Buying a former rental car

[MoGas]

I would only like first hand experience here. Not "My brother's ex wife's second cousin did this...." or "I heard about this guy...." or "I saw on the interwebs that...."

Would you or have you buy/bought a former rental car?


What was/is your experience?


If you have, would you do it again?


Here is my situation.

2008 Ford Expedition XLT 5.4L, 4x4, well optioned.
<35K miles
Still has balance of factory 3 year / 36,000 miles basic warranty, 5 year / 60,000 miles Drivetrain warranty, 5 year / 60,000 miles Roadside assistance, and 5 year / Unlimited miles Corrosion warranty.

Certified Pre Owned. (provides additional warranty)

It was a rental in Hawaii in a pretty exclusive resort area by a big name rental company.

The price is in the mid to high 20's.

Drives very nice and looks to be in very nice condition.

Carfax is clean.


Thanks,
Dave

 

[Tuffy]

I would see if I can take it to my mechanic and see how the mechanic feels about the car

 

[nvycrmn]

for mid to high 20's, i would keep looking. rentals are NOT very well taken care of. i rented a brand new tahoe last time i went home and had to get it replaced 3 days later. i personally would try to stray away from rental vehicles. i bought a minivan from carmax, which deals mostly with rentals, and had nothing but problems with it. i wont buy another rental, but that is just me. like i said, you can find something just as nice, if not better, for that price and i am sure someone has taken care of it.

 

[mic_1011]

i too would stay away from rentals for the same reasons they are not taken care of and people beat them up, don't warm them up and the 35k rental miles might as well be 100k miles the way those are driven

 

[JUST4FUN]

just bought a taurus it was a fleet car.it has all the bells loaded to the max
35.000 dollar car got it 26.000 and it was 8months old. it did have 23000 miles full warrinty. yes im happy

 

[KWT2000]

i bought a ford contour 2000 in 03 fully loaded had 21k on the clock paid $9000 for it./ trans went out 3 months after i bought it then at 37000 miles i lost a head gasket... ive had 2 other 2.5 v6 that i took well over 250,000 miles with no major problems... so i know the rental company did the recomended services but you also have to treat the car right while driving and no one does that with a rental.... never will do that again

 

[panda24619]

naw i never would just cause i know how they are treated. ive seen rentals stolen in hawaii and driven like mad and returned like shit. then the rental company puts money into fixing it and then sells it. also i would buy government auction cars/trucks. better deals. my expo is a gov auction truck. missing gas tank when 1st bought but my cousin put one in. and my dads tundra was also a gov auction truck. 14000 miles for $16000. he can still sell it for over $20,000. this was about 3-4 years now... i dont remember. you just get better deals from those auctions. they are usually drug runners from mexico. thats here in SD and LA though. but they are 100% guaranteed to start. thats it. not drive or run. just start, but thats still something.

 

[SOLISIMO]

Thats the same concept as to when I hear people saying that buying old police cars is worth it bc they are service every 3k miles.

1. Im always over my 3k mike service

2. I rag on that car sooooo much that I feel bad for whomever gets it next

 

[nvycrmn]

thats funny solisimo! i would never buy a police car, you see how they drive on cops! hahahha. man i cant wait to be 5-0.

 

[JUST4FUN]

Thats the same concept as to when I hear people saying that buying old police cars is worth it bc they are service every 3k miles.

1. Im always over my 3k mike service

2. I rag on that car sooooo much that I feel bad for whomever gets it next

i fix vics (cop cars) yes you guys really work the crap out of them,so we have no prob spending money on them what ever they needto keep the officer safe
is my motto brakes are replaced just below 50% oil changed at 2500miles
we use the extra 500 miles as idle time.. the cars are the officers to take home so no sharing car life is 5 to 6 years

 

[00XLT]

No I haven't but I would consider for a good price. Considering that it still have factory warranty left on it is a plus to. I would take it to a mechanic and have a once over done and if you can get closer to the low end of the 20s I would go for it.

 

[Iowa Redneck]

No way, I used to work for a rental company. If the consumer doesn't beat the s**t out of the rental cars the employee's make sure it is done. That's just my experience, but if you like it, have it checked out by a mechanic first. If everything checks out then go for it. Just be careful and get it checked out!!

 

[bobthegod]

It really all depends on the rental company. Is it a big name like Hertz or Avis, these companies do take vare of their cars and maintain them well beyond what's required. Also most big name companies keep very good maintenance records of each vehicle and if you ask you see the records and see what they did or did not do to it. My '03 EB was a rental return. Got it with 18k on the clock and now I've got 112k and still no problems. I was able to check (and keep) their records. I'm totally satisfied with mine.

 

[SOLISIMO]

It really all depends on the rental company. Is it a big name like Hertz or Avis, these companies do take vare of their cars and maintain them well beyond what's required. Also most big name companies keep very good maintenance records of each vehicle and if you ask you see the records and see what they did or did not do to it. My '03 EB was a rental return. Got it with 18k on the clock and now I've got 112k and still no problems. I was able to check (and keep) their records. I'm totally satisfied with mine.

Fleet maintains my crown vic very well too. They have records of what they have done to the car too. But what they dont have records of is me driving over sidewalks/medians to go after someone, me throwing it in reverse at 30mph for an evasive maneuver, me playing bumper cars with another Deputy at a red light etc....

moral of the story. You can have a fairy tale story (on record) of whats been done to the car, you will not have a descriptive story of each individual that drove the car. That is a chance that I will not take.

 

[bobthegod]

Well your right some do misuse, abuse the cars. But the majority just drive them normally and the chance you get one the was abused is small. You take your chances with a car from a dealer also. Who hasn't traded a car in they know was a piece of S*** and saw it on the lot later. And who knows what you get from a private seller. We all take our chances and hope we don't get screwed. So far.....I've been lucky....doesn't hurt that I check them out real good. One thing I do if I buy from a private seller is check out what else he/she has.....look at their other cars....how they keep their house....how the garage looks etc. If you take care of your stuff if shows and if you don't that shows too. Anyway good luck and buy with caution.

 

[Tigster]

My truck was a Ford exec car, no problems at all. It was 1 year old 22K miles when I got it. But I paid 21k for it, it is a pretty loaded Eddie bauer