Would you buy a used car that was owned by a rental car company?

[ElizK]

I might be in the market for a newer car than my poor, old Camry. I found a 1 year old Camry that looked really good, and was several thousand dollars less than what most other 1 year old Camrys go for. It showed the CarFax, and it was owned my a car rental company for exactly one year. The mileage is high for a one year old car -- 41K, but that's the only drawback I can see.

What do you think?

 

[golfgal]

The Pros about a rental car buy-they get regular maintenance. The Con, most people don't take care of a rental car when they are renting them so you may have some more dings, scratches, dirt, etc. then you would get from a privately owned car.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Yep. We did. We knew maintenance was done regularly on it and we talked to the guy who did all the maintenance. We were very comfortable with it. It was clean and in great shape.

We've had it for about a year and a half now with no problems. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[bicker]

The fact that the car was in rental service, instead of just simply heavily-used by a single owner, should be reflected in the price. I don't think the various means of appraising the value of cars adequately factors that in, so I'd be very concerned about that aspect. I recently took such a risk myself (my car wasn't in rental service, but rather was the manager's car at the dealership for a year), but I feel that there was enough accommodation for that reflected in the price.

 

[powellrj]

We bought them for almost 10 years. They were great cars that we never had any problems with. These were the kind of cars we always bought before we went to company cars.

It may not have even been a rental car, it might have been a fleet owned company car. I know when I drove company cars, part of my job description was I had to keep the car in excellent condition. I was suppose to have regular car inspections, and I was required to do all the required maintenance. I know when you didn't, you received a warning letter reminding you to get your maintenance done. I know we drove the cars for 2 years and usually they had over 70,000 miles on them when we turned them in.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

What is the asking price, model?

 

[4Seasons]

My sister bought one and had it for several years with no major problems.
She was very happy with it.

 

[Imzadi]

An acquaintance bought one she was happy with. I don't know how she felt about it long term as I lost touch with her.

Most rental companies get rid of their cars after a year or two, and most don't have a lot of high mileage. So, as Golfgal said, while you do have to factor in that most will be driven horribly by the renters while they have them, they are well maintenanced and sold a lot earlier than equivalent cars of the same age & mileage.

 

[Hillbeans]

Sounds like i'll be the negative nelly here - in 1999 we bought a Oldsmobile Cutlass that had 26K miles on it. This was pre Carfax days, so we were told it was one owner, but found out the one owner was Alamo Rent-a-car in Florida about a year later when a service shop told me who owned it after running the VIN#. The car didn't have any huge problems, but lots of small things that brought us to the shop more than we had anticipated. I think people are generally very rough on rental cars and while it may not show up when the car is 1 or 2 years old, when the car is 3-4 years old it starts to show the problems.

No, I would not buy another used car that was owned by a rental car company again.

 

[lisajl]

We did for our daughter, have had it for a year, and no major problems.
The good thing is that they showed us the CARFAX info and that helped seal the deal. No major accidents, regular maintenance, etc.
With that said, she does need new tires right now but what we paid for the car, no big deal.

 

[kirbsam]

buying cars that have been rentals is a great idea and usually you get a great car at a great price.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I drove several of them last year when I was looking. I also had many conversations with sales and other people about them to get a variety of opinions, as well as did my own research.

A couple of things came up. First, many of them smelled like smoke, and that was a deal breaker. Second, most of them were very basic models and I wanted the features of a higher model. Third, they were higher mileage than I was looking for (I put on a fair amount myself).

After shopping around for a while, I was able to find exactly what I wanted for less than what they wanted for the former rentals, so that's what made the most sense for me.

I don't think anyone can make a blanket statment to say that you should or shouldn't buy one. Like anything else, it's a combination of doing your homework and a healthy dose of good luck when you buy any car (unless you keep a crystal ball handy ).

 

[NCRedding]

We bought a Volvo several years ago that had been owned by Hertz. It had 10K miles on it, was one year old and had all the maintenance records. We got a very good deal on it.

We had no problems with the car during the 7 years we owned the car. I would certainly consider doing it again.

 

[vegasnative]

My mom bought one from a rental company when I was younger, and she had a great experience with hers.

Now as a married couple we own a carpet cleaning business, and we bought our carpet van through Thrifty about a year and a half ago, and so far it has been great. So I can say that I have had two experiences with this and both times it has been fabulous. We were just saying that when we are ready for new vehicles we will look at the rental lots first because their prices are usually really good.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We bought a Honda Accord that had previously been a rental car. We were told upfront what it had been. It had a few more scratches on it than others on the lot maybe, but nothing major. Not until I parked it under a walnut tree about 3 months later....plenty of dings in the roof after that.

It was fairly loaded, had a moonroof and all of the options I was looking for, except the rear spoiler. We didn't have any problems at all with it, and I would consider buying another one.

 

[SereneOne]

My husband has the opportunity through his company to buy his company vehicle next year. Once they reach 140,000 miles they give the person who has driven it first opportunity to buy, then others in the company. We know the history because he is the only one who has driven it and the company keeps all their vehicles up to par and we know this because DH is the one that takes it in for repairs. We will be getting a 2007 F150 for a few thousand and from past experience these vehicles have lasted a long time.

I hope your situation works out for you.

 

[ontariomonkey]

I know someone who works for a rental car company and he said they have a policy of NOT doing regular maintanance such as oil changes. Why bother when the car only has to last them the year.

 

[jlima]

My brother just purchased a "program" car for my niece. The car was the dealer's loaner car; it's a one-year old Taurus with about 30,000 miles on it. He wouldn't buy it if it wasn't a good deal.

 

[WDWKOOK]

Recently, I heard on Fox News that some rental car companies do not have side-impact air bags installed because they buy the cars stripped down. The buyer isn't aware of this when they purchase the vehicle until they are in an accident. One car company is actually buying the cars back from the purchaser for $750 above KBB because the purchaser wasn't told of the missing air bags. Here is the link to the story:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,540322,00.html?test=latestnews

 

[FF/MEDIC MEL]

Enterprise rental cars sells decent cars. Go for a Honda or Toyota or Nissan and you'll be happy.