Anyone ever bought a rental car before?
 

Anyone ever bought a rental car before?

I would advise against it. They are driven by too many different drivers, and maintenance is done on the cheap, if done at all. They are also abused, and reach high mileage very quickly. The only thing worse than buying a rental car is buying an old taxi or police car.

I would advise against it also. A comedian once said " Buying an old rental car is like marrying an old prostitute. You do not know where its been, what its done, but you do not want stick your key in it".

disagree, i bought one (thru dealer who picked it up @ auto auction) for a loaded '08 dodge avenger. Low 20's in mileage, dealer added on bumper to bumper 100,000 mile warranty thru chrysle, including the tires for 40,000miles. It does have more than it's share of superficial scratches on trunk, which i keep putting off getting buffed out.

some haggling later & it wound up being more than $5,000 under book value and no problem getting bank financing despite zero downpayment.

unless u check the carfax when buying a used car u could easily be driving a rental

anyway, i'll run it until the wheels fall off, actually youngest DS will do the honors.;)

A family member bought a '99 Toyota Camry LE in 2010, with 83k mi, for $3,800. It was from a private seller in northern NJ, whose grandmother bought it at one year old from their local Toyota dealer. The AutoCheck said the car was registered in Philadelphia as a rental with a major company, and sold at an auction there a year later. Since it never left its original city, it might have been an Enterprise car. (I've seen the history report for other used rentals, and it frequently says something like registered in FL, sold a year later at New England Regional Auto Auction, etc.) In the glove box, I found the dealer's business card, with "Toyota Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles" imprinted on it.

The car does have some minor dings and rear bumper scratches. Soon after we bought it, the gas door spring release broke off, and the gas door wouldn't open. I attributed this to all the renters opening the gas door every morning to refuel before returning. A mechanic was able to adjust the shape of the gas door latch so it opens manually.

Would I buy a used rental again? It depends.

I bought a Toyota Corolla '01 in 2003 in MD from Toyota dealer who told me it had been a rental. The Carfax also showed that it had been a rental car. Dealer added 100,000 mi warranty. It had 26,000 miles. 10 years and two states later it has 90,000 miles and is still going strong. I added a nicer radio/ CD player since it only came with the standard radio. It hasn't had any problems ever.

I have a 2007 Pontiac G6 I bought from Enterprise in late 2007. It was about a year old and I was working for ERAC then so I saved $1,300 off the price. For me, I was quite happy buying from them because I could call up the history on the car and see every time it had maintenance, every issue reported on it and even every person who drove it. I've since put about 50,000 miles on it and minus some things I did to it (poles at the gas station jump out of no where!) it's in great shape.

I don't regret my choice at all.

I bought a 2002 Mitsubishi Montero Sports that was a rental. I have had no problems with the guy. I got in 2004 at 34k miles. Well, today is 2011 and I have 110k miles and it has been great (knock on wood, I hope I dont get jinxed now! lol)

I got a former rental car from a new car dealership a while back. This was before carfax was widespread. Apparently its a common practice for dealerships to ply the auctions for good deals and re-sell the cars on their lot. It had 11,000 miles when I picked it up and had me fooled. I didn't have any complaints and resold it a couple of years later for almost what I paid for it.

Actually, the maintenance standards at corporate stores of most rental companies (at least certainly the major chains) are very strict. (Franchises are more hit-and-miss.)

My current car (2000 Toyota Corolla) is not only an ex-rental, it's a totaled ex-rental (Avis) reconstruct. You'd never know, though. It now has over 100,000 miles and is still looking and running beautifully (except for the crack I put in the windshield, which, as a die-hard Alaskan, I refuse to fix, since it will invariably just happen again).

Two other cars in my family are ex-rental reconstructs, and both are still looking and running beautifully, too.

Totaled rental reconstruct, as in the rental company rebuilt the car and sold it? Or sold it "for parts," and some enterprising dealer/junkyard rebuilt and sold it?

Well, sort of the latter. Avis ANC's primary body shop happens to be owned by a family friend, who I know to do excellent, reliable work. All of the cars mentioned above have been bought directly from him (but were rentals before).

Which may not be the best idea.

Your windscreen serves as a stressed member of your vehicle's chassis, forming part of the structural integrity of your vehicle. A cracked windshield compromises the rigidity of your vehicle's frame, and may not hold up as advertised during a collision.

To add to that, it's that much easier to blow it out completely when the smallest object hits it. I can attest. I watched a crack in my windshield go from less than 1" across to 11" during a 20 minute 65 mph commute.

There's so much loose gravel on the roads here (we don't salt the roads in winter in order to avoid rust; we use gravel instead) that we literally get a new crack or chip at least once a year.

I'd estimate at least a third of Alaskan cars are driven around with cracked windshields. Somehow we all survive.

Suit yourself tough guy. Just giving friendly advice by stating fact. If you don't want it, that's up to you. Have a good day.