Buying a car that was a company used car

DJ98

Looking to buy a new car and see some advertised on donedeal from a dealer in donegal that seem to be reasonably priced but all the cars are ex company cars. Would a car like this be a good purchase?

colm_mcm

Usual,y they’ll be from the uk auctions. The cheaper ones have high mileage, and there’s potential for clocking.
Usually you’ll have a full service history on them if they’re leased.

It’s what goes on between it being in the uk and getting here that’s the issue usually.

ednwireland

got a lex leasing one years ago in the north, thats all the guy bought and shipped over had a full report of every service with it and every part changed mind was pretty knackered after we put another 150000 miles on it

bazz26

A lot can depend on the driver of the car too. Some treat company cars very well like they are there own property while others don't give a toss about them. Like any used car check for signs of abuse or neglect. Get a look at the v5 registration document to see what company name is on it and do some research on what business they are in. It might given some insight into what the company car was used for. Service history should be good on these too as servicing costs are usually included in the leasing agreements. These cars can travel the length and breath of the UK s if the service history is patchy or missing then there is usually a reason for that.

Water2626262

I had company cars and they were always serviced on the dot. I assume the fleet company replaced anything that needed doing.

I never rallied the cars or kept them in a state. There were plenty of stories of the fleet company feeding back complaints about cars which in turn would be flagged to the managing director. Not worth the hassle. Depends on the company I suppose. Any business using a fleet company will incur expenses at the end so I’d imagine it’s the same in a lot companies.

ManOfMystery

Our family business source most of their stock from UK auctions (BCA/Manheim/Aston Barclay amongst others) and in most cases the cars are ex-fleet cars.

Pros - servicing schedules are almost always religously adhered to, and done via main dealer rather than someone's mechanically minded mate in their driveway. Hence all stamped up. Any parts swapped out for previous repairs will generally be from main dealer and not cheaper versions off eBay. Tyres are usually the recommended manufacturer brand and thus are decent ones. Mileages are usually warranted by the auction. The auctions provide detailed reports on cosmetic and engine condition.

Cons - This one could equally be a pro - in some cases, the previous owners may not treat the car cosmetically as well as they should, as they don't consider it 'theirs'. This afflicts company cars more than personal leases vehicles (with a personal lease they get penalised for body damage). However, equally, there are others who do treat the cars very well and are mindful that they don't actually own it.
In some cases the mileage can be higher than average, depending if the previous owner was doing daily laps of the M6 in England.

IMO the pros outweigh the cons and having been to England 20+ times for personal purchases of a vehicle for myself, I've always had more negative experiences and nasty surprises with private sales than vehicles sourced via the auctions.

Bren_C

I think it depends on what type of car, Ive had company cars since I was 19 and they we bog standard escort/focus level then, I'll admit i drovee them like I stole them. As you come up the chain you tend to have mangers in them who know what the cost is (perhaps older) and so keep them a little better. I'm coming out of my V90 in January and I'd put it up against any private one as to how its been looked after and kept fresh

bazz26

You probably also got older and more mature.

Casati

Bren_C wrote: »

I think it depends on what type of car, Ive had company cars since I was 19 and they we bog standard escort/focus level then, I'll admit i drovee them like I stole them. As you come up the chain you tend to have mangers in them who know what the cost is (perhaps older) and so keep them a little better. I'm coming out of my V90 in January and I'd put it up against any private one as to how its been looked after and kept fresh

Yeah I agree with above, the cheapest company cars tend to be neglected the most, especially small car vans. As with any car look at general wear and tear, evidence of crash damage, evidence of neglect and evidence of mileage disappearing during the ferry trip

LollipopJimmy

bazz26 wrote: »

A lot can depend on the driver of the car too. Some treat company cars very well like they are there own property while others don't give a toss about them.

Can't say I agree with this anymore. Not presenting a car for service or abusing a company car will lead to disciplinary action now. 20 years ago you were on the money but in my experience not anymore.

Lease cars have detailed service history files, every tyre and bulb replacement will be on record

bazz26

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

Can't say I agree with this anymore. Not presenting a car for service or abusing a company car will lead to disciplinary action now. 20 years ago you were on the money but in my experience not anymore.

Lease cars have detailed service history files, every tyre and bulb replacement will be on record

I never said the cars were not presented for servicing though. Servicing is included in nearly all company leasing agreements so no real benefit to having them not serviced.

However drivers come in all forms, some good, some bad, some care, some don't. Not all these cars are driven by the same employee who has been with the company for ages and has a lot more to lose by handing back an abused car. Some companies have a high staff turnover and somebody looking to build up sales experience but has no plans to stay with the company long term might not care too much about the car they are driving, they are only passing through jobs. I work in IT myself and some of the company equipment given out to employees comes back fit for the bin.

LollipopJimmy

bazz26 wrote: »

I never said the cars were not presented for servicing though. Servicing is included in nearly all company leasing agreements so no real benefit to having them not serviced.

However drivers come in all forms, some good, some bad, some care, some don't. Not all these cars are driven by the same employee who has been with the company for ages and has a lot more to lose by handing back an abused car. Some companies have a high staff turnover and somebody looking to build up sales experience but has no plans to stay with the company long term might not care too much about the car they are driving, they are only passing through jobs. I work in IT myself and some of the company equipment given out to employees comes back fit for the bin.

So basically you're describing every single secondhand car apart from the fact these have a guaranteed service history

bazz26

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

So basically you're describing every single secondhand car apart from the fact these have a guaranteed service history

Again you are putting words in my mouth that are not true. Just because a company car is contractually serviced on time doesn't mean it wasn't driven hard or carelessly by an employee. As I said originally, there are some employees who treat company cars carefully while others don't give a **** because they move jobs frequently. They all still get serviced on time.