What are the pros and cons of buying a used car from a rental car company?

Question

I found several sites offering used cars from rental car companies. I want to buy a car with low miles and only one or two years old.

Answer 1

Most rentals are just driven by business people to get from here or there, or by vacationers who maybe take them on long drives. Either is just fine. Rarely do people deliberately abuse the rentals, and even if they do, only for a very short time.

Most rental companies get rid of these vehicles when they are around 20k to 30k miles. It's just what they do. There's nothing wrong with that.

Many rental agencies sell them with a guarantee they will take them back in X days if you are not satisfied, minus some reasonable fees.

2 of my family's last 3 cars were purchased from Enterprise. We've had those two for 7 and 8 years. They were and still are good cars, and have only had 3 repairs total for both. One of those was due to my own carelessness. If I were looking for a used car, I would purchase again from a rental company.

Enterprise itself was a very low pressure, no haggle place. Check out their car sales web site below.

Answer 2

Pros:
1. It has had all required maintenance done as needed.
2. It will usually have very low miles on it.
3. If buying from the rental company, you might save money (if buying off of a car lot, you will not likely see any savings over any other car).

Cons:
1. It may have been abused by renters. Of course, this depends on what kind of car it is, too. A sports car is much more likely to have been abused than a minivan, or luxury car.

As you see, the pros outweight the cons by 3 to 1, and the one con is applicable to any used car no matter where or who you buy it from.

Would I buy one? Yes, I would definitely buy a used rental car. Your chances of getting one abused from a rental agency are just as good as getting an abused used vehicle anywhere else. However, not all owners will maintain their vehicles according to schedule.


Also, many rentals are going to be equipped with basic options such as cruise, power locks and windows, etc. Some will have the more expensive upgrades such as Navigation, Satellite radio, etc. They usually have some vehicles loaded for those customers who want everything in their rental car. They may have some very basic ones for the cheap rentals, also but even those will have the basic options like A/C and automatic.

Answer 3

Rental car companys sell them cheap so thats a good thing.

The bad is how were they driven? Was Johnny Knoxville behind the wheel.

Also they usually are not very well equiped compared to private party cars so that maybe a issue. That said I own a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix ex rental car and I love it. I fixed it up for looks and a little performance since it was pretty plain when I got it.

Answer 4

the second guy is pretty much right. people are harsher on rentals because it's not their personal car.

on the other hand, i used to work for a rental company and we sold hundreds of rental cars to dealers every week. if you have a chance to get it directly from the rental company, you might save some money.

buying from a independent dealer doesn't mean it wasn't a rental, so you might as well just go straight to the source. people don't realize how many of the cars on that lot used to be rentals. its like my personal inside joke when people think that all those cars are trade-ins.

btw, rental companies sell cars based on age and/or mileage. the car is more than likely mechanically sound, its just that nobody wants to rent a car that is old, even if it runs perfectly.

Answer 5

Why from a rental car company?it is too expensive.
You can try Government and Police auctions.Every day, the government confiscates, seizes and repossesses thousands of Vehicles.These vehicles are usually typically listed at 90% OFF their original value and auctions usually start at $100.
Two months ago,I bouht a near new SUV from online police auction.It only cost me $730 and i have not had one problem with it yet .
I followed the guide on
http://www.usedcarsinfo.info/index.php?t=usedcar .That site lists top 5 Police auction sites and help you choose the best one.
Good luck!

Answer 6

We bought an `88 Chevy Corsica from Enterprise in `90. We had it for 13 years. Dis the Naysayers in your answers and get the car. It`s a good deal!

Answer 7

Think about how you drive a rental car....and about how most people drive rentals.


I have seen rental cars going airborn over speed bumps.

Answer 8

stay away from rental car resales. they usually have high mileage (that's why they are getting rid of them) or there is something mechanically wrong with them. too many different drivers on the same vehicle.

try a new car lot and look at other peoples trade ins. you are much safer this way

Answer 9

Usually they are run into the ground by people, but are pretty well maintained. You can also buy them with fairly low miles sometimes.

Answer 10

*The pros are that it is usually cheaper, and has had frequent maintainence....
*The cons are it has been most likely raced, jumped, rallied, and just plain beaten by everyone that ever sat behind the wheel....