Abused Rental Cars

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Originally Posted By: brianl703
I think I'd rather buy the car where the guy was being honest about how he drove it, figuring that he's being honest about everything else.

The other guy who claims he drove it gently, well, there's no way to prove it, one way or the other, which is true for any other claim he makes about the car which is not backed by documentation.

But this is a useless hypothetical because it never happens in the real world.

Still didn't answer the question. You dodged it and gave my imaginary 'easy on the car' driver a doubt as to his honesty while hinting that the abuser is 'honest'. Funny way to NOT answer a question designed to validate my point.
So ok...YOU WIN. Driving WOT does no real harm to any vehicle and will not cause ANY car a shorter life. As a matter of fact this is why rentals AND race cars last sooo long. Yep folks...there you have it! Floor it daily and frequently and all will be well.
Have a great one Brian.
 
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Still didn't answer the question. You dodged it and gave my imaginary 'easy on the car' driver a doubt as to his honesty while hinting that the abuser is 'honest'.


I dodged it? My imaginary 'easy on the car' driver is lying to make the sale. My imaginary 'abuser' is being honest.

Sorry that my imagination is different from yours, but that's why it's a useless hypothetical.

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Driving WOT does no real harm to any vehicle and will not cause ANY car a shorter life.


As I said before, you are free to find some evidence that driving at WOT more often than whatever it is you consider reasonable causes undue engine wear and present it here.

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As a matter of fact this is why rentals AND race cars last sooo long.


You're bringing up RACE CARS? Apples and oranges.

As far as rentals, my mom had an ex-rental '91 Ford Escort that went 120K with no problems until she sold it. (Well, that's not quite true--it had an oxygen sensor code that I fixed by--you guessed it--taking it out on the highway and doing some hard accelerations. I supposed this cleaned the O2 sensor by getting it hotter than normal).

She current has an ex-rental '04 Malibu Classic with 45K on it that also has had no problems save for a strut noise for which there was a TSB (fixed under warranty).

Quote:
Floor it daily and frequently and all will be well.


Especially when merging onto a busy highway!
 
Race cars are engineered to go fast, they are not engineered for durability. That is why they don't last long-- longevity beyond that required to win the race is not a consideration when the race car is engineered.

By way of contrast, a production vehicle IS engineered for durability, and those smart engineers DO take into account that the vehicle is operated at WOT, sometimes often--and make the appropriate design decisions to ensure that the vehicle will be durable under those conditions.
 
Yes....you dodged my question. No point....doesn't matter. You have your opinion and you aren't willing to concede one inch...neither am I. We'll just have to agree to disagree.
Like I said man....have a great day.
 
Really, I'd like to see some oil analysis results from a car that's regularly driven at WOT (twice a day, we'll say) vs. one that isn't, all else being equal. The results will quantify the additional wear, and then we can be certain.

Till then..have a great day!
 
I'll just throw in Ford's test procedure which ensures that an engine design is durable enough for sale. They run the engine at WOT for 300 hours straight while cycling between the torque peak and the power peak. This is done for all their engines, including the supercharged 550 hp/500 lb-ft Ford GT.

I know I've posted this info before a couple of times, but I find it interesting and it's related so here it is again!
 
Originally Posted By: brianl703
In fact, I think going WOT on a regular basis is GOOD for an engine.


I'm with you, seriously. When I had the engine in my '97 Monte apart (to change the intake gaskets) at 194K miles, the internals looked shiny and new. A peek into the combustion chambers revealed little to no carbon build up, and the car didn't smoke or struggle. I hit it full-tilt more than once a day. I sold it shifting perfectly and pulling hard. The rot that developed from 8 New York winters was going to finish that car off long before the engine ever had a problem.

The rest of you can drive however you want, but if I see open road in front of me and its safe to do, I'm hitting it! It's fun and there is no reason not to.
 
I came in late on this thread and I have to agree that abuse of a rental is indeed vandalism. In all the rentals I have driven, I have treated them like my own automobile. I was raised to respect another person's property and to treat theirs like I would my own.

That is the reason why I would never buy a rental or anything used if at all possible. I buy things for the long haul and there is no telling how much service life was taken off the back end of something by some inconsiderate clod. It costs me a little more, but the peace-of-mind is worth it.
 
If the rental company does the maintenance and fluid changes I dont see why the cars would be a huge risk.

On the other hand at SDAC there are a couple guys who fly in every years since they live so far away and pick up a rental and hook up nitrous for the day at the strip and some parking lot fun at the host hotel. I think they have done CTS, 300C and Charger RT.

they got the 300C to run low 12's with a 150 shot. Of course they have to buy a set of rear tires but as one said, best 560$ I ever spent :)
 
i just bought an 09 santafe from fuccillos auto mall it had 9000 miles on it.it was a rental car as were my last two.i never had any problems with any of them plus i get the blance of the 5 year 60000 mile warrenty and saved thousands.
 
This thread reminds me of the segment in the Jacka$$ movie where they took the rental car to the demolition derby, then towed it back to the rental place and ran...
 
Originally Posted By: ernied
i just bought an 09 santafe from fuccillos auto mall it had 9000 miles on it.it was a rental car as were my last two.i never had any problems with any of them plus i get the blance of the 5 year 60000 mile warrenty and saved thousands.


Yep, my 2008 SF was also a rental, but bought from a GMC/Pontiac/Cadillac dealer ($14900 vs $22K new) . I'm happy to have not seen it in a any U-2oob videos. FWIW, I've had 3 rentals, a 1993 Nissan Sentra, 2005 Chevy Trailblazer and now the HunDie. I've not had any issues, but I do go over them pretty well, change ALL the lubes, fluids, etc. On the 1993 Sentra, the trans did blow at ~63Kmi, but at the time Nissan covered it 100% and then some. That was also way before my BITOG days.

Joel
 
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