".

 

i wouldnt buy an ex rental car if i have driven it.........

 

I think it's been settled.

While it's a case by case scenario buying a ex-rental I'd rather not put my new wife in a car that may, or may not have, been treated badly. I think I've been convinced not to get a ex-rental.

 

I wouldn't buy any Ex rental car. You dont know who was driving it before. In general, most people who drive rentals dont treat them the best haha.