I bought a Ford from Hertz, I think, back in the early 90s and it was a great car, never had an issue with it.
But knowing what I have done to rentals and seen what people do to them I am always a apprehensive.
Would you buy a rental car?
- Thread starter Elkins45
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But knowing what I have done to rentals and seen what people do to them I am always a apprehensive.
Bought them all the time, 3 of my 6 vehicles from the past are former rental on good deal
I believe all of us with experience buying and owning ex-rentals, was in the pre-COVID days.
Off the top of my head, I've bought ~6 former rental vehicles. Again, all pre-COVID, all were no more than a 1yr old and most had miles in the teens. These were all quite the bargain as well, which is why I bought them.
It's an entirely different game today. There is little/no incentive in buying an ex-rental today. They're priced at normal retail. Most are 2+ years old with 50K or more miles on them. That is a LOT of rental miles with sketchy maintenance.
Off the top of my head, I've bought ~6 former rental vehicles. Again, all pre-COVID, all were no more than a 1yr old and most had miles in the teens. These were all quite the bargain as well, which is why I bought them.
It's an entirely different game today. There is little/no incentive in buying an ex-rental today. They're priced at normal retail. Most are 2+ years old with 50K or more miles on them. That is a LOT of rental miles with sketchy maintenance.
A fellow asked me to look at a 2021 RAM with 56K at a Toyota dealer's lot.
The body and frame looked so good for the 56K on the odo. The seats had a little dirt on them.
The Carfax revealed it was a rental.
He bailed instantly.
He said, "I know I don't treat rental cars well". I thought that was entirely inconsistent with his personality. I was a little shocked.
The body and frame looked so good for the 56K on the odo. The seats had a little dirt on them.
The Carfax revealed it was a rental.
He bailed instantly.
He said, "I know I don't treat rental cars well". I thought that was entirely inconsistent with his personality. I was a little shocked.
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I have owned a few and never had issues with them, what you see is what you get. What I did do is buy them while still under the factory warranty, so any issues I find will get taken care of. The last one I had was an 07 Saturn Ion 3, bought it with 29k on it. It did take two visits to the dealer to sort some minor things out. But it is free, so why not? right? It was a pretty nice car overall and very efficient. I put Cobalt SS suspension on it and it handled surprisingly well, without sacrificing much ride comfort.
I didn't have any issues with it till I sold it at 140k 9 years ago to my friends grandparents. They are still driving it and it has only needed minimal repairs and obviously maintenance.
I have also heard nightmares about rental cars as well. My experience has been good though.
I didn't have any issues with it till I sold it at 140k 9 years ago to my friends grandparents. They are still driving it and it has only needed minimal repairs and obviously maintenance.
I have also heard nightmares about rental cars as well. My experience has been good though.
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I'm not so sure maintenance is done very often or well. Out of the 3 cars I rented in thr last 6 months, 2 of them had issues and/or very little PM done as far as I could tell.
Oil change on 1 was Way overdue. On another car the screen and cameras and sensors wouldn't work right . The cars were never even cleaned properly and smelled like wet dog and dog poop
Oil change on 1 was Way overdue. On another car the screen and cameras and sensors wouldn't work right . The cars were never even cleaned properly and smelled like wet dog and dog poop
Most bitogers check the oil level and maintenance records before they drive off the lot
