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YACT: Are ex-rentals bad?

Spikesoldier

Spikesoldier

Diamond Member
I thought this was a spectacular deal I heard on the radio, until I found out after test driving and looking around that it was a car that had service with a rental company.

Specs:

2001 Chevrolet Impala
~45,000 Miles
V6 3.8L
Auto
Power Everything

Heres the kicker: $8,995.00.

With my trade in, craptastic minivan, it comes out to be about 8300 with TT&L costs.

Thoughts?
 
maybe, that all depends, see if they have service records, and EVERYTHING for the car!!, check the engine, underneath, check for rust spots, do anything you can to the car to make sure its all there

MIKE
 
According to Edmunds' TMV, that car is worth about $9500 on trade-in, $11,800 dealer retail but that's assuming a single private owner. Ex-rentals are priced cheap for a reason: they are beat. I'd never buy one.
 
My friend has an ex-rental, he got it dirt cheap. But then again, his dad is a mechanic and owns his own shop...
 
I wouldn't buy it unless it has had an incredibly thorough inspection or they throw in an extended warranty for free or cheap.
 
A lot of miles for a rental, not sure I would want to buy one. Ever rented a car? I just run them through speed bumps and bottom out without a second thought.
 
Think about how you treat a rental car, then realize hundreds of people have done that to the car you are thinking of purchasing.
 
I wouldn't take a rental, but you might be able to find a car that is off-lease almost as cheap. I got a one-year-old Olds Cutlass Supreme with 31K miles that someone had leased for a year. I figured the only way that one owner could put that many miles on a car in a year is with all highway driving. So while it had a lot of miles, it wasn't beat. It was a little over half the price of a new car. I've had it six years with no mechanical problems.
 
Ever heard of the saying "drive it like a rental" goes right along with "drive it like you stole it".

Rentals = abused cars
 
my friends buick skylark was an ex-rental car (avis) and it ran good. The only major thing we had was that it needed a front end readjustment after my friend caught some air on that car. THe car otherwise ran great. Got us around CA no problems and it drove to canada and back with no problems. When he sold it, it had close to 90K. We bought it with 30K on the clock, it was a 1997 model.

The car had its regular service at the buick dealer and nothing out of the way to get fixed. Nothing more than a grand (we had to get new tyres at one point and tehn it got a timing belt change at 60K).

My mom's car is an Ex-Chrysler test car. Hers was really abused I am for sure, but it was maintained too. The car runs fine... no problems with it. Its got 88K+ miles and still runs strong. What is it, a 1997 Dodge Neon 2D coupe (power everything execpt cruise).

I dont see anythign wrong.. as long as it isnt a car that teenagers and young immature ppl rent your cool.
 
My mom's '00 camry was a rental for a year in north dakota before she bough it from a dealer. Shes only had it for a year, so it'll be awhile before we can tell if it was smart to buy it, but it had regular maintenance and everything looked spotless, so hopefully she wont have any trouble. This post didnt help much, sorry.
 
At least you know it was properly maintained, which is more than you can say about a lot of used cars out there. Most people don't go racing their rental cars in an area they don't know well, so the only thing I would worry about is the suspension.
 
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