Help with a Carfax

[trmiv]

Looking to buy a used Mazda 6 and I just ran a CarFax on it. Here's what it said:

01/24/2006 NICB Vehicle manufactured
and shipped to original dealer

02/02/2006 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Casselberry, FL Registered as
rental vehicle
(major car rental company)

02/02/2006 15 mi Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Casselberry, FL
Title #0095203718 Odometer reading reported for title
or registration

02/18/2006 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Casselberry, FL
Title #0095203718 Title issued or updated
First owner reported
Loan or lien reported

04/21/2006 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Casselberry, FL
Title #0095203718 Registration issued or renewed
Registered as
personal vehicle
Loan or lien reported
Registered as lease vehicle
Vehicle color noted as Silver

04/03/2007 30,927 mi Auto Auction Sold at auction
in Georgia
Listed as
a fleet vehicle

04/13/2007 31,093 mi North Carolina
Inspection Station
Raleigh, NC Passed emissions inspection

08/09/2007 Mazda Motor of America, Inc. No recalls open for repair

Now what I'm trying to figure out is, on 2/2/06 is was registered as a rental. But then only two months later it was registed as a personal lease vehicle. How did it go from a rental to a lease vehicle in two months?

It seems most of the used Mazda 6's we find were former rental vehicles, which is scaring me off. But I can't quite figure out what was going on with this one

EDIT: What's interesting is I've found two more Mazda 6 hatchbacks, at different dealers, that say the same thing. And all of them had Casselberry, FL as where this took place.

 

[ValValline]

There are a lot of 6's in rental fleets, and those fleets turn over more frequently than purchased/leased vehicles do. The odds are that's what you will see for sale if a car is less than 3 years old. While it is true many rentals are abused, I would be more concerned about an '06 that was repo'd or traded in (lemon?) after only a year. If it is still under warranty, and doesn't look/drive like it has been flogged, an ex-rental should be fine.

With regards to the one you are looking at, it is possible that the rental company allows employees/management to lease/purchase from their fleet stock. But that is only speculation.

 

[shocksyde]

I drive an ex-fleet vehicle.

I've had it for 2.5 years with absolutely no problems.

YMMV, of course.

 

[bruceb]

I would not be too concerned about the car. Just be sure it was not in a wreck or
a flood. Otherwise, Mazda is a very reliable brand.

 

[trmiv]

Thanks. I think we'll at least go check it out. It's a nice Mazda 6, and one of the few I've been able to convince my wife to consider (she doesn't like the sedan, this is the hatchback).

 

[thomsbrain]

I can put 7-8,000 miles on my car in two months. A rental would likely accumulate mileage even faster. Rental companies rarely keep cars past 20,000 miles, often less.

 

[SearchMaster]

I bought a Mazda 6s Wagon that was a former rental a couple of years ago. It was fine, no problems. You should know that I paid about $11.5K for an '04 model in May '05, with 20K miles. My dad works at an auto auction and that was the price of a fleet Mazda6 at the time. So you should have some wiggle room on that price.

 

[dud]

I live less than 10 miles from Casselberry ... it's basically a part of NE Orlando. It's not a tourist area, more commercial/retail. You don't see many rental car lots there. Your post above failed to list the mileage for each date. Did the Carfax include this? If so please include ... that would help.

 

[trmiv]

Ugh, nevermind. We went to look at it. More than a couple paint problems (chips in hood, looked like the left front fender had scraped something), the left rear wheel had been curbed a couple of times. And there was a tear on the passenger seat.

 

[shocksyde]

Originally posted by: trmiv
Ugh, nevermind. We went to look at it. More than a couple paint problems (chips in hood, looked like the left front fender had scraped something), the left rear wheel had been curbed a couple of times. And there was a tear on the passenger seat.

Just as I thought...

The rental company knew they shouldn't have rented the car to a Panther. They did anyways. They regret their decision.