huskyflyer

Today I saw a classic Chevy Impala for the first time in what must be years. It got me wondering as to what happens to rental cars after a year or two because I don't really see them ever again on the streets - like all the usual rental car models (300, Charger, Malibus etc) are rarely seen on the street except for the current year model because they are currently in use on a rental. I get that they are sometimes sold to dealers, but I don't really see any local dealers here carrying that many used Chrysler 300s, Malibus etc. Are they returned to like GM/FCA to be scrapped? Are they exported to another country and sold there? Genuinely curious

For some reason, EHI does not sell its used cars to the public like they do in USA (but the franchise National in Canada does)

Kacee

Seriously?

aww3583

They’re sold at auction to dealers.

Pull a CarFax on just about any later model vehicle (2-3 years old, 20k miles) it’s it’s a virtual guarantee it’s a lease return or an ex rental car.

My current daily driver is an ex-rental car.

iluvdoco

I believe they go to rental car heaven.

TXJeepGuy

This. I work in the car business. Most of the 2-3 year old used cars on a dealer's lot are a combination of lease returns and rental cars.

The less desirable rental cars, like the Impala, Malibu, etc tend to go to subprime finance focused dealerships- think DriveTime, or a buy here pay here type lot.

Yes, sedans are less prevalent in general than they used to be. Part of why the rental companies are moving more to SUV's across the whole fleet is they get more for them when they sell. But for customers who are primarily concerned with getting approved to finance a car, they often take whatever they can get.

Wadda

Check out Enterprise car sales there’s loads of ex rentals on there

huskyflyer

Yeah I used to go on that to see what options Enterprise fits out their cars in. But Canada doesn't have Entperise car sales for some reason.

Thanks! Didn't know they end up going to the subprime finance focused dealerships. I was genuinely curious what happens to the classic rental cars because the Impalas were once pretty common in downtown and have disappeared from the streets. I thought they may have been sent back to GM for spare parts/scrapping since they are less desirable. I have seen some Chrysler 300s that I suspect are ex-rentals at retail dealers though given their age and miles.

TXJeepGuy

Some subprime customers can be pretty rough on the cars, so they likely end up in junkyards sooner than they would if they were sold through other channels. Some however end up getting re-sold multiple times (old Tauruses are notorious for this)- customer buys it, defaults on the loan, car gets repo'ed, back on the lot, rinse, repeat.

m907

I would never buy a used rental car, especially after seeing how badly some of the active rental cars have been treated over the past few years. There are so many things a rental car will be subject to that you'd never detect on a dealership lot.

AppleBoy97

Typically rental cars that hit 30-40k miles from National will get placed in the Enterprise fleet if they�re in decent shape, the ones that make it to 50k miles will then head over to Alamo until their rental car lives are over, at which point they�re pretty beat up.

Auto Enthusiast

How do you know that? I'm surprised it's not the reverse- Alamo then Enterprise.

AppleBoy97

My recent experience at MKE... In chatting with the greeter, I was told they keep the best (newest) vehicles for National Exec Aisle / VIP and Emerald Aisle, then Enterprise, which also gets a fair share of newer cars, but all older vehicles go to Alamo since it's the "budget" brand of EHI.