Interested in buying an ex-rental car - Mad?!

fonecrusher1

Hi lads,

As the title goes I'm interested in buying (from a large mainstream dealership) a car that has only ever been owned by a large car rental company from new. This crowd: http://www.enterprise.ie/car_rental/home.do

Car details:

2012 VW Golf 1.6Tdi 5 door
One previous owner: ERAC Ireland Ltd.
38,500 miles.

Have inspected the car it looks in very good condition except for 2 minor Alloy wheel scuffs and 2 missing alloy wheel center caps. Test drive was very good with nothing concerning me about the cars mechanicals. Seems sweet.

Of course Im concerned about buying an ex-rental car for obvious reasons. They can be treated like crap by who knows how many people so its just a little worrying given the money involved here.

Whats the opinion on buying a new-ish ex-rental car like this? Walk away or buy on condition alone?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks.

debabyjesus

Any time i've had a rental I've dogged it. I'd say most people do the same.

Toyotafanboi

is it priced suitably lower than similar golfs? if not i wouldn't be all too interested.

deandean

We've had two ex-rentals, an Astra and a Corsa, both about one year old when we bought them. Both were absolutely fine.

TBH in my experience many people are so scared of being screwed by the hire company for ANY faults / damage upon return that they're fairly careful with rental cars. Previous poster excepted:pac:.

An ex-neighbour of mine used to GUN her car from cold every morning and you could smell the clutch after she eventually got her car out of her steep driveway. - I'd say any Hertz car would have been in far better condition than hers after a year.

Tea 1000

Nearly everyone dogs a hire car. And many drivers on the same car is a bad thing. Don't bother.

corktina

no I always mind them as deandean says.

Anan1

I sold lots back in the day and they were fine. I'd examine it closely and i'd pay a little less on account of the stigma, but I wouldn't worry unduly.

ninty9er

They'll have been serviced and maintained well anyway. Rental companies have a duty of care to renters which private owners don't have to themselves, not legally anyway. The only thing to watch for is the clutch. As much of a cliche as that is, even people who drive all the time can be very used to their own car's setup and can ruin the clutch on a rental.

Drummerboy08

Any sign of any bodywork carried out? In my experience, the quality of work carried out by rental companies is fairly poor.

IN saying that, if it represents good value over a 1 owner car, go for it.

bigboss1986

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Hi lads,

As the title goes I'm interested in buying (from a large mainstream dealership) a car that has only ever been owned by a large car rental company from new. This crowd: http://www.enterprise.ie/car_rental/home.do

Car details:

2012 VW Golf 1.6Tdi 5 door
One previous owner: ERAC Ireland Ltd.
38,500 miles.

Have inspected the car it looks in very good condition except for 2 minor Alloy wheel scuffs and 2 missing alloy wheel center caps. Test drive was very good with nothing concerning me about the cars mechanicals. Seems sweet.

Of course Im concerned about buying an ex-rental car for obvious reasons. They can be treated like crap by who knows how many people so its just a little worrying given the money involved here.

Whats the opinion on buying a new-ish ex-rental car like this? Walk away or buy on condition alone?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks.

PM with reg number and I can check history for u as I work with car hire company (not Enterprise but I can check )

BMJD

debabyjesus wrote: »

Any time i've had a rental I've dogged it. I'd say most people do the same.

I've never gone dogging in a rental car

Anan1

BMJD wrote: »

I've never gone dogging in a rental car

You might try it, it's more anonymous.

Greyfoot

Rental companies keep cars serviced and maintenaned, its obvious that a car off the road means less income so they will always look after their fleet. Miles will be high, clutches, pads, discs will be the main thing to look out for when buying.
As an added plus, rental cars are always valeted vigorously.

EDIT: Just seen the mileage and year of the car, make sure you ask the reason for selling, at that mileage, more expensive things can start to go bad.

naughtysmurf

I tend to mind my rentals too, also bought an ex rental, 7 months old with 11,000 miles on the clock & drove it for 11 hassle free years

George Dalton

I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole.

The standard of service and repair work on them is very poor as already pointed out. Plus they get abused both mechanically and cosmetically.

bazz26

The problem with a lot of rentals these days is that the rental companies are keeping them a lot longer on their books than they used to. Before they used only keep them for 6 months to cover one tourist season and then move them on. These days a lot of them are kept for two seasons or longer meaning they are open to more abuse and above average wear.

38k is a bit above average mileage for a 2012 car, 38k miles on a rental car is a lot of potential abuse and additional wear. And while people might be careful to put a visual mark on a rental they get plenty of abuse that isn't visual.

BTW I've bought ex-rentals in the past and never had any issues with them but they were only 6 months old.

ninty9er

Depreciation is a huge cost for a rental company, minimising this determines when vehicles are sold, there are no age or mileage targets as some people think. The reason they don't have cars more than 2/3 years old is they want everything to be within warranty.

Carpet diem

I'd say the type of car will signify whether or not it was dogged because of person that will take that car out .

ninty9er

Carpet diem wrote: »

I'd say the type of car will signify whether or not it was dogged because of person that will take that car out .

Speaking from experience, until you are a very regular renter you don't get a choice in what you get, even at that you don't always get to pick. The envelope generally has your name on it hours before you arrive at a desk or if it's really busy, you get whatever is ready next.

zzantara

Two things to note;
Enterprise Rent a Car specialize in replacement Car Rental not Tourist daily Rental.
This is where you get a replacement car as part of your Insurance cover while your car is off the road/ get a replacement car as part of your New Car Warranty/supply replacement cars to major lease/corporate customers.
That is why you often see "weekend very special offers" from ERAC ,they generally have large numbers off the road at weekends as their renters are generally corporate mid week users.
This means that the cars are driven by local Irish drivers not tourists who may not be familiar with our Cars/Roads.
They have a very strict return rental vehicle examination, any fool who thinks that they will turn a blind eye to any form of damage etc is in for a rude awakening with their Credit Card.
They also hold you Credit Car details for a number of weeks ,any fines/toll charges etc are charged back to the renter along with a chunky administration fee .
Driver details are passed on to the Gardai in the event of any speeding tickets /traffic violations.
They are one of the biggest Car Rental companies in the World,they have systems in place to make sure that you look after their €20000 worth of metal.
Their cars are valeted after every rental, do you know any private owner that looks after their Car as well as this ??
Obviously with having many Cars some do get damaged,they will openly declare any repairs, just ask the Dealer to declare on the Order Form the amount (or none hopefully) of any damage recorded.
Get a Dealer guarantee and you should be ok.

Tea 1000

BMJD wrote: »

I've never gone dogging in a rental car

You're missing out! :P

Greyfoot wrote: »

Rental companies keep cars serviced and maintenaned, its obvious that a car off the road means less income so they will always look after their fleet. Miles will be high, clutches, pads, discs will be the main thing to look out for when buying.
As an added plus, rental cars are always valeted vigorously.

My ass. I've rented from all the top companies and many smaller ones too, and more often than not there's something minor wrong. Not surprising, you leave a car out for a couple of hundred people to drive over a year or two and it'll be a tired machine.
A valet isn't worth a crap in terms of the longevity of the car, in fact carpets etc will wear more quickly if over scrubbed.
In any case, I've had to valet a fairly new E-Class myself from Avis that was rented by my mate for a wedding because I wouldn't let anyone with clean clothes into it, let alone a suit!

George Dalton wrote: »

I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole.

The standard of service and repair work on them is very poor as already pointed out. Plus they get abused both mechanically and cosmetically.

I'd agree fully.

Carpet diem wrote: »

I'd say the type of car will signify whether or not it was dogged because of person that will take that car out .

Na, most folk dog whatever they get!

zzantara wrote: »

Two things to note;
Enterprise Rent a Car specialize in replacement Car Rental not Tourist daily Rental.
This is where you get a replacement car as part of your Insurance cover while your car is off the road/ get a replacement car as part of your New Car Warranty/supply replacement cars to major lease/corporate customers.
That is why you often see "weekend very special offers" from ERAC ,they generally have large numbers off the road at weekends as their renters are generally corporate mid week users.
This means that the cars are driven by local Irish drivers not tourists who may not be familiar with our Cars/Roads.
They have a very strict return rental vehicle examination, any fool who thinks that they will turn a blind eye to any form of damage etc is in for a rude awakening with their Credit Card.
They also hold you Credit Car details for a number of weeks ,any fines/toll charges etc are charged back to the renter along with a chunky administration fee .
Driver details are passed on to the Gardai in the event of any speeding tickets /traffic violations.
They are one of the biggest Car Rental companies in the World,they have systems in place to make sure that you look after their €20000 worth of metal.
Their cars are valeted after every rental, do you know any private owner that looks after their Car as well as this ??
Obviously with having many Cars some do get damaged,they will openly declare any repairs, just ask the Dealer to declare on the Order Form the amount (or none hopefully) of any damage recorded.
Get a Dealer guarantee and you should be ok.

Who cares how often it's valeted? It's the mechanical stress that it's enduring that is the long term problem. Cars do suffer wear and tear more quickly when there are more than one driver because everyone has a different style of driving. They'll be kind of loose and tired before their time.
Plenty of cars out there to bother turning to a rental. Cars are tough, many take abuse and folk buy used and abused ones and get on fine for a few years and sell it, but that doesn't mean the car was mint!

cml387

Tea 1000 wrote: »

You're missing out! :P

My ass. I've rented from all the top companies and many smaller ones too, and more often than not there's something minor wrong. Not surprising, you leave a car out for a couple of hundred people to drive over a year or two and it'll be a tired machine.
A valet isn't worth a crap in terms of the longevity of the car, in fact carpets etc will wear more quickly if over scrubbed.
In any case, I've had to valet a fairly new E-Class myself from Avis that was rented by my mate for a wedding because I wouldn't let anyone with clean clothes into it, let alone a suit!

I'd agree fully.

Na, most folk dog whatever they get!

Who cares how often it's valeted? It's the mechanical stress that it's enduring that is the long term problem. Cars do suffer wear and tear more quickly when there are more than one driver because everyone has a different style of driving. They'll be kind of loose and tired before their time.
Plenty of cars out there to bother turning to a rental. Cars are tough, many take abuse and folk buy used and abused ones and get on fine for a few years and sell it, but that doesn't mean the car was mint!

If anyone ever complains about the cost of rental cars, then consider that they have to put up with drivers like this.

Tea 1000

cml387 wrote: »

If anyone ever complains about the cost of rental cars, then consider that they have to put up with drivers like this.

The rental companies don't give a flying f**k about the car so long as it drives for the next person and doesn't cost them anything to fix.
If you dent one, they charge you a fortune through your credit card. All they do for all the money they get from you is put a circle on the docket so the next person who rents it can see that the dent is noted.
If you don't want that, they charge a fortune to reduce the excess to zero. They make their money, and don't give a crap about the cars. They're sold 2 years later at the longest anyway!

cml387

Tea 1000 wrote: »

The rental companies don't give a flying f**k about the car so long as it drives for the next person and doesn't cost them anything to fix.
If you dent one, they charge you a fortune through your credit card. All they do for all the money they get from you is put a circle on the docket so the next person who rents it can see that the dent is noted.
If you don't want that, they charge a fortune to reduce the excess to zero. They make their money, and don't give a crap about the cars. They're sold 2 years later at the longest anyway!

Very strange business model for a company not to "give a flying f**K" for it's biggest capital investment.

I'm not sure what you consider "dogging" a rental car, so I will give you the benefit of the doubt.

I do know of a very few colleagues in my organisation who have said that they have thrashed rental cars, but mostly this is macho boasting. Real car lovers wouldn't mistreat even a rental car for some bizarre muppetry thrill.

Tea 1000

cml387 wrote: »

Very strange business model for a company not to "give a flying f**K" for it's biggest capital investment.

I'm not sure what you consider "dogging" a rental car, so I will give you the benefit of the doubt.

I do know of a very few colleagues in my organisation who have said that they have thrashed rental cars, but mostly this is macho boasting. Real car lovers wouldn't mistreat even a rental car for some bizarre muppetry thrill.

So long as the cars don't cost them money they don't care. Do you think anyone in the business actually knows details about every single car in the fleet? They really don't care. If you cause it damage that they have to fix, they charge you. If you cause it some extra wear, chances are it won't cost them any money while they own it, something might break long after. So they don't care. They only care about profit and anything that affects that.
They're not a bunch of car nuts sitting around a table discussing the finer merits of each car in their fleet has.

Greyfoot

@Tea 1000

You seem to have a grudge against rental companies for some reason, I bet your credit card was charged for damages or missing petrol on one or more occasions perhaps. You seem to miss the point that rental companies make money renting cars, any given mechanical problem means, less time spent on the road.

It is in their interest to keep cars on the road as long as they can. I have no real insight how big companies like Avis or Budget work but obviously there are people working there, different folks take care of valeting, others do mechanical work(I happen to have seen Avis hq workshop from the inside, it was a fully equipped garage with qualified mechanics)
, others deliver and collect cars from clients.

It may come as a surprise but I do work for an independent rental company for a year now, and my boss owns well over a hundred cars, from Kia Picantos to BMW X6.
He knows each and every car by its reg number down to when we last changed brake pads, oil etc.

He does this because he knows that his cars put food on his family's table.

Carson10

Why dont you buy somthing like this "DEMO"? its a 131 with only 38,000KM. Prob just a lot of people test-driving it to put up such big mileage in less than a year. but hey, its a "demo".



*SPECIAL EDITION MODEL(250 VERSION)**EX-DEMOSTRATION MODEL**1.6 TDI**GREY METALLIC**SPORTS ALLOY WHEELS**FOGLIGHTS**ARMREST**ELECTRIC PACK**BLUETOOTH**PRIVACY GLASS**100% IRISH CAR**

yllw.ldbttr

Wife bought a Passat ex rental from a similar crowd a few years back and has not had one bit of trouble with it.

A lot of people flah rental cars I agree, but even more people mistreat their own private cars, don't service them properly etc. I'd get it well checked out but if it's priced at a discount and comes with a warranty I'd have no issues buying one.

Tea 1000

Greyfoot wrote: »

@Tea 1000

You seem to have a grudge against rental companies for some reason,

:rolleyes:

fonecrusher1

Thanks all for the messages. I appreciat it.

marc1

I owned a 2011 Golf TDI that was previously owned Enterprise for about 1.5 year until end of last year. Bought it with 27k km, sold it with about 60k km. No issues at all. Garage services it when I got it. I serviced once and a new set of tyres at 42k km.

Good thing about that car is that it still have original manufacturers warranty. Most likely 2 years. If you are luck it has 3 years. Check with the garage when that expires. I would expect that after the warranty expires, the garage covers you so that you have a full year from date or purchase.

As previously said, I would think that many of those cars are driven very carefully by tourists worried about having to pay for scratches. As far as "dogging" is concerned: 1) How much abuse can you really do to a 1.6 TDI. You're not going to do many doughnuts in it :-) 2) Even if you do modern cars are built to take the abuse. Check clutch and tyres properly. With a full year warranty should have the time to discover any clutch issues...