Author Topic: Buying a car from Enterprise  (Read 3965 times)

jackieapple

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Buying a car from Enterprise
« on: January 10, 2020, 09:24:03 PM »
Thinking about buying a car from Enterprise. What are the steps I should take to make sure the car is in good condition? Should I ask to take it for a pre purchase inspection?

BikeFanatic

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2020, 03:08:08 AM »
I  bought a car from them, an SUV, it was  very low miles and runs well, I did not have it inspected prior to purchase, they had a return policy if I remember correctly. Great Prices also compared to the dealer.

Bernard

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2020, 10:39:03 AM »
Rental car companies can absof*ckinglutely not afford to have a car break down. All of Enterprise's rental cars are relatively new and top-notch maintained. They may have a few cosmetic flaws and been driven hard, but they are mechanically solid.

Apocalyptica602

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2020, 06:40:34 AM »
Huh? Am I crazy or aren't there older topics on this that say to avoid buying off-fleet rental cars like the plague?

RWD

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #4 on: January 14, 2020, 07:09:56 AM »
Huh? Am I crazy or aren't there older topics on this that say to avoid buying off-fleet rental cars like the plague?
Apparently this opinion has now been drowned out by the bargain hunters. I still firmly believe rental cars should be avoided unless you absolutely don't care about the condition of your car and are getting an appropriate discount.
https://jalopnik.com/should-you-consider-buying-a-former-rental-car-probab-1749095429

solon

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #5 on: January 14, 2020, 08:42:28 AM »
@jackieapple here is the Hertz website: https://www.hertzcarsales.com/

I just bought a car from Hertz. Seems to have been well cared for, purrs like a kitten, everything was very clean. They are a no-haggle dealer, which threw me off at first - I was ready to rumble. But when I compared KBB to the Hertz price, I was satisfied I got a good deal.

researcher1

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #6 on: January 14, 2020, 11:13:02 AM »
All of Enterprise's rental cars are relatively new and top-notch maintained. They may have a few cosmetic flaws and been driven hard, but they are mechanically solid.
This is 100% complete BS.
There is no "top notch" maintenance happening with any of the rental car companies.
The only maintenance done are a few oil changes at the cheapest quick lube joint and maybe one engine/cabin air filter change.

Rental companies dump their cars after only 1 or 2 years for a reason...
They are heavily used and abused by the renters and receive minimal maintenance, so the companies want to unload them before the cars become a problem.

My in-laws just rented a 1 year old Altima from Enterprise.  Some of the issues...
- The vehicle had clearly been smoked it.  It smelled disgusting.  Enterprise will run an ozone machine in it for 15 minutes before dumping it on some unsuspecting consumer.
- Every 30 miles or so they would get a warning chime about a lane watch/radar system malfunction.
- 1 of the 4 tires was mismatched and virtually bald.  There was clearly a flat on the vehicle, which got replaced with a USED tire with nearly zero tread.


BradminOxt19

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #7 on: January 14, 2020, 11:59:47 AM »
I was Hertz President's Circle, National Executive Elite, and Avis Preferred Plus.  Top tier status with these car rental agencies, so I rent a fair bit.

I'm mixed on the idea of buying a used rental car, because I have seen how people can beat them up.  If you do your due diligence you should be ok, but expect / demand a corresponding lower price in exchange for the uncertainty.

A lot of this is dependent on how hard of a life a vehicle has had with various renters, rather than the rental car agency itself.

ontheway2

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #8 on: January 14, 2020, 12:27:24 PM »
I bought a car from Hertz that was one of my best vehicles. It was worth more than I paid for a couple of years and I never had an issue with it.  I bought from a local dealer that was a hertz car lot though. I know Enterprise advertises that they also purchase cars from auction to sell, so I would definitely look into the actual vehicle.

Edit:
Used vehicles were previously part of the Enterprise rental fleet and/or an affiliated company’s lease fleet or purchased by Enterprise from sources including auto auctions, customer trade-ins or from other sources, with a possible previous use including rental, lease, transportation network company or other use.
« Last Edit: January 14, 2020, 12:30:36 PM by ontheway2 »

mm1970

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #9 on: January 14, 2020, 12:40:42 PM »
We have purchased (in the past) two to three cars that were prior rental cars.  (Fuzzy memory).

Husband's first car was a Chevy Nova (80s version, so a Toyota), and it lasted us a long long time (into the late 90s).
We bought a 2001 Chevy Prizm (so, a Corolla) from Enterprise in late 2001 (it had about 15k miles on it) and it was a fantastic vehicle.  Well maintained, ran great.  I was very very sad when it was T-boned while pulling out of the driveway, and thus, totaled.  (In 2009).


researcher1

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #10 on: January 14, 2020, 01:20:27 PM »
Hmmm...funny because I currently have a Altima I rented from Hertz and its a 2019 with 22k miles and looks good and runs well. I believe it will be up for sale once I return it for around $15k. But I have found Enterprise generally had bad poorly maintained cars which was why I switch to Hertz years ago and bought one of their mini vans a few years ago.

It is a myth that any rental car company provides a high level of "top-notch" maintenance on their rental fleet.  Rental car companies only need their vehicles to last 1-2 years.
They only do what is absolutely necessary to keep the vehicles on the road and minimize their out-of-service time.

Does anyone think a rental car company is doing anything beyond a few oil/filter changes? 
They certainly aren't bringing it to the dealership service department for thorough inspections or TSB updates, giving it hand washes/waxes, ect.

There is a 100% certainty that EVERY rental vehicle has been abused by some proportion of its renters, driven by dozens of different people who could care less how the car is treated.
It is guaranteed that ZERO rental cars ever have the new vehicle break-in procedure properly followed.

For example, here is the procedure for the Toyota Corolla...
Breaking in your new Toyota.  To extend the life of the vehicle, observing the following precautions is recommended:
●For the first 186 miles (300 km):Avoid sudden stops.
●For the first 621 miles (1000 km):•  Do not drive at extremely high speeds.•  Avoid sudden acceleration.•  Do not drive continuously in low gears.•  Do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods

« Last Edit: January 14, 2020, 01:34:10 PM by researcher1 »

ontheway2

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #11 on: January 14, 2020, 01:59:33 PM »
Hmmm...funny because I currently have a Altima I rented from Hertz and its a 2019 with 22k miles and looks good and runs well. I believe it will be up for sale once I return it for around $15k. But I have found Enterprise generally had bad poorly maintained cars which was why I switch to Hertz years ago and bought one of their mini vans a few years ago.

It is a myth that any rental car company provides a high level of "top-notch" maintenance on their rental fleet.  Rental car companies only need their vehicles to last 1-2 years.
They only do what is absolutely necessary to keep the vehicles on the road and minimize their out-of-service time.

Does anyone think a rental car company is doing anything beyond a few oil/filter changes? 
They certainly aren't bringing it to the dealership service department for thorough inspections or TSB updates, giving it hand washes/waxes, ect.

There is a 100% certainty that EVERY rental vehicle has been abused by some proportion of its renters, driven by dozens of different people who could care less how the car is treated.
It is guaranteed that ZERO rental cars ever have the new vehicle break-in procedure properly followed.

For example, here is the procedure for the Toyota Corolla...
Breaking in your new Toyota.  To extend the life of the vehicle, observing the following precautions is recommended:
●For the first 186 miles (300 km):Avoid sudden stops.
●For the first 621 miles (1000 km):•  Do not drive at extremely high speeds.•  Avoid sudden acceleration.•  Do not drive continuously in low gears.•  Do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods


There's not really much else required besides oil changes and tire rotations for the first 20k miles. Also, buying a brand new car off the lot could easily have more than 186 miles on it, and who knows if they avoided sudden stops.

researcher1

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #12 on: January 14, 2020, 02:18:54 PM »
There's not really much else required besides oil changes and tire rotations for the first 20k miles.
Exactly.  I was responding to the posters claiming how great rental car companies maintain their vehicles...
- "All of Enterprise's rental cars are relatively new and top-notch maintained.
- "They are less expensive and seem to be much better maintained


Rental car companies aren't doing any maintenance, aside from a few oil changes done as cheaply as possible, that may or may not have happened at the necessary intervals.
With a private party car, you at least have documentation that oil changes were done at the proper mileage, using the proper oil and filter.
If maintained at the dealer, you'd also have paperwork showing various inspections took place, TSB issues addressed, ect.

Quote
Also, buying a brand new car off the lot could easily have more than 186 miles on it, and who knows if they avoided sudden stops.
If a car has 186 miles, it should never be considered a "brand new car off the lot".  A dealership might want you to believe that BS, but any sensible consumer should never treat a car with that many miles as brand new.
I've purchased 4 brand new cars in my life, and none of them have had more than 5 miles on the odometer.

ATS

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #13 on: January 14, 2020, 02:33:47 PM »
Hmmm...funny because I currently have a Altima I rented from Hertz and its a 2019 with 22k miles and looks good and runs well. I believe it will be up for sale once I return it for around $15k. But I have found Enterprise generally had bad poorly maintained cars which was why I switch to Hertz years ago and bought one of their mini vans a few years ago.

It is a myth that any rental car company provides a high level of "top-notch" maintenance on their rental fleet.  Rental car companies only need their vehicles to last 1-2 years.
They only do what is absolutely necessary to keep the vehicles on the road and minimize their out-of-service time.

Does anyone think a rental car company is doing anything beyond a few oil/filter changes? 
They certainly aren't bringing it to the dealership service department for thorough inspections or TSB updates, giving it hand washes/waxes, ect.

There is a 100% certainty that EVERY rental vehicle has been abused by some proportion of its renters, driven by dozens of different people who could care less how the car is treated.
It is guaranteed that ZERO rental cars ever have the new vehicle break-in procedure properly followed.

For example, here is the procedure for the Toyota Corolla...
Breaking in your new Toyota.  To extend the life of the vehicle, observing the following precautions is recommended:
●For the first 186 miles (300 km):Avoid sudden stops.
●For the first 621 miles (1000 km):•  Do not drive at extremely high speeds.•  Avoid sudden acceleration.•  Do not drive continuously in low gears.•  Do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods


In all fairness I've had a significant number of new vehicles (delivered with <25 miles) and not once has a dealer mentioned a break-in procedure and I've always driven them "normally" the first 1000 miles.  I thought breaking in a new car went away in the 1970s.

I would guess the vast majority of used cars being sold (rental or non-rental) were not properly broken in.

My first "good" car after I graduated from college was a retired rental car with 12K miles my father bought at rental car auction for dealers (he had several dealer friends).  It had been in a fender bender and repaired during service which was disclosed, lowering the price.  The repair-work passed inspection from the dealer friends during inspection prior to auction.

I wouldn't purchase a retired rental with a lot of miles or without seeing and inspecting it but most people renting a car aren't going out of their way to mistreat the vehicle.

researcher1

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #14 on: January 14, 2020, 02:55:31 PM »
In all fairness I've had a significant number of new vehicles (delivered with <25 miles) and not once has a dealer mentioned a break-in procedure and I've always driven them "normally" the first 1000 miles.  I thought breaking in a new car went away in the 1970s.
Then you've made two critical mistakes...
- You aren't reading the owner's manual.  Most (if not all) new vehicles have very clear break-in procedures outlined in the manual.
- You are relying on the dealership to inform you about how to treat/maintain the vehicle.


Quote
I wouldn't purchase a retired rental with a lot of miles or without seeing and inspecting it but most people renting a car aren't going out of their way to mistreat the vehicle.
Your statement is true, including the acknowledgement that "MOST PEOPLE" don't abuse rentals, which means that some of the renters will mistreat vehicles.
If a car has 50 different people renting it, there will be 5-10 (or more) renters who beat the shit out of it.
And the remaining renters won't care how much sand/dirt/food gets ground into the seats, how many curbs get scraped, how many pot holes get hit, ect.

FINate

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #15 on: January 14, 2020, 03:07:51 PM »
People do dumb things with rentals, things no sane owner would even consider. Get a thorough inspection, caveat emptor.

jackieapple

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #16 on: January 14, 2020, 04:10:53 PM »
@spartana I see the differences now thanks. Did you bring the car to get inspect before buying?

@solon did you do an inspection before buying? How was the buying process? What are the fees I should look out? Thanks

Greystache

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #17 on: January 16, 2020, 08:18:42 AM »
The reason that like former rentals is because they tend to have easy miles on the clock. Think about it. It is hard to get 40K miles on a one or two year old car just driving from the airport to the hotel to the meeting and back to the airport.  It is more likely that some of those miles came from people like me who rent a car for a road trip and put 5K miles on it in six weeks.  If I buy a one or two year old car with 40K on it from a private seller, it has been used by someone who has a long commute (possibly in heavy traffic) or someone who used the car as a work vehicle.  I'll take my chance with the former rental.

solon

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #18 on: January 16, 2020, 09:28:31 AM »
I didn't have an inspection done before I bought. I don't know, I just feel lucky I guess. The car is only two years old. Even if it was abused by a few renters, I feel like it's just now getting broken in. What would an inspection turn up on a two year old car? I'm going to have this car at least ten years, and I'm going to replace a lot of things in that time.

jackieapple

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #19 on: January 16, 2020, 04:27:18 PM »
@spartana ok thanks for your help, it is nice that they put up the full cash price online.

@solon that makes sense thanks for the info

JLR

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #20 on: January 16, 2020, 08:12:09 PM »
We bought an ex-rental car back in January 2004. It was some odd deal where it was a rental car from 2001-2003, then the manufacturer took them back to the factory to be checked over, perhaps new tyres, new trim, then sold them through the dealer with a warranty. It had 26 000kms on it when we bought it.

It has been a dream. About 7 years ago a few minor problems cropped up and we wondered if it was now unreliable and we should trade it in. We were offered $500 for a trade in, so kept it but still bought the newer car we'd been looking at, thinking perhaps it would give up the ghost at some point. Roll forward and it's still kicking along, we've had no problems in the past 7 years.

By now the paint is looking pretty terrible, and all the fabrics inside are showing its age, but it runs perfectly. Overall, we've been extremely happy with it.

Reynolds531

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Re: Buying a car from Enterprise
« Reply #21 on: January 19, 2020, 02:11:48 PM »
I work as a dealer service advisor. Down the street from enterprise. I've made great money fixing rentals and nursing them through whatever people decided to do to them. Off road, demolition derby, Indy 500.

I will take the bus if the only car for sale is an ex rental.