i'm thinking about buying a ex hire car most of which are about 7 months old from a well known car hire company disposal site.
not sure what model yet i haven't decided but should i be suspicious of any ex hire car? would it have been thrashed to bits? or would it be a bargain peach?
i'm a bit dubious of buying a car that has had lots of drivers rather than one carefull owner
any thoughts would be welcome.
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When I first set up on my own I needed a decent looking company car to atke out clients etc. I found a ex Hertz rental Mondeo 2.0 Ghia with all the extras. Got it for a bargain at one year old and it served me well for 80,000 more miles till I sold it at about 100k.
Just check obvious things like bodywork, service stamps etc.
You will find that most people who hire a car like that wont tend to race it everywhere unlike the holiday hire cars so as long as its tidy it should be ok.
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"a well known car hire company disposal site".
That well known I don't know it! Go on, I may consider one of these - spill the beans... :-)
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It's a policy on this site that there is no naming and shaming and so it's a good idea to keep threads like this anonymous in case someone comes along and slates it. I don't think that's likely to happen and as long as no one actually does any naming and shaming, the information that's about to follow shouldn't remain classified.
FWIW I think Avis sell their hire cars direct to the public at retail, although their prices aren't especially keen. Other places to get nearly new ex-rentals include Fords of Winsford ( www.fow.co.uk ), Motorpoint in Derby, Bradford? and Glasgow ( www.motorpoint.co.uk ), Trade Sales of Slough ( www.trade-sales.co.uk ), Car Giant in London ( www.cargiant.co.uk ) and Ron Skinner in Wales (www.ronskinnerandsons.co.uk )
Generally you're going to need savings of at least £5k off list to make ex-rentals worthwhile. For instance, your typical price for an 03, pre-facelift Mondeo 1.8 LX is £9k, compared to £10700 for a new one from www.newregcars.co.uk Nearly £6k off new list sounds impressive, but £1700 off the discounted new price with an earlier plate and a facelift behind isn't so amazing. Not necessarily to be sniffed at, but not amazing.
If the saving over a discounted new one (NOT list - £2k off BMW list is worth more than £3k off a Vectra) justifies the reward and you actually like the car you're buying (i.e., it's not an old/carp design that no one would ever buy new if it were their own car) then it's worth going for.
Even if it's been thrashed, it should still have the benefit of the manufcaturer's three year warranty, it won't have any potential servicing hassles like a supersite import. Just make sure that it's either had all the services or it's less than 12 months old and not over the mileage where the first one is due, to make sure that the extended period of the warranty will be honoured.
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It's a policy on this site that there is no naming and shaming
thats what i thought.....
both replys are positive so i may give it a go
thanks,,
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Ex-hire shouldn't really be a problem. Most people who hire a car are likely to use it for long journeys rather than shopping and school runs so potentially is could have less wear & tear than a privately owned equivalent. Fluid levels and tyre pressure also likely to have been kept spot on.
I hire quite a few cars and would have no hesitation about buying an ex-hire car - I have never be given one that felt 'thrashed' or was in poor/damaged condition.
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A minor point is that someone may well have smoked in it, whereas if you're buying a one-driver car, your chances of getting a non-smelly one are better.
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A mate bought an ex hire Omega 2.0 from Avis and it seems jusr fine. Certainly cheaper than a dealer. not as cheap as auction (but didn't have the hassle of time of work each week to go and view etc).
I reckon a "run of the mill" car would be OK, no worse than an ex fleet car. Whenever I've hired, I've only abused the car if it's been somewhat enjoyable (i.e. not just for the sake of it). I remember abusing a 2.7 Ford some years back - I was used to a 1.6 something and loved the speed (still do!). And now, to me, having something small and fast would be a bit of fun to chuck around.
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Also consider that when I hire cars, I ensure that everything is right when it leaves the company, and is rechecked by me when it is returned. The last thing I need is some dodgy blokes blaming ME for the chips in the door, scuffed bumper etc. Fluid levels, tyre pressures, niggling little things like rattles are fixed post-haste on hire cars... Whereas many people ignore tham on their private/company cars.
Other things: The hire cars always runs on a full (or close to full) tank, so not much posibility of low-fuel damage to engine. (or rust on the top of the tank!)
The aircon has probably been run religiously at least once a week - while many people just ignore theirs 'at home'and the seals go...
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I think the larger the car the safer you are, something larger, is likely to be hired by well-to-do business people, whereas the smallest and cheapest ones could be hired by people who have crashed their own, and have it on their insurance, students going to gigs, poor people going on holiday etc... I also think its more risky with the cheaper companies that the expensive ones,
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Hehe - certain journalist friends used to hire cars to cover township unrest here ... when the natives get restless, and stones and bricks start raining down, they can let Hertz/Avis etc worry about it... [Though my major concern would be getting the hell out of Dodge, ahead of the lynch mob ...]
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I am always concerned with hire cars in SA as you cannot totally insure them so you are always exposed to an excess charge if any problems occur. It OK for journalist as it just gets billed to expenses.
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