Author Topic: Has anyone purchased an Ex-Rental?  (Read 5644 times)

Spork

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Has anyone purchased an Ex-Rental?
« on: February 27, 2013, 03:22:14 PM »

I've been putting it off for months.... MONTHS...  I drive a big funnel that gas pours into.  I need something that has more MPGs.  I've read the 3M post on cars.  I've convinced myself that an econobox is fine with one caveat: I want a manual transmission.   That's really put a limit on my search. 

The handful of cars I've found seem to have autocheck (cheaper version of carfax if you're not familiar) entries that say "Fleet/Rental/Lease".  Now, a fleet/lease return is probably fine.  But a rental?  I've seen how folks drive rentals.

I'm telling myself that most rental cars don't rent manual transmissions.

Apocalyptica602

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Re: Has anyone purchased an Ex-Rental?
« Reply #1 on: February 27, 2013, 08:17:17 PM »
Just throwing this out there, I'm sure this is an extreme example but before I found a (very gracious) friend who taught me in his personal car how to drive a manual transmission...

I was considering getting a manual rental for a day, with the insurance etc (these were my pre-mustachian days), and playing "What's that smell?" until I figured out how to drive a stick.

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mm1970

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Re: Has anyone purchased an Ex-Rental?
« Reply #2 on: February 27, 2013, 08:26:36 PM »
Yes. Two. They were great. Both Chevy but really Toyota.  Neither manual.

sdp

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Re: Has anyone purchased an Ex-Rental?
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2013, 08:37:55 PM »
I own two previous rental fleet cars.  both chryslers.  One I have had for three years, one I got last spring. they are great.  The history report on both had them "retired" from the fleet at 30K miles, I assume the rental company spiffed them up and then sold them to the previous owners as late model, high mileage cheap cars.  the previous owners put another 30K on them and then I bought them for about the cost of the four wheels they were sitting on.  people just don't like used chryslers, so I benefit..... I mean really, 30K miles is NOT high miles.   i say check out the car thoroughly and offer way less than the blue book says they should be worth.  Good Luck.

arebelspy

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Re: Has anyone purchased an Ex-Rental?
« Reply #4 on: February 27, 2013, 09:48:26 PM »
Well I didn't purchase it, but I was lucky enough to have parents that purchased my first car.

It was a 99, purchased in 01, that had been a rental.  22k or so miles.  The guy we purchased it from had owned it for a year, meaning the rentals car company used it for a year, put 20k or so miles on it, then he bought it, got to putter around in a 1-year old car for a year and put low miles on it, then resell it at a decent amount, meaning he was constantly using a new car.

Worked great for me.

People do tend to ride rentals hard, but rental car companies want to keep providing customers with the newest cars, so you'll be picking up a car in pretty darn good shape.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy one again, if it was a good deal.  (I just probably wouldn't, as an older one that has depreciated a bit more would serve me just as well.)
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Tami1982

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Re: Has anyone purchased an Ex-Rental?
« Reply #5 on: February 27, 2013, 11:21:08 PM »
Mine was a rental.  Purchased at one year old (Before MMM) with only 8,000 miles on it.  9 years later and we're still going strong with zero repairs outside of maintenance.  2002 Mazda 626 sedan.

I am no car buff, but my thinking was, "How much damage could they do in 8,000 miles?"  when my mom told me that people are hard on rentals.

smalllife

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Re: Has anyone purchased an Ex-Rental?
« Reply #6 on: February 28, 2013, 05:55:15 AM »
Mine was a rental econobox Toyota bought after they had it two years, 20k.  Still running perfectly three years later and I got a great deal at the used car dealership.

Spork

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Re: Has anyone purchased an Ex-Rental?
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2013, 08:09:19 AM »
Thanks all.  While that is totally non-scientific data gathering, it still makes me feel a tad better.

badassprof

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Re: Has anyone purchased an Ex-Rental?
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2013, 08:20:30 AM »
Yes, we bought a 2 year old Prius through hertz.  It has been great and had a much better warranty than many used cars (12 months or 12,000 miles: since we drive so little, it was a full year).  It seems, too, that some of these cars are purchased by dealers to sell. The car we purchased was supposed to go to a dealer who, undoubtedly, would have marked it up even more.

Tami1982

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Re: Has anyone purchased an Ex-Rental?
« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2013, 10:50:44 AM »
Here is an article on the the Hertz  Rent2buy  program.  The three day test drive and no pressure sales seems pretty nice. http://www.fiscalfizzle.com/hertz-rent2buy-review/

Matte

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Re: Has anyone purchased an Ex-Rental?
« Reply #10 on: February 28, 2013, 02:30:03 PM »
Having worked for a rental car company in my youth I would be afraid, very afraid! Im sure the big guys and new cars would be better, but something about a rental car brings out the inner child in about every guy.  Especially things like manual mode in the transmission, and shift on the fly 4x4, tend to get used in ways that nobody would if they actually owned the car. (dont ask how I know that a jeep liberty can shift from 2wd to 4wd at 80mph with only a slight grind) I have seen rental cars with 5000k that are already shaking rattling clunking, dirt through every nook and cranny.  On the other hand im sure you can get some good cars, as they all carry this stigma.

Spork

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Re: Has anyone purchased an Ex-Rental?
« Reply #11 on: February 28, 2013, 02:49:51 PM »
The issue here is that autocheck doesn't differentiate between Lease, Fleet and Rental.  (And I've since realized that carfax does not seem to note this at all.)  A personal lease vehicle is likely to be fine.