buying a rental

[duhtroll]

There is all sorts of humor about abuse of rental cars, but what do you guys think?

I think beating the crap out of a car is good for it sometimes. I'm still wary though.

A friend of mine is looking at used cars and found a nice former rental 2011 Optima sedan (40K miles). I am going to go help check it out but the rental stigma is there and I am wondering how many people on here would actually buy a former rental if it were in good shape mechanically.

[Haggis]

There is all sorts of humor about abuse of rental cars, but what do you guys think?

I think beating the crap out of a car is good for it sometimes. I'm still wary though.

A friend of mine is looking at used cars and found a nice former rental 2011 Optima sedan (40K miles). I am going to go help check it out but the rental stigma is there and I am wondering how many people on here would actually buy a former rental if it were in good shape mechanically.

Not if it is one that I have driven.

One time I had a rental paid for by someone else because they hit my P/U.

We let's just say when I turned it in, it had McD trash all inside plus it had grass stuck in the the springs and shocks. The guy at the rental place I will have to charge you for clean up. I said go ahead put it on the bill and left.

[wannaMM]

To help...
Was "on site" with a group receiving training for a week.
If you had to fly in, the Co. put you in a rental of your choice.
When a few of us piled into a CV for a few beverages after training one evening,we were confronted with having to "beat" a train to a crossing.
A normally demure older woman that was with us screamed---
" FLOOR IT--ITS ONLY A RENTAL"

Sometimes the abuse isn't always so apparent...:eek:

[MyO4Rawdur]

Never ever ever would I get a rental. They do their maintenance but ive done some brutal things to those cares including drifting, jumps, hit curbs with the radiator (not intentionally), off road, of course speeding, beat up the trans if it has sport shift, and not to mention the interior was .. well lets just leave it at abused.

[Cheeseheadbob]

If the car is FREE, then it would be an excellent deal. If not, your friend should run away as if they just transferred it from the Enterprise down the street from here...:D

[blackhueys]

I had a rented dodge caliber once when I was in the army well got bored and figured I go check out some of the back roads in the training areas after an hour I passed a couple of guys in a humvee they looked at me and wanted to know how the hell I got way back in the sticks. Lets just say the floor had big dents in it noticeable from the top and the bottom and the drive tires were bald when I returned it. Had fun but would not do that to my own car.

[Guittard22]

Make sure you look at records showing crashes or fender benders that they have fixed .

[jimlam56]

I rent cars every week as I travel for a living.
I would Never buy a rental car.
They are constantly abused, and maintained by minimum wage workers that don't care.
Lastly, even if you by a car from a non-salt state, there is no guarantee it hasn't been soaked in salty slush. I frequently rent one way if that's where my appointments are, not uncommon to rent in Nashville and drop off in Detroit...

[Vortex]

My last Grand Marquis was a low milage rental and I had zero problems with it.

[lji372]

NOOO rentals or leased vehicles. especially if i drove it/them.

[CBT]

NOOO rentals or leased vehicles. especially if i drove it/them.

Leased vehicle's tend to be well maintained, actually. They HAVE to be, it's part of the deal. I would buy a leased, but never a rental.

[Agent M79]

I bought a leased Mark VII once. It was fine. No issues.

You know how there are 'dog years'? Well.. there are 'rental miles'. For every actual mile driven, the wear and tear is actual miles x 3 + additional abuse quotient.

[jwibbity]

my first car was a rental 09 sonata with 38K on it, pushing close to 90k and still no major issues with it, besides things i caused like dead battery

[Green96]

My dad got me my first car as a former rental. 110K hard miles with only typical maint item going bad. Later he put 140K on a GM rental for a total of 176K...0 issues (other than a blower control module). I would say if it is know to be a solid car it will be OK. If it is a s*** box, it is not going to do well.

[mossiehorn]

I have bought 2 daily rentals, both have been great vehicles. I kept the 92 T-Bird for 9 years, always sorry I traded in in. By the way a guy at the dealership grabbed it before it hit the lot. Still have the other, a Dakota, it's my DD

[GAMike]

My wifes SUV was a rental Troll..... Bought it with 6500 miles on it... Now has just shy of 185k.... We rebuilt the transmission in December, and the Fuel pump let go 2 weeks ago, but all in all a very good vehicle.... And we saved about 9k over the price of the same vehicle sitting new in a showroom......

Would that happen all the time? Probably not, but happy that we got lucky:)

[duhtroll]

The KIA warranty is 60K/100K so if I don't find anything obviously wrong with it after inspection, test drive, CARFAX, etc. then I think she is good to go.

The other thing that worries me about this particular vehicle is that it has been listed for 117 days AND the price is good. That tells me I am going to find something wrong with it when I arrive. Still worth a look though.

[vkirkend]

I purchased a 2004 impala with remaining factory warranty (6,000) for my son, took it back from him, gave it to my daughter and it finally died when the timing belt broke @ 150,000 plus w/ virtually no maintenance from her. I'm sold on rentals.....

[Quasar3210]

Just remember unless something has changed in the last year or two i am unaware of.. The 10 year 100k mile warranty gets cut to 5 years or 60k miles for the 2nd owner unless you buy it certified. So it doesnt have a ton of warranty left on it at 40k miles already.

[Vortech347]

Every rental I drive like a 10 year old.

Ebrake stops, brake stands, ect.

Yea, I'm that guy.

[duhtroll]

Thanks for pointing that out. However, 20K miles over 2 years should be enough to notice and fix anything needed that is present near time of sale. After that, any used car is pay to play.


Just remember unless something has changed in the last year or two i am unaware of.. The 10 year 100k mile warranty gets cut to 5 years or 60k miles for the 2nd owner unless you buy it certified. So it doesnt have a ton of warranty left on it at 40k miles already.