Does a vehicle percieved to be a rental car lower it's resale

[GumbyJarvis]

I've never bought a rental, I have purchased previous fleet vehicles though. My 2005 Ranger 2.3L was a prior auto parts store base model XL, single cab. I got it with 60k miles or so? Now it sits at over 250k and my parents still use it.
The Ram in my sig? Former Plumbers truck. Bought with 15k miles. Has zero issues thus far 🤞

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by GumbyJarvis
I've never bought a rental, I have purchased previous fleet vehicles though. My 2005 Ranger 2.3L was a prior auto parts store base model XL, single cab. I got it with 60k miles or so? Now it sits at over 250k and my parents still use it.
The Ram in my sig? Former Plumbers truck. Bought with 15k miles. Has zero issues thus far 🤞


Sounds like you scored a couple of gems. It's a good feeling knowing someone besides you, took the new price hit - eh?... I've bought some used gems (a Toyota Camry) and unfortunately, I've picked up a lemon or two in my time (don't ask me about the time I picked up a Ford Tempo I thought I was getting for a "steal", boy I'd like to take a mulligan on that one ... )

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by Hootbro
If rental/fleet use did not mean anything, they would not be listed on the CarFax or other vehicle reporting services. It means something to most informed consumers buying a vehicle.



Correct. I've bought 2 vehicles that were former likely fleet use.


-The first was a JGC 2010 QD2 HEMI. It was a POS and fell apart. Stuff you can't "abuse into failure". I think it was just a Chrysler was the issue.

-The second was a Mazda CX5. The only thing that broke on it in over 100K miles that wasn't environmental (damage from road material, flooded the rear diff crossing a stream that flooded once, etc.) was 1 headlight at roughly 90K miles, brake rotors began warping at 50K miles and were replaced in "poor" shape at 95K when I did brakes. The valve-cover gasket had a VERY slight general "weep" which was more like residue vs. anything I'd call "a leak". At 106K miles the FPR and HPFP in-tank went [censored] up. The vehicle was nearly deadlined by this, but still capable of movement and conveyed me to work and then to the dealership.

I am not averse to buying a program/fleet vehicle, based on these two very limited experiences. I know people who maintain vehicles FAR WORSE than fleet use, and drive them like tanks. Friend of mine loved hopping curbs in his 370Z and changed the oil never. Had like 18K miles on it when he traded it on a BMW that he treated similarly. I think it had OEM oil in it. Had a little old lady trade her Ford Focus in once at the dealer I worked for. OEM filter. OEM oil. Like pudding. Had another woman with one of the new retro T-birds (back when they just came out) put 32K miles on it and engine seized up and it died like a dog. Never an oil change or top-off. I watched the GM's son abuse the [censored] out of a chipped and tuned Ford F150 Lightning to the point that he took 10/32 tires and turned them into 6/32" tread tires in a weekend...as well as bending a rod and trashing the shortblock. Ive seen so much [censored] go down at a dealership that program car means nothing to me. [censored], I used to live in a town where GM had a plant, and they delivered the new vehicles to the rail-yard about 2 mi away. They redlined that [censored] the whole way and slid sideways into the rail lot. Obviously 0-mile vehicles.

Your car wasn't treated half as well as you fantasize that it was, likely, even if you buy it with 3mi on the ODO.

Buy known good brand and model vehicles and you'll have the best experiences, regardless of their past lives, more often than not. For example, a program Camry is going to far outlast a new Chrysler 200.

 

[AuthorEditor]

I look at it this way. I have to rent vehicles fairly often and I can't remember having one with a mechanical issue, even on some month-long rentals. The average rental car is maintained far better than the average individual's car. Sure, you can find cars that have been maintained by a BITOG inmate, but they are like hens teeth. More typical is the used car that is being sold because something is already wrong with it or it is getting old and dirty. I think it is a myth that all rental cars are abused. Most of us that do it are extra careful because we want to avoid any insurance issues.

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by AuthorEditor
I look at it this way. I have to rent vehicles fairly often and I can't remember having one with a mechanical issue, even on some month-long rentals. The average rental car is maintained far better than the average individual's car. Sure, you can find cars that have been maintained by a BITOG inmate, but they are like hens teeth. More typical is the used car that is being sold because something is already wrong with it or it is getting old and dirty. I think it is a myth that all rental cars are abused. Most of us that do it are extra careful because we want to avoid any insurance issues.



When I was younger I worked at a pest control company. The company owners were phasing out the fleet (abt 30) of older Ford Rangers and going with the newer 2nd Gen Rangers. The company had a full time service mgr who maintained them meticulously. The company offered them to employees for something like a thousand bucks. (I'm sure they had long since been written off for taxes)...it was a total steal because these things mechanically speaking, were in great shape. Sure they had dents and dings but I wasn't looking for a truck for date night, I just needed something to haul the occasional load of dirt and make dump runs.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted by Mad_Hatter
Originally Posted by Danno
Daily rentals have to be disclosed to prospective buyers.


That law will vary from State to State, but in general yes. CarMax got sued several years back in Maryland for failing to disclose prior rental car history. This usually applies to taxi and police service vehicles also. But you shouldn't be buying a used car without pulling the Carfax anyhow. Most reputable used car dealers/brokers will have that done already.

Fwiw, the average car spends about 13 months in a rental agencies inventory (just looked it up), so many rental vehicles still have a good chunk of their warranty left. So the rental agency takes the hit on pricing and you [can] get a decent "new" car at a used car price with a lot of warranty left.


Carfax is aimed at their target market of used car sellers, not buyers.
If you run a Carfax on vehicles you actually know the history of, you may find glaring inaccuracies, as I did on two cars we'd had for some years.
I contacted Carfax on this and got nothing at all in response.
A Carfax report is worth what you pay a dealer for one.
They are free from any used car seller, after all.

 

[circuitsmith]

I'm driving a CPO former rental I bought last July with 13K miles and 1 y.o.
It's been trouble free. Cost ~4K$ less than new.