Posted on 10/11/2005 8:21:09 AM PDT by RayBob
I am in the process of purchasing a certified pre-owned vehicle. I usually buy new, but figured this time I would try Certified Pre-Owned primarily for price reasons. I get to get the vehicle I want with the equipment I want and pay a whole lot less.
The vehicle is a 2005 with 17,000 miles. Looks great inside and out (just came in and had not gone through the detail shop yet). It has a minor ding that the dealer will take care of on the one wheelwell.
I deceided to get a Carfax Report and it showed that the car had one owner, but it was a "major rental company" in Virginia. That was the only "negative" if you could call it that.
My problem is that I know how some folks treat rental cars and it has me a little nervous. Thought I would ask FReepers for some imput.
Thanks in advance for the helpful, serious replies.
It is a big negative...get a mechanic to check it out
not sure, when I used to rent cars, I always pushed them to the limit......
(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
Our 15-passenger van was a rental; it was a year old with 30,000 miles when we bought it. We've had it almost 5 years now. The only unexpected problem - given the model and the mileage - was that the side door panels (interior) had come loose, presumably due to lots of people getting in and out. We fixed it with duct tape - not worth the cost of replacement, since we're putting in hard usage, as well.
Whenever I get a rental, I drive like Ben Hur on the way to dollar day at the cathouse.
I would buy a rental IF it was directly through the company. They auction off the cars that they don't want to sell themselves (gee, I wonder why). Enterprise, for instance, will give you the maint. records for any car you buy DIRECTLY from them. They keep good records and maintain the cars better than most people who keep a car for only a year. I would not buy a year old leased vehicle, no matter what.
I bought a '91 Buick Century from Enterprise rentals.
It still runs good at 180K, but all the hardware is going.
AC, power windows, door handles, knobs, levers, all shot.
I would not suggest buying a rental, unless it's super cheap!
Good luck!
I bought one once for my wife. Just make sure the remainder of the factory warranty is transferable. That is the only problem I had. The local dealer wouldn't honor the warranty. (bought car direct from rental company) The GM zone rep convinced him otherwise. Turned out to be a pretty good car. Rental companies have good PM programs. If it is a cerified used car and the dealer will stand behind it, and the factory warranty is good you should have a problem
I owned a rental for 3 years and it was fault free.
When I got it, it had 16,000 miles on it, and when I sold it, it had 75,000 miles on the odometer.
Note on this thread, people who rent the cars say they abuse them, people who have actually bought them say they were a good deal.
BTW, ask the dealer about the warrentee, I'd bet you will get a new car warrentee.
Its a Certified per GM standards by a GM dealer. Remainder of the warranty transfers. They are going over it according to their 150 point check or some other BS... Its a reputable dealer and its GM Certified...
Its an 05 Trailblazer. I priced it new and I'm saving over 10k over the best deal I got on a leftover 05, plus I am getting 3.9 financing as opposed to 5.9 on a new. I may regret it, but for the price, given what the car has, its almost too good to pass up...and that's where I get nervous!
It shouldn't make a difference if there's nothing actually wrong with it... as anytime you're putting thousands of dollars on the line, trust but verify - get a professional you trust to give you the skinny on the vehicle.
I bought an 02 Explorer off a dealer lot knowing that it was used, but not that it was a rental. The Carmax history told me the story and that car has shown a lot of wear as time has gone on. Be careful.
A 15 year old, 180k mile car SHOULD have some things going south. The only thing that would irritate me with your car is the A/C going out. As far as knobs levers etc, that is normal wear and tear. You got your money back plus with this one.
The safe thing for me to say is DON'T BUY THAT CAR! That way, if you follow my advice, you'll likely never know whether it was bad advice.
If I wanted to go out on a limb, I'd say IF the price is right (i.e. low enough to mitigate the perceived risk), buy it. Actually, that's not going out on a limb at all. If it turns out to be a lemon, YOU paid too much for it. :)
Jerry: Fine.
Agent: Alright. We have a blue Ford Escort for you Mr. Seinfeld. Would you like insurance?
Jerry: Yeah, you better give me the insurance, because I am gonna beat the hell out of this car.
Agent: Please fill this out.
Any car is risky.
MOST IMPORTANT - how is it on a decent drive? Notice any shuddering or noises?
Rental-car CON: it's a hack that is treated various ways by many people (potentially, altho yours can't be more than an honest year old). They don't have to "mistreat" it, just that different habits can contribute to many different problems.
Rental-car PRO: often well-maintained by the rental company. And most people w/bad habits or arrogant it-aint-mine attitudes don't get enough time to ruin the car.
The best car I ever "owned" so far (barring my parents' old Lincoln bought new) was a Cavalier - exact same situation as yours. It was 1.5 real years old and had 18k on it, and was acquired from a rental co. by the dealer.
I drove the thing and it seemed like a SOLID (that's the key thing to feel) drive. I kept looking, but sure enough I went back to it.
I had the car for 8 years before finally giving it up for a Monte Carlo. It was great; dependable and solid and all. I loved that little car and felt I was betraying it - but it had some 100k on it or so and had just busted a head gasket, so when I got the bug for a Monte it seemed the right time to let it go.
You can never tell - the best you can do is give it a good test drive.
My daugther bought her 2001 Ford Escape from a Hertz Car sales lot. I was very skeptical at first, so I went with her. Hertz provide a list of everything Ford or they had done to the car. Every warranty repair and routine service and even provided a Carfax report.
For $900.00 she got a 48 mo., 48,000 mi. bumper to bumper warranty (Very inexpensive)which she has use in frequently for minor things like a leaking headlight.
She has had the car for almost 3 years now and loves it.
I would buy a rental car, but only from the rental company's own sales lot.
How much are they asking compared to a new one?
I'm pretty spoiled in that my grandfather bought me my first car new. He then paid for my 2nd car new (God bless his soul) when I traded in the first one after 6 years. 5 years later, I convinced my husband to buy me a new Volvo (because a baby was on the way).
Now, ten years later (sigh) I am still holding out for a new "something" bigger for our family of 4. I am 90% sure I won't look at SUVs because I am such a cheapo with gas. I want to be able to get at least what my Volvo gets now. But, my (grrrr) husband is doing everything possible to get me to buy used. (Every week he shows me newspaper and magazine articles about the benefits of buying used.)
I'll be curious to see what you choose to do and how things turn out.
Good luck.
...this thread makes me think the rental firms are going to install black boxes real soon......tracking speeding, etc.
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