Would you buy an ex-rental car?

Boardwatcher

Hi everyone

As people may know from my posts i was looking to buy a 2008 Focus 1.6tdci from a main dealers with 41k miles on the clock.

Well i went to look at it today again and had another drive. I had asked the salesman before (the car is a UK import) who owned the car previously. He had told me it was owned by a Ford Rep and again when i asked today he said it had only one previous owner.

Anyway when i took it out for a drive i was looking at how to open the bonnet and opened the glovebox to get the manual (it is odd with the focus that you do not pull a lever but you put the key in behind the badge on the bonnet). There i saw a docket with 'Hertz' on the top of it showing it had been released by them at 40k miles. After taking it back to the salesman and mentioning this, he had a look around his desk and then admitted that the car was ex rental.

The sticker price on the car was 15950euro (this is also the 110bhp model). This was the dearest on carzone for a 2008 zetec. I asked him what would his best cash price be. He reckoned 14500. I told him i would go away and think about it (in reality the most i was willing to pay was 13k) but really now the fact i know it is ex rental puts me off the car.

Would others agree with that? I mean is it a case of avoid at all costs or maybe a case of it means more haggle room on the car? I'm just not sure what to do, as i had a buyer for my other car but he needs it quickly so if i cannot do the deal on this or a similar car (he didnt have another 2008 in stock) i'll have to let my buyer go:eek:

Bigus

Sell your car to your buyer and rent or borrow something while you look around
and if you can't find something better than the ex rental more(ex rentals) will come along. They can be fine but only if the price is right.

Dannyboy1987

i use to repair all ex-rentals i would avoid at all costs as there does be a lot of damge fixed on them . i'd walk away

Henry Ford III

I wouldn't ever buy a rentacar, as many people who treat them like I do may have rented them previously.

p.s. The seller should have mentioned who owned it too. Chancer.

Carstuck

Personally, I wouldn't buy an e-rental, but thats just me. I would be suspicious in why he didn't mention it before and as it was a rental it may have been driven hard beforehand.

Martron

2 things that spring to mind.

everyone i know learned how to drive in a rental. also a few phrases spring to mind...... nothing handles like a rental...........whats the fastest car on the road, a rental.

also i would be wary of rental history.

the last company i worked with rented their cars. and they were used on a building site. they drove across stuff which jeeps would not dare ( they were ford focus too ) but without major surface damage. however i know (mine included) had the sh1t drove out of it. we used to race them and rally them.

they would have looked good on paper though . low m,ileage 08. All mtorway driving ( however this is true we were constructing the motorway:D)

i would look for the usuaul. bumper replacement, shocks, brakes, damage on the underside ( that would indicate off road)

kazul

Dannyboy1987 wrote: »

i use to repair all ex-rentals i would avoid at all costs as there does be a lot of damge fixed on them . i'd walk away

But if you had done a decent job nobody would have noticed or it wouldn't have made a difference to a prospective buyer

chris85

you also say the stiker price is the highest on carzone which is another bad thing. how can it be highest if it has one of the highest mileages probably.

People drive rentals like they stole them. Gearbox will be thrashed. clutch worn not to mention increased use of suspension and engine will surely be pushed a little further.

kazul

Martron wrote: »

everyone i know learned how to drive in a rental.

I don't think I'v ever seen a dual control rental car And how did they rent without a licence?

Martron

after i said i rallied and raced the car this is what you pick up on. i ment sneaky car park driving. although not legal . lessons none the less

Saab Ed

I'd buy certain ex-rental cars without a doubt. What other cars are checked out and valeted once a week in a depot. No private / company / demo car that I know off gets that kinda treatment.

Stag parties rent Twingos and tiny cars because they are the cheapest to rent, families rent Focus's and the like because they have to. These are less likely to get thrashed. Also dont forget most Ex rentals will still be under manufacturers warranty so you can get anything thats wrong with them fixed before you take delivery of the car

Only buy them though if they are a good bit cheaper than a private car. Dealers , be they main or just a used car dealer , will have good margins to work on with an ex-rental so dont be afraid to push for a good price.

kazul

Just re-read your post and still can't see any reference to you racing and rallying anything

Dannyboy1987

kazul wrote: »

But if you had done a decent job nobody would have noticed or it wouldn't have made a difference to a prospective buyer

they didn't mine were always of good repair i removed all my stickers

Martron

Martron wrote: »

we used to race them and rally them.

eh....... anyway...... not on topic anyway. my basic point is that people drive them hard and they usually end up thrashed.

I Was VB

My 1st car was a ex-rental never had a problem with it.

Its like most cars ya cant peg-hole them on the way it will be if they've been a Ex-taxi/Ex-Garda/Ex-rental.

kazul

My bad, being such a w###er must be finally affecting my eyes.
Back on topic.
Sweeping statements about them all having been abused and everybody you know learned how to drive in one are not going to help the OP make an informed decision. I've sold plenty of ex-rentals and the majority of them were spot on and nicely discounted.

Martron

I Was VB wrote: »

My 1st car was a ex-rental never had a problem with it.

Its like most cars ya cant peg-hole them on the way it will be if they've been a Ex-taxi/Ex-Garda/Ex-rental.

thats true. but i would still be wary. but at the end of the day any car no matter how much they have been thrashed. providing they are not dented and scratched. with a new set of tires and a good polish will look great. and without an expert eye flaws will be hard to spot

Gavman84

Hi Having worked for a rental car company and a major one at that I would never buy a rental car. They are driven to crap daily and often by foreign drivers who burn out the clutch as not used to right hand drive.
Also when its mad busy in summer these cars often go over service intervals as they simply have no other cars left to rent. 90% of the cars I saw had scratches and dents on them people dont look after them at all and repairs are done cheap as possibel to get it back on road!
Also the paintwork would be all small scratches from brush in car wash as its full of stones from 1000000's of washes over the years!! Also with the engine oil for the cars its one does all cars if need topping up after rental so no specific oils which for some cars is not best idea!

Owen

Every watched an American who's only driven Auto try to drive a Manual? Welcome to the wonderful world of ex hire drive cars.

Mc Love

Ignore all these fools, get the car checked out if you are interested in it.

I found out that the car I bought was owned by car rental company but never said if it was used as rental or rep. Was very low mileage. Got it checked out and it was perfect. Uk import too.

EPM

Mc Love wrote: »

Ignore all these fools, get the car checked out if you are interested in it.

:rolleyes:

Owen

Mc Love wrote: »

Ignore all these fools, get the car checked out if you are interested in it.

I paint rental cars. Some much more than once. They do get abused.

robtri

yeah rental cars are crap and driven hard and miss services and have scratches and dents and other damges .....

yeah no private cars sold are abused....

talk about using a big tar brush.....

thats like saying every car from a dealer is abused.. i have seen the abuse the garage guys do to cars they take home at night.... talk about tearing them to shreds....

personally, treat it like any car...

look at service history..

have the car examined by yourself if you comptent in your skills or by a mechanic


then make your mind up.....



by the way have owned an ex rental for 12 years and still driving no problems, out of around 20 cars, this one has cuased me least problems....

Stevie Dakota

I wouldn't. The car will have been driven hard and often with a cold engine by the rental company, never mind what the people renting them get up to. It would want to be seriously cheap to make it worthwhile.

EPM

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

I wouldn't. The car will have been driven hard and often with a cold engine by the rental company, never mind what the people renting them get up to. It would want to be seriously cheap to make it worthwhile.

It's how it was treated by the company that would worry me more than their clients. A friend works for one of the big rental companies. The stories are quite scary sometimes. Anything he uses he rallies

Max Power1

Id be more concerned that the dealer witheld the fact that its an ex rental. "What else has he not told me" would be my thought.

On ex-rentals, I wouldnt have a problem once ive had the car checked over and its got FSH. Most would have high mileage so you could use this to get a better price.

Boardwatcher

Thank you all very much for your replies. This would be a big purchase for me so i kinda want to get a car thats right. On balance, from what people are saying, i think i might be taking a big chance if i go ahead with this purchase. I have found Ford severely lacking in the past when it came to upholding their warranties (this was 8 years ago, maybe they have improved since) so i would be worried that if something went wrong they may mess me around.

The bodywork on the car was fairly good. There were a few light scratches and scuff marks but nothing major. The alloys were a bit scratched though:eek: dodgy parking. The interior look fine and clean to me. I do realise that even if a car is privately owned that it can be driven poorly or over rough boreens!

I must say it appears this salesman deliberately with-held the fact the car was ex rental. That also really puts me off.

Feck it, i think i will let the whole thing fall through for now. Better to wait a month for something better to come along than forever regret going with this car. Just out of interest, people mentioned the money should be right if i were to go with it. What sort of figure woudl you say is a reasonable discount bearing in mind it is a 2008 zetec 1.6tdci with 41k miles on clock, and a sticker price of 15950 (i was thinking around 13k cash would be reasonable but should i aim lower?)

btkm8unsl0w5r4

I think that some ex rentals will be fine some will be pups, however the point is there is plenty of choice out there without settling for something you have questions over. Dont feel pressured cause you have a buyer for your own car, rent one in the mean time and thrash the bollox out of it

-Corkie-

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Every watched an American who's only driven Auto try to drive a Manual? Welcome to the wonderful world of ex hire drive cars.

Oh geee whats that darn stick for..:D

Boardwatcher

Dorian Harsh Traveler wrote: »

Dont feel pressured cause you have a buyer for your own car, rent one in the mean time and thrash the bollox out of it

Haha LOL:D very good! Nah i treat cars with respect, even the van i drive for work is driven aisy by me. You should see my boss drive it! I need a change of underpants anytime he's behind the wheel and i am younger than him:eek: