Would you buy a rental car?
- Thread starter Elkins45
- Start date
I wouldn't. I may be an unusual case, though, as I wouldn't buy a used car either. Too many unknowns in regard to the level of mechanical sympathy among those prior drivers and owners I don't know. I also abide by the philosophy of "buy new and drive forever," so those potential instances of mechanical abuse by other people that don't necessarily manifest in broken parts right away would leave me with little peace of mind.
Browsing the ads from the sales lots of rental car companies-it's like everything else these days-not a lot of "deals" to be had. I actually paid less for my truck from an independent car dealer-than the prices the rental car companies wanted.
Yeah i worked at enterprise for 5 years and a lot of my vehicle biases went out the window. Vehicles are pretty tough and i was very impressed with enterprises dedication to making sure any issue a customer talked about was checked out and fixed. They took vehicle safety very seriously.
I've bought 2 rental cars, one had 13k miles , the other about 20k. No issues. Your mileage would be concerning to me.
Yes the one I visited used the Firestone across the street. A lot of them go back to the manufacturers who sell them to dealers. You will find tons of ex rentals on dealers used car lots.
I wonder if someone DID reset it, then either detailed it with the engine running, moved it around a lot several times, made a trip a few blocks to get gas, or all three.I've done it with no issues. In addition to what has been mentioned with maintenance and Carfax, if the vehicle has an MPG monitor check that out as well. More than likely nobody resets it so you can get a feel for what kind of fuel economy it's gotten over its life. Really bad fuel economy equals really hard driving!
I had a rental Ford escape that read 12 MPG
I think my mother's Elantra (from a dealer) was a rental.
I bought a Oldsmobile dealership. I drove the car to 220k miles before getting tired of it, and selling it to a neighbor.
Would I do it today? I'm not sure. It isn't the fear of how the renter treats the car. I worry more about recent accounts I have read where some of the rental companies will skip scheduled service intervals, particularly when they need to fill rental demand. Perhaps not all rental companies do that. And perhaps not all locations. But it happens.
Would I do it today? I'm not sure. It isn't the fear of how the renter treats the car. I worry more about recent accounts I have read where some of the rental companies will skip scheduled service intervals, particularly when they need to fill rental demand. Perhaps not all rental companies do that. And perhaps not all locations. But it happens.
Depends on what kind of car?
In 2002, I bought a 2000 Camry that used to be a rental car.
It was an amazing car, now I did have to maintained and it was back to running very good after a few things being fixed.
Not much, I think the mechanic clean the throttle body.
If it is American brand car GM/Ford/Chrysler, I would not.
In 2002, I bought a 2000 Camry that used to be a rental car.
It was an amazing car, now I did have to maintained and it was back to running very good after a few things being fixed.
Not much, I think the mechanic clean the throttle body.
If it is American brand car GM/Ford/Chrysler, I would not.
This is true, or at least was in 2011. I worked at a tire shop and we got a lot of ERAC cars in for the $16.95 bulk 5w30 oil changes. They insisted on the free tire rotations too. They loved Chrysler 300s at the time but also had Impalas and similar.
My wife & I bought two well used cars as third, or later, owners with RPO codes indicating "rental special equipment package" that have been fine. A Corsica and a Cutlass Ciera. Cars that were born to rent, it seems.
When I rent a car I'm in a strange city and aside from navigation unfamiliarity related issues I drive sedately. Don't want to attract attention as a tourist. Rent a car as a tool, not as a toy.
Bought several rentals though the years..Since the 80's...My first one was a 88 Town Car...So have family members...Mostly Ford Panthers but others also...No issues with any of them...Kept them for years and tons of miles...According to service records all were serviced at around 5K miles or less... Everything worked perfectly.
I don’t think so…
When I was younger, I worked for a defense engineering firm. We rented cars all the time, and we beat the crap out of them because we were young and stupid. On one occasion, we ran off a dirt road and rolled the car several times. It landed on its feet, but it looked like a crushed soda can. We called the rental agency and said the car wouldn’t start. On another occasion, I high-centered a brand new Skylark on top of a fire hydrant. Needless to say, we always purchased the full coverage insurance.
When I was younger, I worked for a defense engineering firm. We rented cars all the time, and we beat the crap out of them because we were young and stupid. On one occasion, we ran off a dirt road and rolled the car several times. It landed on its feet, but it looked like a crushed soda can. We called the rental agency and said the car wouldn’t start. On another occasion, I high-centered a brand new Skylark on top of a fire hydrant. Needless to say, we always purchased the full coverage insurance.
Last edited:
Zee09
$200 Site Donor 2023
No
I always took great care with rentals and returned them back better than received.
That said, it seemed I was only one of the few.
I always took great care with rentals and returned them back better than received.
That said, it seemed I was only one of the few.
Absolutely not. The last rental I had was a Nissan Rogue and it was 15k overdue for an oil change based on the sticker and computer and the sticker said it was filled with conventional… I told the guy at the counter and he said they’ll get around to it eventually. Not only that, the CVT was already slipping at 48k miles.
i have had succes with two ex hertz, humble, no drama, base model toyotas:
2004 corolla le. 2006 purchase on west coast. $10,500. 25k miles. kept it to 103k miles. only needed two sets of goodyear viva tires, one everstart maxx battery, 4k miles or so, $20, 5w30 oil changes, all at walmart. brake work at an indy shop. daily suburban driver. often highway driven across and in usa and canada. passed on to my younger sister. no problems, no rust.
2014 yaris l. 2016 purchase in desert sw. $9800. 42k miles. it had front bumper replaced from a non-carfax reported accident, but confirmed no structural problem. current snowbird car kept garaged on a battery tender 3-5 months at a time. semisynthetic oil changes at 18 months i.e. about 3k miles. one set of yokohama tires from discount tire, evermaxx battery from walmart, brake work and all fluids changed at indy shop. added cruise control. excellent little 4-wheeled scooter.
2004 corolla le. 2006 purchase on west coast. $10,500. 25k miles. kept it to 103k miles. only needed two sets of goodyear viva tires, one everstart maxx battery, 4k miles or so, $20, 5w30 oil changes, all at walmart. brake work at an indy shop. daily suburban driver. often highway driven across and in usa and canada. passed on to my younger sister. no problems, no rust.
2014 yaris l. 2016 purchase in desert sw. $9800. 42k miles. it had front bumper replaced from a non-carfax reported accident, but confirmed no structural problem. current snowbird car kept garaged on a battery tender 3-5 months at a time. semisynthetic oil changes at 18 months i.e. about 3k miles. one set of yokohama tires from discount tire, evermaxx battery from walmart, brake work and all fluids changed at indy shop. added cruise control. excellent little 4-wheeled scooter.
