I've seen some former rental units with as little as 7k miles and some with 30k miles.
Why the variation from the same major rental agency?
Why the variation from the same major rental agency?
Rental units mileage variations?
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My dad used to rent a car ocasionally. Most were brand new.Less than 1K on them.
Some outlets are busier than others.
Some cars are rotated out to pasture by months, not mileage.
Some cars are rotated out to pasture by months, not mileage.
Or they could have been in a big crash, and just got out of the body shop after 3-6 months.
Remember, almost everybody's Tony Stewart in a rent car.
Remember, almost everybody's Tony Stewart in a rent car.
Not only do I rent a lot of cars, I sell to a lot of fleets. Fleet management is far from a science and everyone uses a different formula. A ton depends if the cars are "risk" (where the fleet has to sell the car on their own) or "not risk" (where the auto maufacturer has a buy back program ie: program car).
It depends on the rental agency.
For example if you rent from Hertz, you'll likely get a car with low miles. I have read that companies like Alamo buy their cars after companies like hertz are finished with them (around 10k miles maybe?) and then Alamo runs them out to 30k miles or so.
I have noticed this a few times, and it explains why alamo's rates are significantly cheaper than tier one companies like hertz.
For example if you rent from Hertz, you'll likely get a car with low miles. I have read that companies like Alamo buy their cars after companies like hertz are finished with them (around 10k miles maybe?) and then Alamo runs them out to 30k miles or so.
I have noticed this a few times, and it explains why alamo's rates are significantly cheaper than tier one companies like hertz.
Rental companies will keep minivans in the fleets much longer than anything else. A minivan will normally stay in the fleet all the way up to 30,000 miles, whereas something like a Grand Prix may get out with as few as 7,000.
Yes, Alamo will buy cars from other companies and put them back into their fleet. A few years back, I rented a Grand Prix from Alamo (with had well over 30,000 miles), which formerly had been in Avis's fleet. That car was a complete POS.
Today, National and Alamo share their fleet.
As a rule, I rent with Budget first, Hertz second. I used to rent a lot with Alamo... but got tired of the cars being a crapshoot.
Yes, Alamo will buy cars from other companies and put them back into their fleet. A few years back, I rented a Grand Prix from Alamo (with had well over 30,000 miles), which formerly had been in Avis's fleet. That car was a complete POS.
Today, National and Alamo share their fleet.
As a rule, I rent with Budget first, Hertz second. I used to rent a lot with Alamo... but got tired of the cars being a crapshoot.
There are probably a number of things that play into it. "Upgrade" cars that cost more may not be rented out as much, so they could have lower miles. Also, higher cost vehicles like SUVs might stay in service longer.
A little story...a couple months back my Daewoo died and all the Kings men could not put her back together...I was left with a Patina Blue 1978 Pontiac Grand Prix...wifey blatantly refused to drive it...I went down to a local used car lot...saw a 2002 Chevrolet Prizm for with 72000 miles for $6500 told the guy I would give him $5000 cash...He said, "NO WAY!"...went home found out online that my offer was a little weak by seeing what others were paying for same car...Next week went back and offered $5500...Shook hands...went home and CarFaxed the Prizm and to my horror discovered that the first year of it's life was spent in Kansas City MO as a rental car...accumulating 24595 miles in that time...
5 years later...I am the third owner and she has almost 80000 miles...I flushed tranny...installed new tranny filter...replaced two interior door handles...new airfilter...and I am running a high quality synthetic...soon she gets new brakes...Runs good...cold AC...tranny shifts good...interior in okay shape...Overall I am happy but I bet this car wasn't serviced like it should have been as a rental...UOA of Valvoline 5w30 with 3000 miles showed a tbn of 1.3!!!...I have come to the conclusion that oil was changed not nearly enough to keep up with acid formation...
Please Carfax before you buy...not after as I did...I got lucky car seems to be okay...but why take chances...
5 years later...I am the third owner and she has almost 80000 miles...I flushed tranny...installed new tranny filter...replaced two interior door handles...new airfilter...and I am running a high quality synthetic...soon she gets new brakes...Runs good...cold AC...tranny shifts good...interior in okay shape...Overall I am happy but I bet this car wasn't serviced like it should have been as a rental...UOA of Valvoline 5w30 with 3000 miles showed a tbn of 1.3!!!...I have come to the conclusion that oil was changed not nearly enough to keep up with acid formation...
Please Carfax before you buy...not after as I did...I got lucky car seems to be okay...but why take chances...
My gf bought a Cavalier with a little over 100k on it, we did a Carfax on it just for fun when I had an account and was looking for a car of my own. It's first 2 owners were rental agencies, then it spent about 70,000 miles in some sort of corporate fleet before being auctioned off. The owner she bought it from had it for a couple months.
Turns out all it's ever had go wrong with it in the year and a few months she's owned it is a broken motor mount, and it's still going strong at 118,000. The interior is trashed, but that's more her fault than anything else.
Turns out all it's ever had go wrong with it in the year and a few months she's owned it is a broken motor mount, and it's still going strong at 118,000. The interior is trashed, but that's more her fault than anything else.
I do not think my truck was a rental, but it was in some sort of fleet as a Ford Program Vehicle...apparently somebody didn't pay their bills or went out of business because Ford repossessed it.
I have a Hertz location near the south hills of pittsburgh and they double as their used car lot. Most vehicles there are known to be the "best of the best" at least on the local level. I have never bought one(can't afford em!) from them but I have heard 2nd and 3rd hand that they seem solid and no one I know has had any major troubles with those cars. They are all 2004+ and start at 4K for cheap cars and range all the way to 13-15K for the SUVs. Nothing in the high range really, but nice.
I suppose any fleet vehicle is a higher risk to buy. As a couple here mentioned, people beat em like they stole em.
Most of my friends looked at me like I was insane for buying a retired 1998 model cop car. "You know how BEAT that thing is?!?". All depends on maintainence work.
I suppose any fleet vehicle is a higher risk to buy. As a couple here mentioned, people beat em like they stole em.
Most of my friends looked at me like I was insane for buying a retired 1998 model cop car. "You know how BEAT that thing is?!?". All depends on maintainence work.
I bought my 2006 Monte Carlo as a rental with 9400 miles on the clock at the end of this past February. So far I've run it up to 22,500 miles and it's been great; only had one big problem about a week after I got it, the oil pan was replaced (evidently because it was dented) and the tech didn't torque the bolts on the A/C compressor properly, causing it to drag and subsequently snap the belt. Chevy paid for a rental (a Buick LaCrosse, for 5 or 6 days, I don't remember) and reimbursed the hotel night (I was on a trip) and the gas I used to go pick the car up and return the rental.
When I purchased the car I had run a Carfax and knew it was a rental, I only later found out (the service manager gave me a print out of the vehicle details from their internal system) that it was owned by Hertz and operated in San Francisco, California. I saved $10,000 over the cost of a new one and couldn't be more pleased.
As long as the car has not been in any major accident (which to someone with even rudimentary training can immediately spot) and is clean and runs properly, I have no qualms about buying an ex-rental and saving thousands and thousands of dollars. In fact, I'd sooner buy an ex-rental than an off-lease, as with the rental at least someone is taking care of maintenance (the rental company) where as with the lease the owner often does the absolute bare minimum to meet lease requirements.
As for mileage, when renting the Buick, I actually asked the manager about how they determine when to sell off the cars. He said that for them (Enterprise, who is my favorite rental company) it is based on the market value of the car over time versus the amount of time the car is rented. For example a high-end rental (like a Cadillac) may not get rented often, and will lose value quickly, and thus will be taken out of service much sooner than a Cobalt which is rented often, and does not lose value as quickly as the more expensive cars. Thus the less popular, more expensive cars (such as my Monte Carlo, for instance) get taken out of service sooner than the cheaper, more often rented cars (like the Cobalt or whatever).
When I purchased the car I had run a Carfax and knew it was a rental, I only later found out (the service manager gave me a print out of the vehicle details from their internal system) that it was owned by Hertz and operated in San Francisco, California. I saved $10,000 over the cost of a new one and couldn't be more pleased.
As long as the car has not been in any major accident (which to someone with even rudimentary training can immediately spot) and is clean and runs properly, I have no qualms about buying an ex-rental and saving thousands and thousands of dollars. In fact, I'd sooner buy an ex-rental than an off-lease, as with the rental at least someone is taking care of maintenance (the rental company) where as with the lease the owner often does the absolute bare minimum to meet lease requirements.
As for mileage, when renting the Buick, I actually asked the manager about how they determine when to sell off the cars. He said that for them (Enterprise, who is my favorite rental company) it is based on the market value of the car over time versus the amount of time the car is rented. For example a high-end rental (like a Cadillac) may not get rented often, and will lose value quickly, and thus will be taken out of service much sooner than a Cobalt which is rented often, and does not lose value as quickly as the more expensive cars. Thus the less popular, more expensive cars (such as my Monte Carlo, for instance) get taken out of service sooner than the cheaper, more often rented cars (like the Cobalt or whatever).
Why did Chevy pay for a rental for a problem on a vehicle that wasn't warrantable? (faulty damage repair).
I think they call that warranty fraud.
I think they call that warranty fraud.
Chevy did the oil pan (this was prior to me buying the car, it's on their service forms) and Chevy screwed it up. Thus, Chevy paid to fix it. Pretty simple.
No, Chevy didn't screw it up. The dealer screwed it up when he didn't do the repair properly, and left the bolts loose. The dealer should pay, not Chevy.
That's warranty fraud.
That's warranty fraud.
It is Chevrolet and GM's promise to cover and protect their customers when the vehicle has a mechanical problem during the warranty period. I did not deceive or mislead anyone, and it is NOT fraud, thank you very much.
In fact, maybe before you throw such strong words around you should know what they mean, from the Random House dictionary, fraud: "deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage." During no time did myself nor the dealership attempt to deceive or trick any other dealership or Chevrolet. I did not feign a mechanical failure, nor did I intentionally damage the vehicle in an attempt to achieve some type of personal or monetary gain. The vehicle suffered an in-warranty mechanical failure; whether it was due to someone at the factory not tightening those bolts or the dealer's service department is irrelevant; work performed by ANY dealer is warrantied by any network dealer, implicitly. Chevrolet went above and beyond their responsibilities to fix the situation through it's dealer network and set the problem straight.
I should also add that the rental car and hotel stay weren't even part of my warranty coverage. The service representative on the phone, I later found out when I went to file my claim, was new and did not understand that the 150+ miles from home trip protection only applied to Oldsmobile and GMC. Out of goodwill, Chevrolet decided to provide me with this coverage anyway since I had been so badly inconvenienced. I never lied, complained, or pressured anyone to provide me with the coverage, they simply offered it to me and I accepted it.
It could not be any more simple.
In fact, maybe before you throw such strong words around you should know what they mean, from the Random House dictionary, fraud: "deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage." During no time did myself nor the dealership attempt to deceive or trick any other dealership or Chevrolet. I did not feign a mechanical failure, nor did I intentionally damage the vehicle in an attempt to achieve some type of personal or monetary gain. The vehicle suffered an in-warranty mechanical failure; whether it was due to someone at the factory not tightening those bolts or the dealer's service department is irrelevant; work performed by ANY dealer is warrantied by any network dealer, implicitly. Chevrolet went above and beyond their responsibilities to fix the situation through it's dealer network and set the problem straight.
I should also add that the rental car and hotel stay weren't even part of my warranty coverage. The service representative on the phone, I later found out when I went to file my claim, was new and did not understand that the 150+ miles from home trip protection only applied to Oldsmobile and GMC. Out of goodwill, Chevrolet decided to provide me with this coverage anyway since I had been so badly inconvenienced. I never lied, complained, or pressured anyone to provide me with the coverage, they simply offered it to me and I accepted it.
It could not be any more simple.
I did not mean to infer you did anything wrong sir. The manufacturer does not pay for dealer screwups, the dealer does. Billing the manufacturer for a problem caused by incorrect repair is warranty fraud by the dealer.
Your vehicle did not last over a year and 9000 miles with loose bolts on the a/c compressor from the factory. Someone at a dealership did a repair necessitating the loosening or removal of the a/c compressor and did not tighten the bolts properly.
Of course, you did nothing to cause the problem. And the manufacturer did nothing to cause the problem. Therefore the dealer should foot the bill, including the rental.
Sounds like the dealer didn't do a good inspection on the vehicle before you purchased it, or that problem would have been caught. When warranty audit time comes around, the dealer may very well get charged back the entire cost of this repair. Or if they find a few more like it, he/she (the dealer) will want to hire a good attorney. Manufacturers take fraud very seriously.
Best of luck in the future with your Monte Carlo.
Your vehicle did not last over a year and 9000 miles with loose bolts on the a/c compressor from the factory. Someone at a dealership did a repair necessitating the loosening or removal of the a/c compressor and did not tighten the bolts properly.
Of course, you did nothing to cause the problem. And the manufacturer did nothing to cause the problem. Therefore the dealer should foot the bill, including the rental.
Sounds like the dealer didn't do a good inspection on the vehicle before you purchased it, or that problem would have been caught. When warranty audit time comes around, the dealer may very well get charged back the entire cost of this repair. Or if they find a few more like it, he/she (the dealer) will want to hire a good attorney. Manufacturers take fraud very seriously.
Best of luck in the future with your Monte Carlo.
It's hard to find a mid-size/large domestic sedan 1-2 years old that wasn't a former rental unit around here.
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