Used car: rental or dealer?
 

All:

My wife & I need to buy a car soon. At this point we are want to be conservative financially, which means we'd be looking at either a new cheap car, or a nicer car a few years old.

I recently rented a car and got the hard sell from Enterprise to buy one of their retired rentals. I was told they are typically 2-3 years old with 20-30K on them

We're under he impression that buying a former rental car is a bad idea - that rental cars "aren't treated well." On the other hand, my guess is that they do get good maintainance and that any problems are quickly repaired. Also, when you buy a used car from a dealer, you never know how the first owner treated it anyway.

So lets say I wanted to buy a 2004 or 2005 Camary. My options are:

1) An nearby independant used car dealer that has an excellent reputation (yes, we do have one).

2) A "certified pre-owned" vehicle from a Toyota dealer.

3) Enterprise (or other car rental company) fleet sales.

Is one option substantially better or worse than the others? Or should go go for what seems to be the best vehicle at the best price?

I would definitely say not to buy from a rental company. People beat up rental cars. I think the best thing is to buy from a Toyota dealer so that you can get a warranty.

If I were in your situation, I'd look for a single-owner certified pre owned coming off a lease. That will get most of the depreciation out of the way, and still have a fair shake at being low mileage.

i'd have to consider price, condition of the car and type of base warrenty being offered

If Enterprise is retiring their rentals after only 2-3 years and 20-30K, it doesn't seem in their best interests to maintain them well.

This is how my family got what is now my car years ago--we got a '94 Volvo station wagon in great condition from a dealer who had it on a lease return. We saved a ton of money. It had 19,000 miles on it. It now has 188,000 miles on it, and not a hiccup. I'd say we've definitely gotten our money's worth out of my Baby.

Along those lines, ask a local car dealer if they handle 'executive driven' vehicles. There are generally new cars driven for a few months by executives at their headquarters. My current Pontiac Grand Prix is one. It had less than 5,000 miles on it when I bought it. Its loaded with every available option so that does increase the price however I got a very good deal on it as I bought it shortly after the next year's model was released.

Dealers also have leased cars come back in after the lease is up. However, I think most of those gets turned over to a company that sells them elesewhere but it wouldn't be a bad idea to inquire.

Enterprise's used car program is comparable to certified programs offered by dealers, though a dealer might offer a better deal. Enterprise has a 109-point inspection and offers a 12 mo/12k warranty.

Personally, I think the idea that a rental is prone to more abuse than a car coming off of a lease is somewhat exaggerated. I've rented almost exclusively from Enterprise and never had a vehicle that felt like it was beaten to an inch of it's life. While rental companies cannot outright restrict young drivers from renting, they do throw in extra surcharges that makes it difficult for such drivers to obtain a rental, reducing the chances of their vehicles being subjected to abuse. Even if you don't buy from them, they're still worth checking out.

If I was looking for such a vehicle (and actually I just bought a year old Passat, so I was in a fairly similiar situation), I would buy a certified pre-owned vehicle, either through a dealership, or a used car dealer like Carmax that will give you full Carfax information as well as a money back guarantee.

You might pay a little more than you would from a rental car agency. In my mind it's worth it. My last three vehicles have all been cars that were a year old with low mileage. I kept all of them for 5-6+ years (except the one I just bought obviously hasn't been around that long, but I plan on it being around that long), and I've been happy every time. Let someone else eat that first year's depriciation, and you still get a nearly new car with a lot of warranty left.

Have you considered shopping around from a private seller? Sometimes you can get a good deal that way, and you can meet the previous owner face to face and get an idea of how they cared for the car that way.

Regardless, I'd skip the rental agency and choose between the other options. If you are concerned about your skills at checking out a car for purchase, pay to get a Carfax on it (or some dealers will provide it), or pay $50-70 for a mechanic to thoroughly check it out for you. It's worth the peace of mind.

It occurs to me that whenever I rent a car, I always request a compact becuase all I'm interested in is getting somewhere, and small cars are easier to get used to driving when you're not familiar with them.

My guess is that most people who would request a Camary or larger Sedan would be higher-end customers or families, neither of whom would be more likely to drive aggressively that an average driver with a leased car he's going to just turn in next year.

Rental cars are hit-or-miss. Some have led an abused life, while some have been almost entirely highway miles. Unfortunately, there's no way of really determining their history.

Sounds like any used car. Even when buying from a private party, I don't think you can always evaluate someone's driving style and car care habits from a short meeting.

The company I work for buys used SUVs from Enterprise and used trucks from Driving Force. I've been driving a former-rental Escape for the last 3 months or so without problems. The bought 3 of them in the spring and as far as I know they've had no problems.

That said, I drive rental cars harder than cars I own, but I also drive the company suv harder than the cars. If one car was a rental, rented by me, and one car was privately owned by me, the privately owned car would have treated much better. I've never had a leased vehicle, so I don't know how I'd treat it.

buying a rental car is like going to a home of ill repute looking for a wife

jeff foxworthy is never wrong