Rent to Buy - what's the deal ?

Christ0pher

Anyone bought from renttobuycars.ie ? I did a quick search on boards but found no threads ... which surprised me.
I always thought that rent to buy is just another way of saying "hire purchase", and are costly ways to buy a car.
But the above site seem to add two balloon payments, one either end of the payment plan, divide the remainder by 24 months - and that's it. There seems to be no "mark-up". Or 0% APR - am I wrong ?
Has anyone bought a car through this site?

Mr Benevolent

There's always a catch.

TestTransmission

They've probably the cars priced a bit on the high side? (I haven't checked)

TwoShedsJackson

Check the Terms & Conditions very carefully.

Christ0pher

TestTransmission wrote: »

They've probably the cars priced a bit on the high side? (I haven't checked)

Well I had a look on carzone for 2 of their cars - I'd say they are priced right on the money for age / mileage. But yes - the feeling of "there must be a catch" does niggle. I'd like to see their terms & conditions - not downloadable though

_Kaiser_

hmm interesting idea but there would have to be a catch somewhere..

Plus all they seem to have is bland Korean cars by the look of it - where's my (next) nice E220 for example?

R.O.R

The cars they listed on the website don't look stupidly overpriced, but they do look like the sort of thing that won't fly off the forecourt.

It does sound too good to be true, but I can't see the catch anywhere. It's possible that it's stock hanging around that doesn't owe anything (finance wise, to the dealer) and it would be better to rent it and have some money coming in, rather than sitting around.

I wonder if they are an authorised financial intermediary, as they need to be to provide consumer credit, or is there a loophole for rental?

A quick google returns the registered address as the same address as both Thrifty and Atlas car rental.

irisheddie85

In requirements it says you need to show proof of fully comp insurance. But you cant have an insurable interest in something you don't own. So how would that work if you had a crash.
Like i cant insure and claim for a house im renting i can only insure my contents. Isn't it the same for cars?

Christ0pher

R.O.R wrote: »

A quick google returns the registered address as the same address as both Thrifty and Atlas car rental.

Ah ... now there's a thing. So chances are these are ex-rentals. That would explain the lack of advertising of service book - which would show Thrifty or Atlas as owner.
I guess ex-rental doesn't necessarily mean junk - but it does mean lots and lots of drivers - none of which 'cared' about the car as if it was their own. So lots of potential for faults and unusual failures.
On the other hand - I guess if it went bang in a big way; as a rent to buy, the seller would have to replace "like for like" during the rental period ... but not after the final balloon is paid I guess.

mickdw

It says rent to buy. Does this mean that people can just walk away at any stage? The deposit up front would suggest that this is the case.

I would love if there was an easy way to rent/hire a car for a year. There are a few things that I would like to buy but would end up married to them.

renttobuycars

Hey Guys, I thought I would just come on to say any questions you want to post about Rent To Buy I would be happy to answer for you. I won't post any links, just answer your questions as you put them to me.

Can you explain the comprehensive insurance policy requirement.

As another poster says you cant have an insurable interest in something you don't own.

renttobuycars

Hey Cisk,

The insurance policy works like this. You can insure a car you are not the legal owner of (car leasing for example). You can also rent a car/van on your own policy so hopefully that clears that up.

With regard the insurance interest. To put it simply it lists us the registered owner as a point of contact on the policy so if for example you have a car out and someone runs into the back of you and the car is written off then the insurance company will contact us.

Hope that clears it up. If not let me know and I can try and clarify it more.

-Chris-

cisk wrote: »

As another poster says you cant have an insurable interest in something you don't own.

Can someone actually post a link to the law in relation to this? It makes no sense.

If you have a car on lease or HP, you don't own the car but you have an insurable interest in it - i.e. if the car got written off, you'd still have a liability to the leasing company or HP company with regards to the car they've supplied you with.
The same applies to rental cars, where if the car disappeared while in your care, you'd still "owe" the rental company the car. You'd have an insurable interest in the car.

R.O.R

renttobuycars wrote: »

Hey Cisk,

The insurance policy works like this. You can insure a car you are not the legal owner of (car leasing for example). You can also rent a car/van on your own policy so hopefully that clears that up.

With regard the insurance interest. To put it simply it lists us the registered owner as a point of contact on the policy so if for example you have a car out and someone runs into the back of you and the car is written off then the insurance company will contact us.

Hope that clears it up. If not let me know and I can try and clarify it more.

Can this insurance (for a car/van you don't own) be taken out from your usual insurance companies, or is it a specific product for vehicles not owned by the proposer?

renttobuycars

Hey Chris,

I can see this is confusing probably a lot of people so I will try to come at it from another angle.

The program of rent to buy requires you to take out a fully comprehensive insurance policy in your name in the same way as you would on any car. The only difference is that we are listed as having an interest in the vehicle as the legal owner until after you complete the final payment.

The facets of the policy would be between you and where you choose to hold the policy. We have no preference where you obtain the policy as long as its fully comprehensive and lists us the vehicle owner as having an interest in the car.

mickdw

I think to say you cant have an insurable interest in something you dont own is an over simplification of a basic insurance principle.

renttobuycars

As I mentioned in my last reply you are free to negotiate your policy, the only stipulations is that its fully comp with us listed on the policy as being an interested party.

cheeno

renttobuycars,

can you clarify who bears any service / repair costs of the car. and also the policy regarding terminating the agreement at any stage.

subway

Bank statements for 3 months. Gas stuff.

It's a fixed term lease for a second hand car. It has a name that's easy for people to understand. There is not enough info but i would hazard its completely unregulated so plenty of room to get screwed if you don't read the fine print.

No half rule here

renttobuycars

Hey,

Just wanted to comeback on a couple of points. I spoke with the dealer directly with regard servicing etc.

All cars are sold like in any other garage sale, they are serviced before going out & carry an extensive warranty.
Repair costs outside of warranty are carried by the purchaser as in any other car purchase.


Hope that answers that one.

renttobuycars

Hey Subway,

3 months statements are requested to establish whether someone will be able to afford the repayments. The deposit is only 20% of the value so I think its a reasonable request.

This is a scheme devised to help Joe public afford to get on the car purchasing ladder, while it helps us sell cars, you are actually renting this car for 2 years with a view to buying at the end. The end payment is very affordable.

The half rule does not apply as it is not a financial agreement, if someone wishes to terminate the contract they will be losing out on their deposit & any monies paid to that point.

_Kaiser_

renttobuycars wrote: »

This is a scheme devised to help Joe public afford to get on the car purchasing ladder, while it helps us sell cars, you are actually renting this car for 2 years with a view to buying at the end. The end payment is very affordable.

Now this may be very O/T and maybe a bit harsh, but the bit I've highlighted in bold would put me right off the idea.. where have we heard THAT before and how did it work out then?

subway

So is it regulated by the financial regulator?
I wouldn't show my bank statements to anyone unregulated. What's your data protection policy etc?

renttobuycars

Hey Guys,

We take our data protection obligations very seriously. The information we seek is only to ensure that the customer is not over committing themselves financially, and to ensure that the vehicle is adequately covered by insurance. Under no circumstances will we share the information we gather with any 3rd party or use it for marketing purposes. No personal bank information is stored, and is returned to the customer.

Gringo

Hi there,

I've been looking at renttobuy cars as an option. Was wondering if anybody has had any experience with them yet?

Also wouldn't mind an answer to Subway's question. Is it regulated by the Financial Regulator?

And back to the insurance question i presume that In the event off a write-off renttobuy cars go to an insurance company seeking reparations. But would that be of the outstanding value of the vehicle or full original value?
Is renttobuy an intermediary/financier between a buyer and a delaership or do you own the vehicles?

renttobuycars

Hey,

The financial regulator regulates financial institutions of which we are not. As we don't charge you the customer for credit it is necessary for us to protect ourselves from loss. We are essentially handing out a vehicle of a much higher worth than the money taken in on the day so these measures are a necessity.

The vehicle remains under our ownership until completion of all payments is made.

Insurance is taken our by the customer in order to get the best deal. We insist on it being a fully comp policy and that Rent To Buy is noted on the policy so in event of a crash we are notified.

Rent to Buy is a group of three Garages that grouped together to offer this service. Academy car Sales Navan, Cloghran Car Sales and Used Car Store. We encourage you to visit the dealer personally and discuss any issues you may have. The dealer will be your sole point of contact for any agreement.

Hope that helps.

Full_TiltKeith

As the scheme is run by dealers, would the dealer take a trade in for the deposit or must it be a cash deposit?

renttobuycars

Hey,

Absolutely take a trade in. If the car is worth for example half of the rent to buy car then monthly payment will be adapted etc.

The 20 60 20 guide we have is 20% deposit 60% over two years and then 20% final payment. But its just a guide to explain the basis of the offer.

Eoin

My policy gives me fully comp cover on anyone else's car once it's under 2.5 litre.

renttobuycars

Hey Eoin,

I would imagine that would be fine but you would need to confirm with the dealer himself to be honest.

Eric Cartman

what would happen, if for instance a rent to buy car was to develop a fault or had panel damage and the cost of repair was not within the renters budget, if they try to return the car do they still just lose a deposit and the months theyve paid or is there a penalty ?

renttobuycars

Drivers have fully comprehensive insurance for reasons such as you mention. Damage such as panels etc would be claimed against the policy.


We do not operate a penalty structure. The most you could lose is your deposit.

TestTransmission

Welcome to boards.ie renttobuycars.I suggest you contact boards.ie about registering a verified account @ reps@boards.ie

As a verified rep you may then use your account to answer queries, and/or comment, where your business has been explicitly mentioned (i.e. named)