Review of Purchasing a Car From a Rental
You go to a rental car visitor to rent a car, not purchase one. But enough of auto rental companies sell vehicles from their fleet when they are a few years old. There are some good deals to be had, but you might be wondering if it's a good idea to buy a car that dozens of people accept driven before yous.
Michael Lowe doesn't have too many concerns most buying a former rental machine. Lowe is the CEO of CarPassionate.com, a auto parts and accessories review website.
"Information technology's a great way to become a car for those on a tighter budget, and generally speaking, registered rental companies will have taken good care of their cars to prevent any accidents while the machine was owned by their business organisation," Lowe says.
Lowe suggests that before y'all sign on the dotted line to purchase a former rental auto, check the machine over carefully. If you don't know much virtually cars, take a trusted friend or family member to look at the vehicle and so the right questions can exist asked. Beyond that, before you lot buy a rental car, here are x factors to consider.
1. How the Motorcar Was Taken Care of
This is probably what potential rental car purchasers are going to worry about the about. It'southward easy to imagine drivers going on bumpy mountainous roads in their rental cars and not caring if they're banging up the auto. Later all, it'southward non theirs, is it? Pretty presently, your imagination has various rental car drivers sailing over speed bumps, speeding over clay roads and burning safety in parking lots.
But if you lot call up almost it, while it's true that no client is going to pay to wash a rental automobile, most people don't want to run a risk getting charged for bringing a rental car back with a scratch or paring. In that location is a lot of motivation for customers to drive a rental car relatively safely.
Additionally, "Most [rental cars] are kept in very adept condition and undergo frequent maintenance checks to make sure all the cars in the fleet are kept in tip-top shape," says Richard Reina, product training director at CARiD.com, an automotive parts and accessories website.
Because every rental agency knows it's lousy business organisation to hire out a car that's in bad shape, you could contend that a rental machine yous're interested in buying may have been taken far meliorate intendance of than any other used motorcar you could buy.
"Maintenance records for any used rental auto should also be relatively easy to come by, which can't e'er be said when you store from a individual seller," Reina says.
ii. General Wearable and Tear on the Car
While you'll likely be able to pore over maintenance records and look at a Carfax report, you won't know whether somebody braked hard on the car during a weekend trip in New York City. Or if somebody on a trip from Nevada to Texas kept flooring the gas whenever they were on an open up stretch of highway. Peradventure somebody else used the car to stuff in all of their heavy property, overloaded the vehicle and placed a strain on components like the brake, pause and drivetrain.
That'due south the one thing — the solar day-to-day details of how the car was driven — that you won't know about the rental machine y'all buy, and it's the reason so many outset-time machine buyers are dubious when thinking of buying a rental auto.
Still, the dealer should exist able to provide you with the maintenance records for whatever car you're interested in, and some rental car companies have generous render policies. Enterprise and Hertz have seven-day return policies, which should exist plenty of time to take your new used car to be checked out by a trusted mechanic.
3. Price
After fretting over how the rental auto was cared for, naturally, people are going to wonder about how expensive a rental machine typically is. Comparatively speaking, information technology should be lower than a dealership. That should be a welcome relief if you've been stressing nigh how loan or lease payments volition affect your machine loan upkeep.
"Asking prices should be within or fifty-fifty slightly beneath the pricing for similar models at dealerships," Reina says. "Rental companies make fleet purchases at reduced prices and may pass on some of that savings when reselling cars."
According to Edmunds, an online educational resource about automobiles, rental car sales discounts are frequently x% or more than traditional dealerships. And near banks that offer motorcar loans accept no trouble financing a former rental motorcar if information technology'southward in skillful shape.
Reina points out that the pandemic has been barbarous on a lot of rental car companies since fewer people have been vacationing and going on business trips. Y'all may observe amend deals equally a outcome of COVID-19.
4. Mileage
Mileage is oftentimes a selling bespeak for ownership a rental vehicle.
"Rental agencies typically only go on cars until they reach a certain mileage, so if you're looking for a used motorcar that hasn't racked up besides many miles, a former rental might be an bonny, cost-constructive choice," Reina says.
What sort of mileage would y'all expect to run across in a rental motorcar? It'due south going to vary, just the big national rental car companies oft sell when a vehicle reaches betwixt 25,000 and 40,000 miles.
v. Age of the Car
Rental car companies like to have new inventory, so y'all'll probably discover relatively new used cars for sale. Enterprise, for instance, sells cars, SUVs and trucks that are ane to iii years sometime. A search through Avis's rental cars for auction in August 2020 shows generally vehicles from 2019.
6. Historic period of the Motorcar Plus the Mileage
While the motorcar may be reasonably new and the mileage may be adequately depression for a used car, you'll probably be purchasing a vehicle that has higher mileage than it would normally. That'south because the people driving the car were often driving long distances for work or pleasure. But that's non necessarily a bad thing, especially if the vehicle has been well maintained and if the factory-included warranty hasn't yet expired.
seven. Possible Lower Resale Value
If y'all're skeptical near buying a rental car, think nigh the person who buys the vehicle after you and learns the car was initially a rental. Only if you lot take good care of the vehicle and relieve all your service records, information technology shouldn't affair. Yous're buying the car to drive, not to sell.
People generally don't get rich selling their quondam cars the way they hope to when they sell an sometime business firm. If you're planning on keeping this rental car for a long time, worrying about possible lower resale value shouldn't factor heavily into your decision.
eight. Mostly, No-Haggle Buying
Many rental car agencies promise no-haggle buying, but then do many dealerships, specially online dealerships. And while many people hate to negotiate, declaring your business a no-haggle zone makes it clear that the car buyer will be unable to get a meliorate deal. So it's a plus for the machine selling companies more than anyone else. It makes y'all wonder if this bums out people who savor negotiating.
If you don't similar to negotiate and haggle, a rental car company may be a good place for y'all to buy a car.
9. Warranties
Y'all'll want to enquire about this if you're thinking of buying a rental auto. On the one hand, if you're buying a rental car with high mileage, the vehicle'due south manufactory warranty may be expired. On the other manus, because these cars are ofttimes still but a year or two former, there may be more fourth dimension or mileage left.
The biggest and nigh reputable rental companies, like Enterprise and Avis, often have 12-month or 12,000-mile limited powertrain warranties. A powertrain warranty covers all the parts of your automobile that involve providing ability to the wheels of your vehicle. So if your engine or transmission goes out within 12 months or before you drive 12,000 miles, you'll be covered. If the glove compartment sticks or you somehow break your loving cup holder, you're out of luck. But, every bit y'all might imagine, the engine and transmission volition be far more than expensive to replace.
x. Express Inventory
You're ownership a car from a rental machine company, not a car dealership. And then yous may not have a wide selection of vehicles from which to choose. In fact, the inventory volition probably be less than it would be at a traditional dealership. Some rental car companies have substantially said that they're washed ownership cars and restocking cars for the year, thanks to the pandemic crushing their concern. So next year, for example, the inventory of rental cars for sale could be slim pickings.
All the same, you're presumably only looking for ane good auto to purchase, and then that's all you need. There'southward no harm in checking out a motorcar rental bureau near y'all and taking a await at their inventory. If you find nothing you lot like, you can cheque out a different car rental agency or start searching on car buying websites or get to a dealership.
While buyer's remorse is a real thing when it comes to cars, if y'all do your homework on a rental vehicle and know what to await as far as mileage, wear and tear and pricing, you shouldn't take buyers remorse just because y'all purchased a one-time rental car.
Virtually the Author
Geoff Williams is a freelance author for MoneyGeek specializing in personal finance and small business issues. He hasn't yet bought a rental car, though he has rented many vehicles over the years — and currently drives a used Subaru Forester.
Sources
- Detroit Free Press. "COVID-19 impact on rental car companies also hurts automakers." Accessed Baronial xi, 2020.
- Edmunds.com. "Are You lot Buying Trouble if You Buy a Rental Automobile?." Accessed Baronial xi, 2020.
- Enterprise. "Why Buy a Rental Car?." Accessed August xi, 2020.
Source: https://www.moneygeek.com/auto-loans/buying-rental-car/