# Buy a former rental car?



## EaglesFan (Mar 10, 2015)

I'm thinking of replacing my current car and a friend of mine said he's bought former rental cars before and had good luck with them. What's your opinion of buying a car that was formerly a rental car from say hertz, enterprise, avis etc... . The one's I've looked at are mostly 2016s with about 30k to 40k miles and usually selling for about 60% of what a new vehicle would cost which makes this an attractive to me and unlike buying a similar vehicle from a private seller I'm not suspicious of why they would be selling such a young car. I imagine they'd be well maintained too. Opinions?


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## Over/Uber (Jan 2, 2017)

Why not. I drive my ride share-only car like a rental and it holds up with regular maintenance.

I figure if I'm doing U/L, I don't want to destroy a car I really like or care to maintain some resale value with.


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## Ted L. (Jun 8, 2017)

I think the numbers work out (I bought my car from Hertz). You get a late model car that has already been hit with the mileage depreciation. Now you don't have to be concerned with putting on too many miles.

Alternitavely you can look at is as last year's model with 3 years worth of wear.


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## USMCX (Jul 13, 2015)

People drive rental cars like shit. I know I did. You're asking for trouble...


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## grabby (Nov 5, 2017)

I have never driven a car I rented like shit... But I have seen many U/L drivers drive like shit..


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## kevink (Apr 18, 2016)

I drive a vehicle that was a rental and it has been trouble free. Between Uber/Lyft, regular commuting, a couple of day/weekend trips out of state, I have put a lot of miles on it. Other than oil changes, no maintenance work outside of manufacturer recommendations. 

Rental companies have to follow certain maintenance practices per their lease/purchase agreement with the manufacturer or they risk voiding the warranty.


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## RynoHawk (Mar 15, 2017)

Rental and fleet vehicles usually have high miles, but they do tend to be well maintained and kept in fairly good condition. Many companies obviously want to keep nice cars to rent to their customers, but they also want to try to make a buck when it comes time to sell.


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## sidemouse (Apr 2, 2017)

Ted L. said:


> I think the numbers work out (I bought my car from Hertz). You get a late model car that has already been hit with the mileage depreciation. Now you don't have to be concerned with putting on too many miles.
> 
> Alternitavely you can look at is as last year's model with 3 years worth of wear.


Actually as depreciation goes and despite what some folks may believe rental cars are not cheap, generally speaking rental cars being sold demand top Blue Book retail values. As for the mileage, once a car has been fully depreciated mileage that goes beyond said depreciation doesn't go unnoticed. It's not like cars enter some magical "depreciation free" zone and drivers can just put whatever miles they feel like on the car because whoever buys it later won't care.

For example, lets say a car's depreciation falls as far as it can go at the 200,00 mile mark according to the blue book. The mistake I see folks making is they appear to assume if the same car has 400,000 miles it will still be worth the same as if it had 200,000. Perhaps that is true according to Blue Book but buyers see it too.

Put another way some years ago I was shopping for a vehicle and found several in my "price range..." Unfortunately they each had 300,000 miles on the odometer and I can't buy a vehicle with that kind of miles. No matter how good the price, those cars aren't going to make it far and even more unfortunately the price was still blue booked... Had they cut the price in half I'm still not so sure I would've spent the money, gets to the point I'd rather spend more if that's what it takes...

Fact is I believe it may be difficult selling an Ex-Uber car that has a ton of miles on the odometer, might as well drive that car until it won't drive anymore then take it to the junk yard and get whatever they're willing to pay for it (likely a few hundred bucks). On the other hand if you're willing to take an amount below the blue book to account for all those extra miles then you might stand a chance if the car's still worth several thousand to begin with but the question that keeps begging to be asked is whether doing that is worth it.


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## unadhesived (Jul 7, 2017)

Rental companies want high book for cars that were rentals. almost all rentals are abused to some degree. They are worth something, but not retail book. Retail book means the car had one civilized owner with full maintenance records and the car was garaged. The new school of used car buyers are being taken for way too much money.


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## MadePenniesToday (Feb 24, 2017)

I went to a rental car sales place and the cars didn't sound or look right. I test drove a 2016 Jetta with 34k miles and when I opened the hood it had a lot of sand in it. Then test drove a 2016 chevy sonic turbo and it didn't sound healthy and needed an alignment.


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

MadePenniesToday said:


> I went to a rental car sales place and the cars didn't sound or look right. I test drove a 2016 Jetta with 34k miles and when I opened the hood it had a lot of sand in it. Then test drove a 2016 chevy sonic turbo and it didn't sound healthy and needed an alignment.


Sand is nothing, in some areas sand gets blown everywhere


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## Beur (Apr 14, 2015)

A 2017 black on black Yukon XL in Cal with 17-35k miles on sells for $48+ here. A Hertz vehicle with the same mileage sells for $44+. 

Hertz gives you a 12 mos/12,000 mile warranty and has extended warranties available. Also the vehicle is guaranteed through equifax’s version of car fax for 110% of purchase price if something was missed in the report. Be sure to check the equifax report for accidents. 

$99 gets the car delivered to your nearest Hertz and is yours for 3 days. If you return it or don’t like within 3 hours there’s no charge. If you buy the $99 is applied to the purchase.


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## MadePenniesToday (Feb 24, 2017)

Adieu said:


> Sand is nothing, in some areas sand gets blown everywhere


 I doubt it with this car. Was a Texas car. It had a thick layer of sand on a lot of parts and a few months after Harvey , I didn't want to take a chance.


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## NorCalPhil (Aug 19, 2016)

I drive a former rental car from Hertz. Had 30k miles, and was several thousand below KBB. 

I test drove 3 of the same model and took home the one I liked best.

I've put 50k on the car and have had no issues. A friend of mine who suggested I look into used rentals has been doing this for years - he puts 80k on a car every year, sells it off and gets another used rental. 

Many of the cars are offered as certified with warranties from both Hertz and the manufacturer. It's definitely worth looking into.


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## Ride Nights & Weekends (Jan 5, 2018)

I own a former rental. I've had to replace the rear wheeo bearings at 120k. Other than that and maintenance, no issues as of yet.


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## Trebor (Apr 22, 2015)

I have a ex used rental that I put 200,000 miles on with minor problems. Like, the belt, tires and brakes.. a given with any car. 

There is an old wives tale that rental cars are abused and treated like crap. While this maybe true, the cars are taken to get serviced in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. If you have ever damaged a rental, you know first hand that they are going to charge you and fix it. Hell, I wonder if these damaged cars even end up back on the rental lots, or if they simply sell it, but accidents will show up on a carfax (something you should get anyways) 

I would venture to say that rental cars (at lest by major companies like enterprise, hertz, avis, etc. ) are probably better off than a regular used vehicle since throughout the little time they have them, they maintain and detail them pretty rigorously.


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## Aerodrifting (Aug 13, 2017)

I don't think there is anything wrong with rental cars as most rental companies take care of them, However their price (based on Autotrader and couple other online car buying sites) seem to be on the higher end comparing to used cars from dealers.


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## SurginGeneral (Aug 9, 2017)

Gotta figure that the average person renting a car is a boring businessperson who’s putzing around from conference to conference. They’re not the interesting type that would be hard on a car.


My farther recently got a nice SUV from Enterprise car sales. <30k miles, 2016. Prestine inside and out. I’d say it’s a nice buy. Good warranty, to boot


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## ShinyAndChrome (Aug 18, 2017)

USMCX said:


> People drive rental cars like shit. I know I did. You're asking for trouble...


some do and I have but most don't so badly. I bought a fleet vehicle once and would again if price is right.


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## dkcs (Aug 27, 2014)

I've purchased two Kia's directly from Hertz and have had them for 3 years each with only 1 small $130 repair that wasn't a normal wear item.


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

SurginGeneral said:


> Gotta figure that the average person renting a car is a boring businessperson who's putzing around from conference to conference. They're not the interesting type that would be hard on a car.
> 
> My farther recently got a nice SUV from Enterprise car sales. <30k miles, 2016. Prestine inside and out. I'd say it's a nice buy. Good warranty, to boot


Ive returned a rental with +11k on the clock....roadtrip not fuber


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## SurginGeneral (Aug 9, 2017)

Adieu said:


> Ive returned a rental with +11k on the clock....roadtrip not fuber


Just noticed my "farther" typo! Meant "father" there.

But damn, 11k! That's what I call getting around! Sounds like a good road trip in my book. I generally love to drive, especially if it's for my own plans and interest, so that must have been really cool (I hope)!


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