Purchase a Former Rental?

Long ago my wife worked for Enterprise and I'd bet their maintenance schedule is better than most average Joes. It's a big investment for the company and they want to maintain them well. Whether dealers follow the same program is anybody's guess.

 

Well, we bought a used rental 4Runner. It will replace a Subaru Forester that my daughter owned and loved for a few years. It was totaled in an accident on April 1st (no injuries thank God.) She spends a lot of time camping in her vehicle and the Forester was a little small for the purpose, requiring a rooftop box to help hold all her gear, which includes mountain climbing crash pads. Time was an issue, and having scoured the area for options, the pickings were slim. A Toyota dealer about an hour away had several rental 4Runners to choose from, and I crawled under all of them. (On a rainy day. I should have brought a change of clothes.) The ‘21 SR5 we picked was straight, clean, and rust free. I looked in every nook and cranny underneath and couldn’t see any sign that the car had ever been off-road. No dirt built up on top of the unscratched skid plates. Not a blemish underneath. We got an extended warranty that extends the bumper to bumper coverage out to 180k miles. Believe me when I say that I take seriously the warnings against buying a rental that so many of you offered, but my daughter goes to school out of state and we had just a few days to get a replacement vehicle. The day following the purchase we drove from L.A. to Colorado and the SR5 performed brilliantly. Knock on wood this decision doesn’t come back to bite me in the butt.

Thanks everyone for your advice. We’re a two-4Runner family now.

 

i would be confident in buying a fleet 4R. it’s notoriously high reliability backed by an extended warranty definitely makes up for some of that “rental car risk”.

i understand your extra concern since it is something for your daughter. glad it’s worked out so far and your trip was safe.

 

Consumer Reports mentioned in an article that rental cars have about 55 to 65 different drivers annually and break-in periods are almost certainly not followed.

Another thing to note is that rental companies don't report vehicle damage to Carfax as they self-insure and repair vehicles themselves.

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

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

Section 4 here:

https://www.consumerreports.org/car...-yourself-when-buying-a-used-car-a7040550851/

 

That's why you give them a good looking over before purchase. Fwiw, my last mercedes that was totaled out last month was also a fleet vehicle ... bought it at 8k and put almost 50k on it with 0 issues and handled the accident like a champ. Again, I wouldn't be any more worried than I would be buying any used vehicle. I used to heavily modify cars and return them to mostly stock before trading them in. You really don't know either way what you're getting. Best bet is to just look it over really well yourself or take it to an independent shop for an inspection prior to purchase either way. My .02

 

But every rental has probably been beat.

 

Not likely, most people use rentals to get from point A to B for a short amount of time and most don't want to get charged for any excessive damage that might happen due to abuse.

The main point is its always a gamble to purchase used whether POV, fleet vehicle, lease turn in or rental without doing a careful inspection.

 

Here's my recently closed story...

2020 TRD Off-Road. Former Avis rental BUT before driving an hour to the dealership, I reviewed the Toyota Certified Used Vehicle 160-point inspection. Everything was perfect.

Whoever inspected the thing was on drugs, didn't do the inspection, or was lying.

I took it in with three trips to service. On the third visit, they had it a week and I went back thinking it was worked on. Instead, they offered to buy it back (100% refund)... after a year.

I went in thinking I didn't have options because of inventory issues back in 2022. I accepted scratches and dings. Having "a lot of play" in the front wheels, not cool.

I'm buying a new 23TRDORP with 4 miles (maybe 6, I forget) on it.


CPO TCUV

 

would you marry a used lady of the night if I certify her?

never take on unnecessary baggage…. If she rented, no one cares if she’s dented.

 

This is interesting. A former Avis rental vehicle and I suppose it had a clean CarFax -- not that a clean CarFax matters on a former rental vehicle. (See my post #34 above.)

What was so wrong with it that they offered to buy it back for 100% of purchase price after one year?

 

Oh my gosh that’s a funny come back!

 

Buying rental doesn't guarantee it's been abused any more or less than a non-rental vehicle.

 

It had no Carfax. It had a series of problems with mechanical function, physical condition, electrical issues and noise problems caused by incorrectly done repairs.

I was told it wouldn't qualify for TCUV and would be put on auction.

After a week of driving around in a horrible RAV4 loaner (I hate that 8-speed transmission), I went in with a checklist of things and we didn't touch on it. There was no talk of repair, only a buyback.

I must add, we did have a good talk about some performance issues that were actually emissions programming changes on the transmission. So, if your transmission is in a strangely low gear coasting downhill, it is because of the programming.

 

Umm…. The hell it doesn’t.

you ever seen the brain trust that manages a rental fleet? Or the fact that they do NOTHING for PM they just hammer them and ship them out.

 

I used to rent cars weekly and quite frankly I could care less about them; I parked them wherever, drove them on dirt roads I would not take my own car on and just did not care.

I remember being in Chicago years ago with a buddy in rental Taurus coming out of a bar and the damn car was blocked in by people that left no space to get out of a parallel spot on the street. My buddy looked at me and said let’s go. I said huh how?

He said Mac that’s why they call these “bumpers”. We simply bump the car in front of us and behind us to make some space to get out. Sure enough that’s exactly what he did and off we went. Glad that was not my car all scuffed to crap.

 

It's not just intentional bumper cars too...

For a 4Runner, it could be a distracted parent on vacation in a strange town who spears a curb or two. Maybe someone who thinks speed bumps are mini jump ramps. Maybe someone who doesn't know that it needs to be fully stopped and in neutral before switching to 4-Low. It could also be neglected and never switched to 4WD on a monthly basis. Or 30k differential and transfer case fluids not being changed. Worst could be someone who is renting for rough handling or towing purposes.

It only takes one incident. Plus, like with mine, repairs aren't documented.

 

My thoughts are still the same in here. Mine is a past rental. I looked it over really well prior to buying it. They had others on the lot that weren't rentals. This one seemed to be in the closest to perfect shape. Only thing that was slightly off is that the bumper under the passenger headlight sticks out a bit. Was probably bumped at one point and maybe broke the tab. I need to take it apart and look at it. That being said had I bought one of the others I couldn't be sure it wasn't taken off road and beat on either. If and when I trade mine in, it will be returned to stock first. It will look like it was just normal use to whomever buys it next. I've repaired vehicles before and didn't use insurance, therefore there would be no record of damage. You just can never know.

Best you can do, no matter what, is inspect it thoroughly and if you don't feel competent doing that yourself, take it to an independent reliable shop to be inspected. You'll never know the history of the vehicle.

 

@wax poetic

You know that front bumper alignment thing on the passenger side... That is common. Somebody once joked that if it was fitting perfectly, that it had probably been worked on.

Even though it's made in the Lexus factory, that panel alignment thing is a long running consistent inconsistency.

 

Exactly. I have the same issue on my passenger side. I think the only fix for that misalignment is to remove the bumper cover (mine's never been off) and try to reshape that spot with a heat gun.

In reference to the previously rented vehicle issue - we got a 2018 Kia Soul from Hertz for my wife in 2019, and that little car has worked like new since.

 

Thanks guys! Dealer told me that but I had my reservations, but like I said, I inspected this thing thoroughly before buying and that was the only thing I could find at all off. There wasn't even any rust anywhere underneath the vehicle.

 

A co-worker has a 2018 SR5 that both sides are way off. That would drive me nuts. My passenger side sticks out maybe 1/8". and you really have to look for it.

 

My ORP is a former Hertz rental. I bought it at 24,000 miles.

I initially was opposed to buying a rental for fear of renters abusing it, and I actually rejected that exact one at first, but the price and options and availability eventually brought me back around to it.

It needed new front brake rotors right away which I knew when I test drove it, and eventually the needle bearings in the diff had to get replaced with the ECGS bushing due to failure; but other than that it has been flawless in the 45,000 miles that I have put on it - legit off road stuff and high speed interstate work and everything in between.

Ultimately my decision point was this: despite my concerns of renter abuse there is probably no one actually harder on a rental than I am on my own cars, so what the hell was I concerned with? It would basically be like me buying a car from me....

 

My sister was regional manager at Enterprise. She swears by buying the rentals because they follow a strict maintenance schedule. However, with the toyota's they follow a 10k mile change. I know i dont wait that long. Plus people tend to beat on rental cars. So I wouldnt buy a rental but that is just me. I see how people maintain their cars and thats what always has me buying new OR I will buy used if they have the detailed maintenance records.

 

isn't the official TSB fix velcro?

 

hahaha, is this true? That's hilarious if so

 

Yes, People would be surprised the amount of TSBs that include the use of "double sided tape" or some other type of ....In my opinion, Chincy materials to correct minor issues.

 

what….?

they sell them at 30k they destroy them.

buddy ran a branch.

 

I’m not sure. I’d want to know about your 160 point inspection procedure.

 

Wait a minute….

would any of you buy a lightly used mattress from a hotel?

or do you know what people do to hotels they rent? Maybe a car isn’t far off….. I for one know of someone who got blackout drunk and proceeded to throw up all over the car door. They wiped it all out but guess what, a pile of it got into the door card at the window opening.

then there’s the hot rodding, off roading, using the wrong gas, fluid leaks from damage, suspension nightmare from potholes and curbs……

oh my.

edit: what about furniture from a bus terminal?

 

I bought a former rental 4R, 32000 miles. It had some torn weatherstripping and needed new floor mats, but everything else was fine. Also interesting, it was the only 4R I looked at that didn't have a smell.

One thing to note is that neither the air filter, cabin filter, nor diff fluid had been changed. The selling dealer (not the rental company) changed the oil, so we'll never know how that was.

So far everything has been normal, but I really haven't owned it long (2 years and 27000 miles). We also checked out some former rentals that were in pretty rough shape, so ymmv.