Buying a possible ex fleet car - yay or run very fast

peannoir · 02-05-2025 01:48PM #1

Hello all,

Wondering what you folks think about ex fleet cars. Im looking at a new motor at the minute and lost out on my pic a few days ago. Gazumped so I was as I was going in the gate of the dealer! Anyway, moving on.

Came on a dealer in Monaghan (not sure if I can name it). Appears to have some nice stock at a reasonable (in todays lunatic market) price. They are upfront that cars are imported and from a fleet company. They also seem to have batches of the same car.

Offering the usual, full service, 2 yrs NCT, warranty, etc etc and I dug abit for reviews and could not find anything overly worrying.

So just wondering if anyone here has any insight/input/advice

They also have the term 'Trade Sales' on their title and I'm wondering if that means anything in particular.

TIA

prawnsambo · 02-05-2025 02:18PM

On the face of it, fleet cars are generally fine as they would be serviced regularly and any issues fixed. Probably would have high enough mileage though.

Trade sales means selling to the rest of the motor trade. Can be indicative of cheap cars.

artanevilla · 02-05-2025 02:21PM

Trade sale means it's marketed at selling to another dealer. Generally it will be sold as seen and you've no comeback for any issues and it would generally be on the buying dealer to have the car right for the consumer they are selling to.

User1998 · 02-05-2025 02:29PM

Ex fleet cars are the best in my experience. Always pure motorway miles, full extensive service histories, and 1 owner from new

User1998 · 02-05-2025 02:29PM

Lots of dealers have the word trade sales in their name but deal with the public and give warranty etc

elperello · 02-05-2025 02:37PM

Sometimes fleet cars can be lower in spec.

Watch out for that when comparing with privately owned cars.

thebiglad · 02-05-2025 02:43PM

I've had 'fleet' cars in the past, my role was management (high BIK) but my mileage was pretty much work and back and usual weekend trips as would have been with a privately owned car.

As mentioned a strict service and maintenance schedule (breach it and company gets hit for fees), also, condition.

I don't agree with low spec point raised above, I could choose the precise model and extras I wanted - I just had a monthly budget the lease could not exceed, company didn't care beyond that what marque or spec I chose - if the lease company deemed car to be poor with low residuals the monthly cost went up to cover it.

Buying an ex-lease is little different to buying private, you'll never know how it was driven and whether it was 'cared for'

peannoir · 02-05-2025 02:53PM

Hello all. Firstly, thanks so much for your responses. Appreciate it.

Yeah, dealer I am looking at definitely sells to the public so there would be some comeback there. I see they stock alot of commercial vehicles as well. The specs seem pretty decent and yes the miles are on the higher side but I'm trying to look at cars that are better known for durability and high miles if that makes sense.

I would expect to be seeing a fairly comprehensive service record so definitely will be asking for that if I go ahead.

Im going to pop off a wee email anyway with a few questions and see what sort of a response I get.

Thanks again folks.

bazz26 · 02-05-2025 06:26PM

Ex-fleet can be a broad term often used by motor dealers. It can range from ex rental cars to ex company leased cars.

Rental cars tend to be sold on after about 6 months (usually between March and September) for VRT reasons afaik but dealers tend to describe these as ex fleet so not to put a customer off. Make sure to check for signs of abuse, excessive wear as well as crash repair/paint overspray on the inside of body panels, etc.