Buying A Former Rental 4Runner?

I have been looking to get into a 2020 SR5 Premium, and i am seeing some good prices on former rental cars. Is this something worth spending my time on? Or should i just wait for prices to come down.

 

Be weary. The abuse that rentals take isn't light. Maybe it would be fine, but I'd personally wait. Just my opinion though. It depends on how bad you really want it now, and what deal you are willing to take.

 

Definitely get I checked out by a trusted mechanic first before buying

 

If I do end up going to look at one I will make sure to get a PPI done and look over the car myself

 

my '19 was a former rental. maybe I just got lucky but she still handles great. 65k miles and still on original tires and brakes (a record in this family....)

 

How did the interior look on yours when you got it?

 

I would say it depends on where the rental was operated. I rented a T4R sr5 out of JFK (Hertz) in June of 2021. It was probably a 2020 based on the 25k mileage on the ODO. That truck was thrashed, inside and out. While it drove just fine, the stink inside as well as the nasty inside / outside could not be hidden. The truck was black (midnight).

EDIT: I have also rented T4R every year since 2019 at Boise, ID (Hertz) and they were all beautiful trucks. Well taken care of, and no issues.

 

Yeah, that's what I'm worried about, I think mechanically it will be fine but I don't know about the interior.

 

My 19 ORP was a rental.

I used to swear I'd never buy a rental because I know how I abuse them and I have to figure others abuse them similarly. Then I extra swore I'd never buy an OR because it has the T case lever and you just know 1/2 the idiots pulled it into 4wd at 80mph because they didn't know what it did.

But then I found a screaming deal on my 19 and after checking it out figured I'd take a chance on it. It needed new brake rotors from the get go but I know that going into it. Otherwise it's been perfect for 50k that I owned it. The needle bearings went out, too, now that I think about it... But that was not related to its status as a rental.


Odds are in your favor, really.

 

look it over carefully...and if the price appeals to you, buy it...or not....and look for another vehicle

 

I bought my 2020 SR5 premium with 15k miles, it was a rental and it was like new, just turned 50k and its been great!

 

Sounds like dirty Mike and the boys got a hold of that one you rented out of JFK.

 

missing the rear floor mat, but otherwise perfect. We've bought all of our vehicles for the last 16 years or so from a fixed price dealership that tends to get mostly rental/fleet vehicles and I think they vet them pretty carefully before they obtain them and put them on the lot.

 

Good to know, I will make sure to consider former rental cars in my search.

 

Caveat Emptor.

According to the following article, car rental companies are exempt from reporting damage and self-insure their vehicles, thus any damage to a rental car will not show up on a Carfax report:

https://www.moneysense.ca/columns/a...confirm-if-a-used-rental-has-been-in-a-crash/

Have a look at this article too:

https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news...records-carfax-enterprise-adesa-auto-auction/

Last month I looked at three 4Runners that were former rentals and spent most of my time examining the fit and finish of the body panels looking for evidence of repair. One of them clearly had been resprayed and the front right fender was not properly aligned to the hood and door. The Carfax? Clean.

One Consumer Reports article quoted Avis as saying that its average rental has 55 to 65 different drivers annually. You can well imagine that any sort of break-in period during the first 1,000 miles (as recommended by Toyota in their owner's manual) almost certainly never happens on any rental car.

Buyer beware.