Highest Mileage Rental Car You've Had?

[The Critic]

I rented a 2007 Matrix from ZipCar today. It had 64,000 miles on it!

I know that the economic situation has been a bit tough on the rental car industry, so rental car companies have been keeping their cars a bit longer. However, I did not expect to rent a car with 64k on it!

As a side note, the car was still in pretty good shape after 64k. The brakes, transmission and engine all worked fine. However, it was ready for its third set of tires.

So BITOGers, what's the highest mileage that you've ever seen on a rental car?

 

[Falcon_LS]

General rule of the thumb here is for a rental company to keep a vehicle until it hits 100,000 km (60,000 miles). At that point they require a major service, so they unload them. That said, the highest mileage rental I've ever had was at 54,000 km (33,750 miles) and it was a '07 Mitsubishi Pajero 3.8L V6 last year.

 

[bretfraz]

Some years ago I rented a Ford Taurus in Columbus, OH that had 69,000 miles on it.

The interior was supposed to be blue but the carpeting was so badly stained, it was impossible to see the original color. The interior reeked of cigarette smoke and Febreeze.

The car actually drove well considering how beat it was. I only needed it for a day so I didn't demand a replacement. In those days I was driving rental cars more than my personal car so having a beater for the day was kind of a strange but different experience.

 

[PF52]

Back in 1984, we rented a car at Flagstaff, AZ from Ugly Duckling Rent-a-Car for a trip up to the Grand Canyon. It was 11 years old! A big old Galaxie 500 or whatever the full-size Ford was in 1973. Unfortunately I don't remember the mileage, but it was a great car for what we needed, big and comfortable.

I wonder if Ugly Duckling is still in business?

 

[IndyIan]

Was Rent A Wreck just a canadian operation? I haven't heard about them for years.
My oldest car rental was a 96 Neon from a bike store in Winnipeg, cracked windshield, around 180000km. Still it was very cheap and got me to where I was going so I can't complain. I guess if it broke down it would be a PITA but it didn't.
Ian

 

[mstrjon32]

We had Rent-A-Wreck's in upstate NY, but that was quite some time ago. The one near where I lived closed at least 10 years ago.

Highest mileage rental I had was probably around 39K. I typically only rent cars for work, and get them from the big-name companies that seem to have relatively new (but not necessarily nice *cough*Versa*cough*) cars.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: mstrjon32
..Highest mileage rental I had was probably around 39K. I typically only rent cars for work, and get them from the big-name companies..


Same here. Out of countless rentals, I've never had one higher in mileage than that and never more than a year or two old model year. AFAIK, this is still common practice for the big name rental companies. 1-2yrs/ ~36Kmi and they're gone.

Joel

 

[opus1]

+1...or is that now +2?

The highest mileage rental I've had has been a year old and maybe 20,000 on the clock.

On the other hand, I vacationed in Colorado once and got a Pontiac 6000 with all of 160 miles on it. I broke the car in for them -- seriously, I put almost 1500 miles on it and didn't abuse the thing.

 

[addyguy]

I've never seen a high-mileage rental. The few I've had were practically brand-new.

 

[eljefino]

I had a UHaul box truck with 160,000 miles. Based on a chevy 454... wished it had diesel. Uhaul's rental contract says go ahead and check the oil, if you need some buy some and they'll pay you back!

The dash voltmeter dipped from 14v to 11v in time with the turn signal, and the Service Engine soon light was on. Was a pre-96 so probably something serious. I looked under the hood and a U-haul brand alternator had just been installed... with butt crimp connectors.

I made it where I was going, so I think the dash had a bad ground or something.

Steering had tons of play, it had an Arizona fleet registration so it wouldn't have to endure any sort of inspection like most northeastern states have.

The hood looked like someone dropped a bowling ball on it, the wierdest dent.

As cars go, had a camaro convertible with 26k.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
I rented a 2007 Matrix from ZipCar today. It had 64,000 miles on it!

Sticking to mainstream rental places...

About 6 weeks ago, I had an Accord from Avis which had just shy of 40,000 miles on it. Not only that, but it was just in horrible shape. The steering and front suspension was completely shot, tires out of balance (or the suspension so loose it just couldn't control normal vibrations), and the transmission was indecisive at best. I've never had a worse rental car, and that includes a few early Kia models that were my previous benchmark for rotten rental cars. My wife's 250,000+ mile car was in far better condition when we sold it than that Accord was.

My lowest-mileage rental was an 07 4.0L Chryler Pacifica (ironically very near the same place that I got the Accord) that had 7 miles on it. It had just rolled off the delivery truck. I'd never cared for "sporty" or "crossover" minivans like the Pacifica, Murano, CX-9, M-class and the like before that. I mean what's the point? A "sporty" package on a minivan is about like putting mud-terrain tires on a Viper and calling it an "offroader." But that Pacifica almost changed my mind. That big thing went like stink, rode quiet, and handled well.

 

[PT1]

None of the major rental companies have renewed their fleets this year. This is going to cause a major fleet demand very soon and change the dynamics of the used rental car makket significantly.

 

[mrsilv04]

I rented a Chevy Monte Carlo from Enterprise that still had the sticker in the passenger side window, and the plastic on the seats. They slapped a temp tag on it and sent me on my way.

I took it back three days later with 1700 miles on it... and never left the state.

I rented a brand new Grand Caravan (again, still had the plastic on the seats) several years back, and within 100 miles, the transmission had lost reverse.

Just a few weeks ago, I saw an Impala from Budget at the Indianapolis Airport with 46,000 miles on it. I passed on it, and grabbed something with a few less miles on it (a new Mazda 6)

 

[Patman]

I've had a lot of rental cars over the years (especially when I had my 95 Trans Am, that thing was in the dealer's service dept. about 30 times and most of those times they gave me a free rental) and most of the rentals I've had were nearly brand new, with less than 5000 miles on them. The most I ever recall was a Chevy Sprint (or was it a Pontiac Firefly?) that had 25,000 miles on it. That thing felt like it was on it's last legs!

 

[rjundi]

In Costa Rica I was about to rent a Toyota Yaris near brand new. I mentioned I was going to Monteverte which roads were rough. The rental agent was trying hard to rent me a RAV4 but I refused with triple the price.

Big mistake I learned latter. They gave me a Toyota Tercel with 100,000 km but stated higher clearance. I needed it. I was crossing (dry) riverbeds with 8" rocks and running water "roads". The car did wonderfully but I was white knuckled as I did not know how to contact anyone if I broke down.

Rent an SUV in Costa Rica.

 

[Drew2000]

Usually rent from Budget at major airports (tend to favor Fords), and I never got a car with more than 10-15k miles on the odo or more than a year old. Maybe they rotate out the older cars to less busy rental sites.

 

[RoGuE]

I had a 2006 G6 from Enterprise in October 2007. It had about 42 or 43,000 miles. The car was in excellent condition, except for the heavy cigarette smell and the burn holes all over the seats and the strange water damage all over the back seat.

 

[Mr Nice]

Most miles: Dodge Neon with about 44K miles
Least miles: Grand Marquis with only 1500 miles

Critic, you like renting cars ?

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Most miles: Dodge Neon with about 44K miles
Least miles: Grand Marquis with only 1500 miles

Critic, you like renting cars ?

No, the Saturn isn't in at home right now. So on the rare occasions that I need a car, I just rent one from ZipCar.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette

Least miles: Grand Marquis with only 1500 miles



I can't remember what kind of car it was, most likely a Grand Am (seemed to get a lot of those in 96 and 97) but I do recall that the lowest mileage rental I ever had was brand spankin new, I was the first person to rent it, as it had under 50km on it.