Would You Buy A Rental Car [PATCHED]
In fact, many rental car companies take such good care of their cars that they are willing to offer their own warranty on car sales, as well as other types of coverage to sweeten the deal. This sets them apart from most used car lots, where you may have to haggle for any extras. Hertz and Enterprise both offer a 12-month/12,000 mile limited powertrain warranty, and Avis has a variety of extended warranty options. All three companies also note that many of their sale vehicles are still under the original factory warranty.
would you buy a rental car
Avis, Enterprise, and Hertz all have easy-to-use websites where consumers can sort through the used vehicle offerings in their area. All three also list no-haggle pricing: the no-haggle price means you'll know upfront what you can expect to pay (financing options will depend on your credit score, of course). Both Avis and Hertz offer a three-day test drive where the customer pays the rental fee up front, but that fee gets refunded if the driver buys the vehicle. Enterprise extends that trial period to seven days.
A former rental may cost less money up front, but it will also return less money down the road. Getting maximum resale value for a used rental car is difficult, because many shoppers are wary of buying former rental vehicles, so much so that some states have passed laws allowing car dealerships to call rental cars "program cars" in hopes of avoiding the stigma. The value for former rentals is also impacted by the fact that these vehicles are sold in such high volume. When the market gets flooded with thousands of cars of the same make and model, all at more or less the same time and with similar mileage, the price for that make and model gets driven down.
Lower resale value won't matter to a customer planning to drive the car into the ground, but for drivers who plan to trade in their vehicle in a few years and hope to get a chunk of cash in return for their trade-in, it's important to note the lower resale value of former rental cars.
On CarGurus, all rental cars are marked as "Fleet," but not all cars marked "Fleet" are former rentals. To find out if a CarGurus "Fleet" vehicle was a rental, check the vehicle's history report. Of course, purchasing a vehicle history report and asking for service history documentation are steps every customer should take when buying a used car, but it's especially important when looking at a former rental. Taking a former rental to a trusted mechanic before purchasing it is also recommended. Keeping all these pros and cons in mind, a former rental car can provide relatively new tech and safety features at an affordable price.
Let's face it: People are more careless with rental cars than they are with their own vehicles. How will you know if that sedan you're eyeing was used for an off-roading weekend or got caught in a flood? Checking the vehicle history report can help you uncover past accidents, frame damage, water damage and other issues that could affect the life and reliability of the car.
If the rental car company doesn't provide a vehicle history report, you can get one yourself. All you need is the vehicle identification number (VIN) or U.S. license plate to find out the vehicle's AutoCheck Score. This service from Experian analyzes all the records in an AutoCheck vehicle history report to calculate this score, which estimates a vehicle's overall roadworthiness, its reliability compared with other vehicles in its class, and its likelihood of being on the road in five years.
In addition to checking the vehicle history report, ask to see the maintenance record. Finally, have the vehicle inspected by a trusted mechanic. Many rental car companies let you rent the car for a few days before you buy, giving you plenty of time to drive it around and get it checked out.
Before you apply for a used car loan, assess your budget, the amount you have saved (or can save) for a down payment, and the vehicle you want to see how much money you'll need to borrow. You can get a general idea of rental car prices by searching inventory on their websites.
Buying a rental car is typically a very straightforward process in which most of the transaction can be handled online. In most cases, there's not a lot of room to negotiate on price, which makes your loan terms even more important. Having a good credit score can lower the total cost of your rental car purchase by qualifying you for desirable financing offers. Improving your credit score before you start searching for a rental car to buy will put you in the driver's seat when it comes to getting an auto loan.
Buying a rental car could be an excellent option for a used car buyer with a limited budget. The discounts attached to rental vehicles on the market can make owning your dream vehicle much more affordable. But as with any other pre-owned vehicle, you'll need to do your research to ensure you drive away with a good bargain.
Rental car companies often have a continuous supply of rental cars for sale. This is because they regularly upgrade their fleets by adding new vehicles. So, they need to sell off part of their existing fleet to make space for the new arrivals. This is how rental cars make their way to auctions and dealerships.
Most large-scale rental companies even have dedicated departments to sell their used cars since they have many vehicles to offer each year. And they may also have online sales platforms, so you can easily sift through their inventory based on your location and vehicle preferences.
Many of them also offer trade-in options to save you from the hassle of selling your car. Before you discuss your car's value with a rental company, though, assess the trade-in value of your vehicle with an independent party to ensure you are receiving a fair deal.
Buying a car from a rental company is not without risks. So, is it ok to buy a rental car? The answer depends on your specific needs. It's certainly possible to grab an excellent deal once you know how to assess the pros and cons. And if done right, you can drive off with a great deal.
These businesses upgrade their fleets regularly to offer their clients the latest vehicles to rent, so many of the cars that go on sale tend to be just a few years old. This could make rental cars an excellent option to grab a one- or two-year-old vehicle at a more affordable price.
Unlike some car dealers, many rental car companies have various programs in place so you can try out the vehicle before purchasing. These can range from two-hour test drives and return policies to renting options for a few days, where the rental cost is refunded when you purchase.
One important way rental cars can differ from the typical used cars on the market is their above-average mileage. This means a two-year-old rental car could have much more wear and tear compared to a normal car that shares the same manufactured year. And unlike private car owners, rental clients may not be so careful about how they use the vehicle. This means you might expect more repairs despite a solid maintenance history.
It goes without saying that there are many different sources you can use to buy a used car. From Carvana, to CarMax, to the dealer down the street, used cars are everywhere, but one often forgotten source of used cars are rental vehicles. Should you buy a rental car, and if you do, what do you need to know beforehand?
From a consumer perspective, it can be hard at first glance to know if you are inquiring about a rental car or not. Knowing if you should buy a rental car first means you need to confirm if a used car was previously titled as one!
In order to sell a used vehicle (rental or not), a dealer must ensure that the vehicle passes state inspection. State inspections vary from state to state, however some requirements are the same across the board (ie tread depth on the tires, brake pads, etc.)
Generally speaking, yes. Rental cars have a stigma attached to them, and because of that they have a lower selling price than other (comparable) vehicles. As an example, this includes service loaners (essentially rental cars that the dealer uses for customers whose cars are being serviced). A service loaner will have a higher asking price than a rental car (it should also have less miles than a rental car), and this is because there is less of a stigma associated with service loaners than there is with rental cars.
As you can see, there are a lot of factors to consider when contemplating if you should buy a rental car. I would highly recommend you consider rental cars if they fit into your budget, but be sure to secure a pre purchase inspection of any used vehicle you consider buying (unless it is certified pre-owned).
We have an '09 Saturn Aura XR that we bought in Spring of '10 with about 34k on it. I was a little apprehensive at first, but we took it home for $13.5K--a car that listed for over $26k new. 50% off sale!Crazy. It looked like new, drove like new, had a clean history report, and still had a bit left on its factory waranty. It now has about 107k on it. Would I do it again? Yes!Despite the beating that it probably took prior to us buying it, we've only had a few little things go wrong here and there; a bad TPS sensor, a little rattle from the dashboard under certain road conditions, and an occasionally faulty seatbelt light that just started lighting up and chimming last month. Oh yeah, there's a spot on the drivers fender where the clearcoat is starting to flake, but it appears to be the result of a cheap repair (fender bender?). All that said, it's still been infinently better than the lightly used Civic (a non-rental) that we had before the Saturn--and that cost the same amount while having more problems.
I rent cars regularly for business travel. I recently purchased an ex-rental Chrysler 300S from a Chrysler dealer. I noticed that (at least here in Canada) they are priced as a "luxury" car, and have a rack rate of $70/day or higher. The typical renter is either a business person looking to ferry clients around, or older, mature frequent renters like myself who are given the upgrade as a perk.The "luxury" cars seem to usually be kept in the fleet for a shorter period of time (mine came off with 17,000 kms (11,000 miles) and was in pretty much perfect condition except for some minor curb rash on the 20" rims and luggage scratches on the plastic inside the trunk. For this wear, and one year of factory warranty used up, I bought the car for almost half the original price. I've now had the car for 6 months and couldn't be happier with my purchase (other than for Jaguar's crazy lease deal on XF 3.0AWD last month, $600/month all in no down!).That said, I would likely never buy a "midsize" or "fullsize" class ex-rental, as these are the bread-and-butter of the fleet and get rented to anyone with a driver's license. Anytime I've ended up in one of those, they are beat to sh!t, used & abused. 041b061a72