I had to rent a car from Enterprise recently while my regular vehicle was in the shop. While waiting for paperwork to print out, I browsed the promotional brochures. In between the pamphlets about “what to do if you drive our car off a bridge” and “long distance rentals for your vacation in the Yukon,” there was one that said, basically, “Looking for a car? Buy one of ours when we’re done with it!”
My cousin bought a Kia Sportage from one of these rental car companies for really, really, really cheap and it lasted her long enough that she considered it a great purchase, and even did it again with another Sportage when her first finally kicked the bucket.
Both cars were high mileage and fairly beat up. Not rusty, but not exactly well taken care of with considerable dings, dents, scratches, tears, and stains. But they were cheap!
My parents did this back in the 80’s and were pretty satisfied. Rental companies, especially large ones, take pretty good care of their cars. They are sold with relatively few miles on them, so there’s plenty of life left in them. Some people will tell you that rentals take a lot of abuse, but since most rental companies won’t rent to someone younger than 25 (YMMV) that’s not as much of an issue as everyone thinks. OTOH, rentals from big northern cities tend to have worn suspensions (relative to the miles they have on them) because they are used in pothole-strewn environments (instead of easy highway miles).
I hear that argument, but that doesn’t worry me too much. Rental car agencies take pretty good care of their vehicles maintenance wise, and that’s worth quite a bit towards the longevity of the car. I also think that for the most part the wear and tear is largely overrated. I speed in my rental cars, but I don’t usually hot rod them. In general I treat them pretty much like I do my own car… that is to say I could do better, but I don’t do any real damage. The worse damage can be picked up by a qualified mechanic i.e if the car has crashed into a bunch of curbs and is permanantly out of line, etc.
I bought a 2 year old Mazda Protege for my 16 YO step-daughter to use 3 years ago and it’s still going strong. I’m not sure I would buy a used Lexus from a rental car company, but a basic car seem fairly safe. They provided a decent (not great) warranty that we never needed to use…
I am currently two years into a Toyota Camry purchased from Enterprise.
Enterprise seems to start selling their rental stock when they reach around 33,000 miles or 2 years old.
It probably cost more than if I had purchased it from a former owner/person, but that was the premium I accepted for doing business with a rental company. They provided all the paperwork from the day it rolled onto their lot, every oil change, tune up, etc.
I’m very satisfied with the results and will likely buy my next car from Enterprise, too.
As long as you stick to an automobile that Consumer Reports thinks highly of (Toyotas, Hondas and Nissans seem to be on that list) and make sure the thing wasn’t in a collision or flood (think Katrina) my thought is you should be okay
One tip: buy from a place with a small driving area, like an island. In the 80s, my parents bought an ex-rental from Guernsey, and it lasted forever - the thing had never done more than about 60 mph prior to purchase.
However, buy something that’s been tearing all over the US with wankers like me at the wheel, not caring about revving the engine beyond reason and doing parking brake turns, and you might be a little disappointed.
I bought a used rental van, but it had pretty low miles (it was still in warranty…). It was an Econoline Club Wagon with seats for 12; my guess was that everybody wanted to rent the 15-seaters because they had more than 12 kids on the soccer team, or whatever, so they let this one go after just a year and a half. It was the best vehicle I have ever had.
My wife’s car we bought as a used fleet vehicle for a graphic arts company (sign painters). It had 110k on it after 3 years and needed some work, but it’s performed fine since then.
My sister has been driving one for 3 or 4 years now, and I don’t hear any major complaints. I think it all depends on the mileage and what your mechanic says after he looks at it.
I’d think that any automatic-transmission rental car has been brake-torqued away from lights at least 50% of the time, with the rest being neutral drops.
I also think that rental cars spend a relatively large percentage of the time airborne.
We bought a 2-year-old Taurus from our local Ford dealer that was part of a rental company buy-back. The had about 15 of them, all clean, between 25k & 33K miles, all selling as certified used for about $5k under blue book. We’ve been very happy with it so far. Nobody drives a Taurus like a sports car anyway, and since good rental agencies keep up with all the scheduled maint work, I figure we got a pretty sweet deal. We only got it becuase we happened to walk on the lot the day before the ad hit the paper. They were all sold a couple days later.
Where do you think most of the 3-4 year old cars on a used car lot come from?
The ones in fairly good shape get sold by the rental agency (the ones they own) and the rest get sold to dealerships or auctions. At least when you buy the car from the rental agency you get the car record.
My parents bought one in the mid 1980s, and it served them well.
I think the odds of getting a lemon are perhaps a bit lower than buying from a private owner, and quite a bit lower than buying off a used car lot. The rental places sell the cars at a certain age, perhaps only 1 year old. Some private owners do that, but more likely someone selling there car at 1 yr old has had some grief with it. You get all the maintenance history, a non-salvage title, and can be reasonably sure the odometer has not been tampered with.
Downsides: In the US it will have an automatic transmission, so if you like a clutch you are SOL. Also, rental agencies often buy the smallest available engine option, so if you live at altitude, the performance may not be acceptable.
My last car was a rental car before I bought it. I never had any issues with it. It had 19k miles when I got it. Never needed any major repairs. I lost it to someone ramming into me. It then had 180k when it was put to rest.
I don’t think most people abuse rental cars. A majority of rentals are for people traveling on business. They just need something to get around.
I don’t abuse rentals I use. I probably treat them better then my own cars. It isn’t worth the hassle of messing up someone elses car. I do things I’d do when test driving a car to see how it performs like hard acceleration onto the highway or slamming on the breaks to see how the car does. I figure when I’m shopping for cars its one less test drive I’ll need to do.
The Car Talk guys handled a call about this not too long ago, and what they said was that the middle-of-the-pack type cars and minivans are decent purchases because (a) they get serviced on-schedule, (b) the average renter for that category is some middle-manager on a business trip, or a parent with children, who is not going to be doing crazy stuff and will often be covering the rental with his/her own insurance. What they did warn against was “off-leases” because in their opinion those included cars that were operated by customers who, because they were turning the car back in at the end of 2 years, anyway, did nothing for the car except ensure it did not get visibly dinged too much.
Any time you buy a used car you should have it inspected by an independent mechanic. There are people who do this and the cost is around 80-100 bucks. A cheap investment if your about to spend several thousand on the car.
I once bought a used rental for a GF. The only problem was that it needed a brake job. My stepmother once bought a T-bird from a rental co., she lives in Scottsdale, Az. Good car, but it had a small engine and no amenities, basic radio, roll up windows, etc.
I’d buy one, after I had it inspected of course.
My brother-in-law has done it three times(he’s military, moves a lot) and recommends it to everyone who asks. Rental cars from major agencies get their service done on the manufacturer’s recommended schedule. They get vacuumed and detailed after each rental. If a windshield gets chipped they fill it. If a door gets dinged, they repair and repaint it. All in all they take pretty good care of the vehicles.
The cars are typically base-model vehicles without a lot of extras, like upgraded stereo, leather interior, sunroof, etc. which means, in many cases, there is less to go wrong with them. The ones like minivans and trucks, which cost too much for most people to pay the daily rate, get less usage and have low miles when they come up for sale in general. I found a two year-old truck with 19k miles on it for 3k under Blue Book advertised at National/Alamo sales. I’m seriously considering buying my next vehicle from a rental place.
When my brothers and sisters and I were teenagers, that’s how my dad provided us with cars. This was back in the late 70’s - early 80’s so we were zooming around in Ford Pintos. My dad said that all the cars parked at the house made our house look like a Pakistani cab stand. Those Pintos were pretty good cars, if all you expected was basic transportation from point A to point B. I think my dad paid a couple of thousand dollars for each car. They lasted for about how long it took us to graduate from college and buy our own cars. I remember my younger brother replaced a broken door handle with a metal clothes hanger and he glued a carpet remnant over a hole in the driver’s side floor. Good times.