Rental arithmetic

In May of 2008 we purchased a 2,000-mile Mazda 3 TS2 first registered in March 2008, for £8,400 including VAT of £1,097 from the Mazda main dealer in Tunbridge Wells. We were told that it had previously been a "Mazda fleet car.” Some months ago the Daily Telegraph published an article regarding the practice of a car rental company in registering their cars under an obscure company name. When we checked, we found that indeed our car was previously owned by this company and was not therefore what we were lead to believe. Do you think, that we paid a fair price for the car, considering its previous ownership? And do we have any grounds for complaint as we were not told the truth about its previous ownership?

Asked on 30 January 2010 by P.K., Warlingham

Answered by Honest John

If it was a Mazda 3 (not a Mazda 2) it was very cheap indeed. The front page Telegraph story was unduly alarmist. I was consulted but was completely ignored. There is no difference between the used value of an ex rental car and a privately or company owned car. More than 80% of nearly new cars are, in fact, ex rental (because where else would they come from). An ex driving school car would be a different matter and could have suffered driveline and suspension damage.

Tags: ex-fleet buying

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