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how bad is buying a rental, really?

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I bought one once. A 2002 Galant, got it on 2003 for 9k, about 1/2 msrp. It had 23k miles, had been in the rental fleet about 8 months, full service records (even the car washes/vacuums were documented), and was immaculant. Only car I have ever owned that I didnt have a problem with. Depending on the car and where you buy it (I bought it in Phoenix, which is like a rental car hub, so lots of cars in the rental fleets), it may not be a bad deal. I'd personally buy from a national company (I got mine from Hertz) and if there is any hesitation when you ask to see the records on it, leave at once.
 
Check out this thread http://forums.anandtech.com/me...238004&highlight_key=y

I hate to admit it, but I am one of those guys that thrashes on rental cars.

My first was a early 2000s Chevy Malibu. The car wouldn't let you do neutral drops... I tried. It would just rev up, then when you went to drive it would wait until the RPMs dropped, then go into drive. I believe the car had the 3.1 V6 and it would light the front tires up around turns... think CV joint torture. I then found an area where some mud had washed up over the road. I knew I had pavement beneath it so I went over and over this area of mud almost getting stuck... until I hit solid ground and bogging out... the car was caked in mud... I just took it by the pressure wash place and make it look good on the outside while the undercarriage probably looked my 04 Z71.

My second was a 2002 Dodge Stratus. This car had less than 6K miles and was the biggest POS. Completely gutless. I ragged on it, but really could only get it to spin in gravel or grass. I was easier on this one, but only had it a few days.

My most recent was a 2006 Ford Five Hundred - or Taurus now. I had this car for almost 30 days due to a fiasco with Sams Club service center. I liked this car. It had a CVT transmission and was fun to keep it floored and the RPMs stay pegged for eternity. Rental companies will charge some rediculous price per gallon if you bring the car back with less gas than you left with it. In this case I was about to have to return the car, but it had more gas than it had when I got it. Would I get a refund... hell no. So I was making my commute to work in the morning and would be returning the car that night. During my compute I moved the gear selector to L and proceded to do 75MPH for around 15 miles at 6K RPMs all the way to work to get the gas needle where I wanted it.

In closing... I would never buy a rental car. My friends, family, and co-workers would never buy one either b/c of what they have seen done on my behalf.
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yeah...I beat rentals.... :/

i wooped on this mazda3 once, thing was gutless, ZERO power...it was embarassing, glad I never got one....
 
Originally posted by: SickBeast
Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Most of the "program" cars you see on dealer lots are former rentals and fleet cars.

Buying a rental you would think is not good, but in 16 years at a new car dealership, I really didn't see that they gave any more problems than the ones bought new by individuals. In fact, most of the problems they did have were more trim and interior-related, not mechanical.

The rental companies maintain them pretty well.
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What about the break-in period on a new car though? I wonder how much that affects the reliability of the engine and such. They say you need to go easy on a new car for the first 10,000kms (6,500 miles or so I think).
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Very overrated. Almost nobody worries about break-in on a new car. Most people drive 'em like they stole 'em from day one.

What do you think happens at the factory when they're moving them around, and at the dealership when they go through pre-delivery and test drives?

The vast majority of engine break-in is already done at the factory. Drivetrain is not, but I can tell you from personal experience and years of professional experience, I have seen absolutely ZERO difference in longevity regardless of how it was driven during the "break in" period.

Now, if you build and engine yourself, or have one built and YOU are starting it for the first time? Completely different story. But that's nowhere near the case with a new car.

My dad bought new cars for years....left the lot trying to mash his foot through the firewall with every one of them. I've bought many new cars.....I did the same thing. Currently, my 99 Tahoe, will be 11 years old next month and has over 130k on it. It had 7 miles on the odometer and I left the dealership with my foot in the floor.
I DID obey the "don't tow anything for the first 500 miles" warning in the owner's manual....but that's not really something you have to worry about with a rental car.
 
the rental Chrysler we had in Hawaii actually stalled on us twice. We gave it back without saying anything for fear they thought it was us who broke it. I will never buy a used car because of unknown history.
 
I used to work for a car rental company (two different ones spanning 8 years of my life in fact) and I'd NEVER EVER consider buying a car that was previously a rental vehicle.

I've beat on my fair share of rental vehicles over the years too. Most I drive like they're mine but others I just didn't give a shit and beat on them out of spite for getting a pile of crap from the rental agency. Hell, when I worked at the rental agency we used to see how fast the cars would go in reverse through the parking lot and then whip the front end around in a cloud of smoke. E-brake pulls on the road at 45mph were always fun too.
 
Parents bought a 2007 Caravan which used to be a rental... Runs pretty well, hope it lasts... I would assume the people that rent minivans arent going to be taking them to the racetrack
 
Originally posted by: akshatp
Parents bought a 2007 Caravan which used to be a rental... Runs pretty well, hope it lasts... I would assume the people that rent minivans arent going to be taking them to the racetrack
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No, they just take the seats out and use them as a cargo van, grossly overweight them and drive them up through the Grapevine and burn up the transmissions.
 
Old, but this subject always makes me post this : http://www.ag.auburn.edu/users/parmega/articles/neon/

"We were fender to fender with a fast 440-6 Challenger R/T. He ripped his piston-grip to second, but we pulled ahead. Clifford boiled the tires big-time into second gear, allowing the R/T to pull alongside. The Neon mini-motor wound tight-right to the rev limiter. Did Cliff lift? Did he back off? No chance! Ka-boom! A glowing three-foot fireball barked out of each side of the hood, and rolled back over the windshield. Cheeez! This actually caused the R/T driver to lift, but not Cliff! Wow. Say goodbye to Neon. "

ROFL.
 
Originally posted by: Arkaign
Old, but this subject always makes me post this : http://www.ag.auburn.edu/users/parmega/articles/neon/

"We were fender to fender with a fast 440-6 Challenger R/T. He ripped his piston-grip to second, but we pulled ahead. Clifford boiled the tires big-time into second gear, allowing the R/T to pull alongside. The Neon mini-motor wound tight-right to the rev limiter. Did Cliff lift? Did he back off? No chance! Ka-boom! A glowing three-foot fireball barked out of each side of the hood, and rolled back over the windshield. Cheeez! This actually caused the R/T driver to lift, but not Cliff! Wow. Say goodbye to Neon. "

ROFL.
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Good stuff. Thanks for the link.

 
The problem is that the prices at which former rentals are usually sold are way too high, regardless of the history of the vehicle. You can often buy the same car NEW for the same price, especially since rental cars are usually the loss-leader base-model crap cars that dealers use in ads to lure people into the showrooms. When you can buy a new base-model focus for $12,000, why the hell would you pay $15,000 for a used and abused one?
 
Originally posted by: thomsbrain
The problem is that the prices at which former rentals are usually sold are way too high, regardless of the history of the vehicle. You can often buy the same car NEW for the same price, especially since rental cars are usually the loss-leader base-model crap cars that dealers use in ads to lure people into the showrooms. When you can buy a new base-model focus for $12,000, why the hell would you pay $15,000 for a used and abused one?
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wth I think you are looking at the wrong stealerships 🙂

lawls at the nitro rental

 
I bought an '05 Mazda6 wagon in early '06 that was a rental with ~20K miles. I got it through my Dad who worked at an auction, so I paid under $11K for it, which was well under 50% of its MSRP new. I traded it in on my wife's minivan after 1.5 years and got more than I paid for it in trade-in value (which was actually quite a bit less than private party value at the time but I was happy enough with the price).

It never gave me any problems, but I completely understand why people are hesitant to do it.
 
"The motor was running a little rough (a slight understatement) and we're sure we bent at least one valve, or, more likely, blew the head off of a couple."...LOL..
 
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