Would you buy a rental return car?

[ctrcbob]

Hey JeepZJ4.0,
He said FreeStyle, not FreeStar. Quite different.

Now to question at hand. Buy an rental return NO NO NO.
Buy an Off Lease from a Dealer, YES YES YES. Before a leasee can return the lease car, it has to be in almost perfect shape, or they have to pay beaucoup bucks to get it done. I hear those horror stories all the time about guys trying to return a lease car and having the lease company or dealer Nit Picking every little thing on the car. When the lease car is returned, it had better be perfect, and you can get a good deal on one. (This is how I purchased my 02 Continental, plus two earlier 98 Continentals, which were all great cars, no problems).

 

[rpn453]

If it has no evidence of abuse, still has factory warranty, and is cheap enough that you could eat the cost of a major repair and still come out ahead, I'd go for it.

Any used vehicle could have been subjected to abuse. Some cars get abused every day by their owners. It's probably better to buy a used vehicle that was occasionally abused by different people than one that was abused every day of its life!

 

[ccs v2.0]

Search for rental in youtube and you'll find plenty of idiots abusing rentals.

Anyone up for a sedate Grand Marquis rental?

 

[CBDFrontier06]

I think the severity of abuse will differ greatly between a renter and an owner. I'd be far more likely to buy a car with 8000 miles on it from a private owner than from a rental joint.

 

[brianl703]

You have to ask yourself why someone would buy a brand new car and then sell it only 8000 miles later. Were they having problems with it or couldn't they afford it?

At least with rental cars you know why they're being sold.

 

[CBDFrontier06]

A brand new car with 8000 miles in the hands of an individual will have full warranty coverage. A rental will not. Cop cars, rental fleet cars, and similarly-utilized vehicles come with no factory warranty coverage, so I stand by my choice.

 

[brianl703]

Quote:

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Buy an Off Lease from a Dealer, YES YES YES. Before a leasee can return the lease car, it has to be in almost perfect shape, or they have to pay beaucoup bucks to get it done.

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There was a .PDF from 76 Lubricants (I think, it had the 76 logo on it) about API SL when it first came out. One of the things it mentioned about API SL is that it has improved "long drain" capability because "manufacturers want to protect their investment in leased vehicles".

I believe that's saying, in a roundabout way, it's a common thing for people to lease vehicles and never change the oil or change it infrequently.

 

[brianl703]

Quote:

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A brand new car with 8000 miles in the hands of an individual will have full warranty coverage. A rental will not. Cop cars, rental fleet cars, and similarly-utilized vehicles come with no factory warranty coverage, so I stand by my choice.

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Where did you get this information from, that rental cars have no factory warranty coverage? Because it's, uhh, well, it's just plain wrong[1]. I'm also pretty sure that police cars and other fleet vehicles get factory warranty coverage too, as the local city government likes to justify new fleet vehicles by saying they'll get a factory warranty on them when the vehicle they want to replace no longer has one.

[1]My mom has a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Classic which was an ex-rental which is a "GM Certified" used car (for whatever that's worth) and they increased the factory warranty coverage by 6 months/6000 miles to 3 1/2 years/40,000 miles because it's a "certified used car". This car has had exactly one problem in 30K for which GM had issued a TSB for, noisy strut mounts. It was repaired under the factory warranty (and they installed the revised part in both sides, not just the one that was making noise).

 

[CBDFrontier06]

I've purchased a few new cars for which the warranty contracts specifically mentioned that warranty coverage is void for vehicles purchases for the use of taxis, rentals, police and emergency services, etc. Maybe they've repealed that since I last read it, but it has been presented to me on several factory warranty disclaimer forms.

 

[brianl703]

I have never seen that, and I am the type to actually read that stuff.

As far as rentals go, Ford's rental "buyback" program spells out the maintenance requiremens pretty specifically: They want oil changes performed with a Motorcraft filter every 5K miles. If proof is not provided of these oil changes, Ford will not "buyback" the car and it will be up to the rental company to sell it on their own.

 

[JTK]

Quote:

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A brand new car with 8000 miles in the hands of an individual will have full warranty coverage. A rental will not. Cop cars, rental fleet cars, and similarly-utilized vehicles come with no factory warranty coverage...

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My former rental trailblazer has a fully functional 3/36 OEM GM warranty. My once leased/owned in Canada windstar also had an intact 3/36 FoMoCo warranty. This is true for any rental or leased vehicle.

Joel

 

[CBDFrontier06]

I guess things have changed...

 

[brianl703]

This shows what Ford's rental repurchase requirements are:

https://web.msslib.dealerconnection.com/...0Repurchase.PDF

As far as oil changes go:

Oil and Filter Requirements
Scheduled oil and filter change intervals are required for all vehicles at 5,000 miles.
· A $15 credit for each eligible repurchase vehicle will be paid to accounts for oil and
filter changes made at 5,000 mile intervals. (Oil must meet Ford specifications.
Filters must be Motorcraft).
· Accounts must provide Ford Motor Company evidence that the oil/filter changes
were completed; stickers, initialed by the person making the oil change, must include
date and odometer reading at time of each oil change and must be placed on the
driver's side "B" pillar (not on top of each other). Vehicles returned without an oil
change will be permanently rejected from the program.
· All required campaigns must have been completed along with normal maintenance,
including scheduled oil and filter changes at 5,000-mile intervals (see chart below).
Vehicles indicating evidence of non-adherence to these scheduled changes will be
rejected without exception.
Ford, Lincoln and Mercury Oil Change Schedule
Mileage Required # of Oil Changes
0 - 5,000 0
5,001 – 10,000 1
10,001 – 15,000 2
15,001 – 20,000 3
20,001 – 25,000 4
25,001 – 30,000 5
30,001 – 35,000 6
35,001 – 40,000 7

 

[Da Game]

Quote:

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The car had only 1 oil changed in 7800 miles. That doesn't really bother me. The big factor for me in buying this car is 10k savings over new.(including all rebates and haggling)

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If the factory warranty is still good I see no problems. 10K is like money in your pocket. Some people have the mentality of "beat it like a rented mule", but with the warranty from the factory it's better than the buying from the for sale section.

 

[Matt89]

Quote:

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A brand new car with 8000 miles in the hands of an individual will have full warranty coverage. A rental will not. Cop cars, rental fleet cars, and similarly-utilized vehicles come with no factory warranty coverage, so I stand by my choice.

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NOT TRUE. At least in my case, I bought a rental and had no problems getting warrantee work done.

 

[Matt89]

Daaaah, sorry I see someone else already mentioned this.

 

[crw]

The 300M I used to have was a former rental. I had it in to do warranty work several times in the first year. All of it was simple stuff in the interior, door lock knobs that fall off, etc. But after that, the car was solid. That car was awesome.

I would check to make sure you have a full warranty, not just powertrain. After that, go for it.

 

[babyjay8495]

I'd stay away, just because i know what i do to rental cars when i have them. Sitting at stop signs in neutral and having the pedal to the floor is only part of the fun. The 50 miles i may put on a rental car may be far worse than anyone could predict.

 

[blupupher]

It just amazes me what people will do to a car since it is a rental. How old are you, 16? It is still a car, and I for one treat all cars with respect.
And yes, I drive my rentals the same as my own. None of this slamming into reverse or just flooring it for the heck of it.

And yes, I would buy a rental depending on the circumstances, and I did. My wife's van (an '05 bought in Dec of '05 by us) was a former rental, and aside from a glitch with the door locks about a month after we bought it (fixed under warranty)it has been trouble free. It was a garunteed vehicle from Dodge, so had the rest of the 3 yr 36 bumper to bumper and a 8 yr/ 80,000 mile powertrain, all for about $8000 less than new.

 

[gedcruise]

Despite some of the responses you'll see in this thread, I myself don't abuse a rental any more than I would one of my own cars.
That said, be very careful that you are really getting a good price on the rental Freestar vs what you could beat a Ford dealer down to. I doubt whether the Freestar suffered a whole lot of abuse in 8K miles, and the average minivan renter (or buyer) is not a wild driver.
So, if you can get at least 30% off the best deal you can find new, buy the rental. If not, buy new. You'll amortize the cost pretty well over ten years or 200K.