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buying ex lease car - arose
I am buying a nearly new car being offered by a leasing/contract company. I believe it was a rental company car from the prev company owner shown on the V5 doc.

Can I check that the leasing company has proper ownership of the car to sell - HPI said it cannot tell me who the actual owner is. Also how do I know whether there is any finance on the car?

I'm hoping that as its being sold by a motor company then I have some more protection than buying private in this regard. Any comments would be helpful before I give up my cash!
buying ex lease car - The Watcher
Advice, yes, steer clear!

Youhave no way of telling how this car has been treated and the words 'ex rental' would scare me to death!
buying ex lease car - Paul Mykatz-Tinks
There are many, many of them out there. Most are Ok, the big hirers used to get rid after 6 months of rental life (do they still?) They were good buys.

BUT.......I was once privy to a rental company that went bust and sold its cars to a national dealer, despite the fact they were still owned by a leasing company........naughty.
buying ex lease car - Pugugly {P}
For example my 330 - no doubt will be going to auction in the next couple of months, loved and cherished as if it was my own it will be taken off me in the next six weeks and replaced with a new one. No compensation - will miss this beast.
buying ex lease car - PB
You might as well buy at auction. I've noticed that when lease companies sell direct the prices are rather higher than auction. If you buy at BCA auction you are guaranteed good title and often mileage too. The last 3 of the last 4 cars I bought had no V5 - no problem, they come through in a month, and actually better as traders are less interested.
You can choose your seller, e.g. Fleetlease, Autolease.
Some ex-lease cars could have ended up as pool cars rather than looked after by just one driver. All the cars are valeted but you can often still make out a poorly looked after one - dirt down the side of the seats, too many dings, outside of tryes worn etc.
buying ex lease car - Blue {P}
My dad bought an ex-Hertz F reg Ford Orion 1.6i Ghia when it was 3 months old and the car gave no trouble at all, he loved it to bits, and got it much cheaper than buying an ordinary 3 month old example...
buying ex lease car - Mike M
My 406 HDi was ex-lease. 3 years old with 60K and a full (computer printout) service history, I'm very impressed with it. I've had it for 3 months and done 6K trouble-free miles and it cost me 40% of what a new one would cost. This is the way to go!
buying ex lease car - Darren
The big questions to ask are
Is it a national leasing / contract company
Do you want a test drive in the car - if so buy direct
Do you want to save a bit more money - buy at auction
buying ex lease car - Vin {P}
Pal of mine bought an ex rental fleet (Hertz, IIRC) Omega at 14,000 miles. He's now three years on, 40,000 or so miles further on and has never had a problem at any time, despite the car only having had one service while in his hands.