OK to buy used car from other OEM dealer?

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Originally Posted by paulri
I'll probably start another thread on buying from private parties later on this week, if this hasn't been discussed ad nauseam already.

I honestly hadn't thought of car rental places. Thanks for the tip.

Originally Posted by csandste
My first choice : Hertz.

My second choice: non OEM dealers or private parties.

Third choice, other rentals

I try to avoid that brand's dealers, cause I don't like to over pay.

Of course if the price is right....




At least in St. Louis, Hertz is dirt cheap. Wholesale prices with no dickering. I bought a Soul, girlfriend bought an Optima, daughter bought an Accent-- no problems with any of 'em. If you buy a one year old used car it's probably a rental anyway. At least Hertz plans on unloading them at 35,000 miles and gives them basic service-- what's the story behind a private party who unloads after a year? Death? Stupidity? Forgot to change the oil?

Maybe it's because Enterprise is home based but their cars cost a lot more than Hertz.

IIRC- Enterprise unloads about 1.4 million, Hertz 700,000 and Avis about 250,000 cars a year, most to dealers-- including OEM dealers. When I had to buy on short order I was assured by an OEM salesman that their Soul was a loaner-demonstrator and the only non-rental one year old car in the county (400,000 people), including their dealership. Fewer miles, but less abuse? Was it worth an additional four grand over what I paid. My biggest regret is that I had to buy when all the tax refund checks were hitting the market. That DID drive up prices.
 
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Originally Posted by wallyuwl
It doesn't matter where you buy the car, it is about the car. Besides, many late model used vehicles on OEM lots are bought at OEM auctions and are not actually trade-ins.

Get a Car Fax and Auto Check (both - they don't always totally match). Get the service dept. of that make to run a report on the VIN to see all repair work that has been done. Take a good look at it yourself - outside, inside, underneath, in the engine bay.

The only circumstance where buying from an OEM dealer matters is if you get an extra manufacturer warranty with it from buying certified used, but typically these types of offers are only with luxury brands (like the Lexus example previously in this thread).


Carfax and Autocheck are super cheap on eBay, normally about $5 for both.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/AUTOCHECK-...STANT-DELIVERY-LOWEST-PRICE/123653250066
 
Back in the day, I bought a Mercury Cougar that had been traded in at a small town Buick/Pontiac/GMC dealer. They honestly acted like they didn't know what to do with it.

They let it sit and sit and sit... for months, literally. They had it priced fairly, it just wasn't anything that they knew what to do with. The entire county didn't even have a Mercury dealer (just a Ford dealer).

After seeing it sit on the lot for months, I finally gave them a call, and got on the phone with a salesman. Come to find out, they had pulled it off the lot that morning, and it was scheduled to be loaded on the semi and taken to the auto auction the next morning. So, time was tight.

We ended up striking a deal where they sold to me to me for way less than they were asking for it on the lot, but more than they would have gotten for it at auction. They were simply done with it, and wanted it gone... one way or another.
 
Originally Posted by paulri
I honestly hadn't thought of car rental places. Thanks for the tip.

You will be hard pressed to find a car rental company that has Hondas. Honda does not sell direct or offer fleet incentives to the rental companies like the other manufacturers do.
 
I wouldn't buy a used car from a car rental place. People do some pretty horrible stuff to rentals like rough driving, swapping parts from those vehicles onto theirs etc.

That's just me though...
 
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Originally Posted by StevieC
I wouldn't buy a used car from a car rental place. People do some pretty horrible stuff to rentals like rough driving, swapping parts from those vehicles onto theirs etc.

That's just me though...



I was in outside sales. I went through something like 32 cars. Some of them were what they called "program cars" back in the day (they were ex-rentals) and provided me with excellent service.
 
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Originally Posted by StevieC
I wouldn't buy a used car from a car rental place. People do some pretty horrible stuff to rentals like rough driving, swapping parts from those vehicles onto theirs etc. That's just me though...

There are also quite a few private owners that "do some pretty horrible stuff" to their vehicles, including some individuals that do little or no maintenance on them. Some of the worst used vehicles on the market are repos. A sizable percentage of the people who don't pay for their vehicles don't maintain them and also abuse them. A repo is something that I personally would NOT purchase. I WOULD consider purchasing a rental if the price and miles are right and it is still under warranty, at least the rentals are properly maintained.
Regardless, ALL used vehicles should be taken to an experienced independent mechanic for a professional inspection PRIOR to purchase, including so-called "certified" used vehicles.
 
Originally Posted by CKN
Originally Posted by StevieC
I wouldn't buy a used car from a car rental place. People do some pretty horrible stuff to rentals like rough driving, swapping parts from those vehicles onto theirs etc.

That's just me though...



I was in outside sales. I went through something like 32 cars. Some of them were what they called "program cars" back in the day (they were ex-rentals) and provided me with excellent service.

Good to know, I still wouldn't do it...

Originally Posted by wag123
Originally Posted by StevieC
I wouldn't buy a used car from a car rental place. People do some pretty horrible stuff to rentals like rough driving, swapping parts from those vehicles onto theirs etc. That's just me though...

There are also quite a few private owners that "do some pretty horrible stuff" to their vehicles, including some individuals that do little or no maintenance on them. Some of the worst used vehicles on the market are repos. A sizable percentage of the people who don't pay for their vehicles don't maintain them and also abuse them. A repo is something that I personally would NOT purchase. I WOULD consider purchasing a rental if the price and miles are right and it is still under warranty, at least the rentals are properly maintained.
Regardless, ALL used vehicles should be taken to an experienced independent mechanic for a professional inspection PRIOR to purchase, including so-called "certified" used vehicles.

Yup for sure... But I would think you would have less of a chance from a vehicle OEM dealers lot than a rental place and not to mention having to go back for something catastrophic.
 
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I think this doesn't make any difference. For mom and pop dealers they probably would keep a few popular trade ins for sale on their lot instead of selling to the same brand dealer for CPO or auction.

Dad got a Mazda5 former rental from a Honda dealer, it is in excellent condition other than some know and common rear camber problem. We put a SPC camber kit for Mazda3 on it and all is good.
 
It is probably ok to buy a used car from any new-car dealer. They may be a tad overpriced, but there is otherwise nothing wrong with it.

In fact, Capital One and other auto loan financing programs only let you buy from a franchised dealer. The definition of franchised dealer has always meant a new-car dealer, although most of them also include Carmax as well.
 
Originally Posted by KrisZ
Most used cars are bought on dealer auctions. Dealers hardly ever buy the cars they previously sold. Lease returns are not dealers, but the leasing company's, so it's the leasing company that sends the car to the auction. If the dealer likes a particular trade-in, they may buy it from the leasing company, but that would happen only for highly desirable models, not run if the mill commuter cars.


This is not true in many cases and probably not in this case. Auctions are usually a source for C-grade vehicles that reputable major brand/new dealers won't touch (service or sell to a end user). That is where they get rid of, not acquire such vehicles from trade-ins.

Buying from a major dealer does usually mean a trade-in of decent enough quality that they feel they can make a buck including their high overheat. This high overhead is why I'd never buy from a major dealer unless it was a fairly new vehicle so that overhead is a lower % of total vehicle cost. Otherwise you should always get a competent 3rd party to inspect it (NEVER taking their word on their inspection even if a CPO vehicle, even with a decent warranty) and that 3rd party inspection makes a private seller a far more attractive option unless you feel like any warranty you receive is worth the few thousand dollars extra.

If you were even slightly considering buying something that a dealer got from an auction, DO NOT DO THAT. If you want that c-grade car and the hassles you will save far more money buying it at auction yourself and have thousands of dollars left over to cover more repairs than their limited if any warranty covers.

As far as a dealership trade-in suggesting the owner was so happy that they bought another, maybe or maybe not. It could easily be the opposite, that they had issues and did not like it so that's why they got rid of it (if you are really happy with a vehicle why trade it in until it is fairly old? I know some do but that is not really happy with it any longer!), or it could just be a life circumstance change like driving more miles, need more room for kids, or kids left the house so they don't need that big SUV/minivan/etc any longer. It is all fairly irrelevant as either way you should get a 3rd party inspection.
 
FYI... the franchised new car dealers purchase PLENTY of former rental vehicles to sell off of their used car lots. Many of them also purchase repos. When it comes to current year model and one year old used vehicles, 98% of them were either rentals or repos (or occasionally but rarely, wrecked/repaired and traded-in). The average private individual is not going to be in a position to be able to trade-in such a new vehicle because they are going to be too far upside-down on their financing.
Not all of the vehicles sold at auction are C-grade. Almost all lease returns are sold at auctions, and they are some of the better used vehicles available. Franchised new car dealers have to purchase these at the auctions just like everyone else, and they do. Also, franchised new car dealers will take perfectly good vehicles to auction and quickly turn them into cash because they don't have a market for them at their dealer (like a Cadillac at a Toyota dealer, or a Kia at a Lexus dealer, etc). The large used car dealer chains (like Carmax, Drivetime, Texas Direct, etc) purchase the majority of their vehicles from auctions.
 
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Originally Posted by Dave9

This is not true in many cases and probably not in this case. Auctions are usually a source for C-grade vehicles that reputable major brand/new dealers won't touch (service or sell to a end user). That is where they get rid of, not acquire such vehicles from trade-ins.



If you were even slightly considering buying something that a dealer got from an auction, DO NOT DO THAT. .


I was friends with the owner and my son worked for a Chevrolet dealer. Week in and week out they'd drive the trade-ins that were below their lot standard to the Manheim Pittsburgh auction and bring back late model low mile cars and trucks. I'd call what they took C grade whatever that is but that's not what they bought and brought back. The real junk was sold off to the local low price car lots.

If you ever get a chance to go to a big car auction go.
 
People can choose to think whatever they want to make themselves feel better about buying a used vehicle from the same brand dealer. Dealers know what most buyers want to hear, the truth is usually much different.

No good salesman will never admit they got the car at an auction, usually sight unseen. Carfax can easily be faked as well as service records. My FIL knows a guy that can change the odometer reading to whatever you want, guess who calls for his services most often?

Besides, how many people would meticulously maintain their vehicle only to have it traded in after 2-3 years? People of this type, like a lot of BITOGers, keep their vehicles for a long time. The dealer would not have a steady supply of used cars if they relied on trade-ins.
 
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Having worked at NorCal dealers for decades I've seen that all the non-oem cars for sale on the lot were tradeins. No off brand auction cars. I worked at 7 dealers & saw that we only kept the good ones for resale. I quick 1 hour inspection & if the car was in good condition & wont cause problems, we'd sell it. If it was a turd, we'd sell it to the wholesaler/auction yard. The only cars we'd buy from auction were OEM cars
 
Originally Posted by KrisZ
Carfax can easily be faked

No, it can't.

Originally Posted by KrisZ
My FIL knows a guy that can change the odometer reading to whatever you want, guess who calls for his services most often?

Nonsense. The formerly common practice of "spinning" odometers hasn't been done to any appreciable extent in years. It is too easy to get caught and the potential benefit doesn't fit the consequences.
 
Originally Posted by wag123
Originally Posted by KrisZ
Carfax can easily be faked

No, it can't.

Originally Posted by KrisZ
My FIL knows a guy that can change the odometer reading to whatever you want, guess who calls for his services most often?

Nonsense. The formerly common practice of "spinning" odometers hasn't been done to any appreciable extent in years. It is too easy to get caught and the potential benefit doesn't fit the consequences.





Believe what you want, even Ferrari was rolling back odometers. Not saying every vehicle on a used dealer car lot has a rolled back odometer, but id does happen, especially if the vehicle is very clean otherwise.


https://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-n...ack-odometers-on-used-cars-ar180105.html
 
Rolling back odometers is easy and I have access to the tools to do it. I would never do this but it can be done.
We would only muck with mileage when we installed an ECU and needed it to match.

I don't know about Carfax that seems to be a U.S. thing only really here it's a bit of a joke.
 
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Originally Posted by StevieC
Rolling back odometers is easy and I have access to the tools to do it. I would never do this but it can be done.
We would only muck with mileage when we installed an ECU and needed it to match.

I don't know about Carfax that seems to be a U.S. thing only really here it's a bit of a joke.

I never said that rolling back odometers couldn't be done, I only said that it doesn't happen frequently because the consequences for getting caught are pretty severe for what little there is to gain, and it is VERY easy to get caught now days, especially in areas like Texas where there are mandatory yearly vehicle inspections. I have been directly involved in the car business for over 45 years and I have not seen this commonly done for over 30 years, and to my knowledge, not done at all for at least 15 years. At one time there were people that spun odometers for a living, going from dealer to dealer on a weekly basis. Not any more.
Carfax is definitely not a joke in the US, and Carfax can NOT be gamed. The "show me the Carfax" commercials have definitely worked, 90% of used vehicle shoppers will ask to see one within 10 minutes of looking at a vehicle they are interested-in. Furthermore, many dealers will NOT purchase a vehicle at auction if there is an accident report listed on it's Carfax. If you don't think that something like this affects a vehicle's resale value, think again. Most dealers automatically pull a Carfax when they are evaluating a trade-in and adjust their offer accordingly.
 
Originally Posted by StevieC
I wouldn't buy a used car from a car rental place. People do some pretty horrible stuff to rentals like rough driving, swapping parts from those vehicles onto theirs etc.

That's just me though...

I used to say that too.
I have helped with purchases of 3 or 4 cars from Hertz in Santa Clara, CA (Silicon Valley).
The cars are serviced regularly and are at least a thousand dollars cheaper than the cars on Craigslist.
Got a 2017 Rogue with really low miles, like 17K for way under market.
Just got a 2016 Sentra, super clean, again way under market.
You might be surprised.
 
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