# Would you buy an ex hire car?



## Teddy (Dec 15, 2007)

Was looking at cars yesterday got down to talking numbers and on the way out had one last look at our potential purchase. 

I spotted the owners manual in its folder. Looked at the service history and its first service was at 20k miles (as recommended by the manufacturer for cars that have an easy life, 10k for arduous conditions) and it was done by Avis!

The car has now done another 14k miles.

I wasn't massively put off by the fact it was a hire car. I know they have a reputation of being driven by a hundred heavy footed, handbrake turning, red line chasing boy racers but in reality is that true?

Most hire cars are used to do long runs so they don't do lots of cold starts and short runs to the shops etc where wear and tear is greatest. Long runs tend to be on motorways so they sit in top gear all the time. The bodywork was spotless too.

So are ex hire cars that bad a thing? We found a better car in the end but what does everybody else think?


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## MK1Campaign (Mar 27, 2007)

Not a chance. Look very closely at the bodywork as any damage will have been fixed on the cheap. I've worked in defleet centres dealing with ex rental/lease and they are usually sheds covered in smart repairs.


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## MEH4N (Mar 15, 2012)

if its been serviced and maintained well (which most of these cars are treated well, some arent) i would give it a look. Some are shot, but dont go near the ones without any history. Its like ex police cars. theyre well documented usually. Bodywork danage can be noticed though.

E.g. Leaseplan cars are well looked after cant believe they change tyres at 3/4mm or over a small thing like a puncture rather than repair it.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

You will probably find that the majority of the nearly new cars at most dealers have come back from a rental company. 

Any time I've hired a car I've never done anything silly with it as many companies now seem to hammer the customer for little marks etc. 

I wouldn't assume they have been used for long journeys though. Half the time when I hire a car it will be because I've flown a long distance and hired a car to get around the area I'm in.


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## Smithey1981 (Oct 4, 2011)

Tbh I would never touch a ex hire car as most have had an extremely hard life and most would have seen some sort of body work. My old company used to buy a few from Avis and I was shocked with the condition


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## johnnyguitar (Mar 24, 2010)

My wife's MK5 Golf was an ex-Budget hire car, bought through a main VW dealer. It had 13K miles on it and was in the condition you would expect for a nearly new car. 

I have collected and delivered lots of defleeted (is that a word?) hire cars and the conditions ranged from excellent to dangerous depending on the car. Also the mileages tend to vary according to the company that owned them, with some branches taking responsibilty for purchase and maintenance of their own vehicles, hence the servicing, tyres, etc may get done on the cheap.


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## JenJen (Jun 30, 2010)

My first car was a ex police cid car and was in fantastic condition. Full service history. Ok milage was slightly high but was wel looked after. I only had it 8months as I wanted something faster as it was a Astra.


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## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

I wouldn't rule it out simply because it had been a hire car and I would judge it the same way I would any car I was looking at.


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## Shug (Jul 13, 2007)

I used to work on a big site that had a major car rental company branch. The staff used to take the bigger cars (vectra gsi etc) and hammer the **** off them. Sliding round roundabouts etc. They didnt touch the smaller engined ones. No fun in that!


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

I have had 2 ex rental cars first one was my 1999 V Plate 406 GLX ex Hertz car....yeah it had some poor repairs done but part of the deal when I bought it was that they fixed it all and it never gave me a days trouble.

3 years later I PX'ed it in at a local Audi Dealers for a 2.4 SE A6...this was an ex Avis rental....only thing that needed doing before I collected it was the wheel centres needed replacing....

So all in all I would say dont be put off by it...Inspect the car well and you should be fine....remember all the hire companies dont actually own the cars they are provided by the manufacturers and they have to be looked after as they get massive penalties.

If the car fits what you want/need buy it...it will come with a warrantee anyhow so you really have nothing to loose.


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## alx_chung (Aug 13, 2006)

If it was me I would say no as I used to work for a Rental Company and the cars were mistreated by customers and some staff. Also the cars were not that well maintained either (could have been that branch or it might have just been the company) and like others have said they tend to be covered in smart repairs.
But like all cars, you have to take each one as an individual example, you might get one that is absolutely mint (I would look for cars that belonged to car manufacturers rather than Lease or Rental Companies) and you might get ones that are complete sheds.
Alex


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## pharmed (Feb 11, 2013)

Wouldn't touch em with a barge pole tbh, unless hugely cheaper


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## Franzpan (Mar 2, 2009)

Wouldn't bother me at all. I would buy any of our small fleet for myself. Sure, they might get the odd clutch dump and wheelspin but these customers are few and far between. Most are familys or middle aged people on business.


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

JenJen said:


> My first car was a ex police cid car and was in fantastic condition. Full service history. Ok milage was slightly high but was wel looked after. I only had it 8months as I wanted something faster as it was a Astra.


But did it have the blue lights:thumb:


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## shinyporsche (Oct 30, 2012)

Most people own an ex-hire car but don’t know it.
Herts, Enterprise, Europcar, Sixt, Budget et al by tens of thousands of cars every year, rent them out for a few weeks and then churn them out through auctions or official dealer channels as ‘approved used cars’.


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## Caledoniandream (Oct 9, 2009)

2 different kind of hire, short term e.g. Airport hire, cars most times do max 17K, long time hire e.g. Contract hire not being lease mileage between 24-35 depending on hire company.
Our company hires cars for new starters so if they don't make it through the first year, car can go back to hire company without notice.
Lease companies want you to use or pay anyway for the Full term or you pay an substantial surcharge for canceling contract.
My car is ex-rental, bought it 6 month old 1.7 K on the clock (yes 1700 miles!) for nearly 9k under retail price, had only one driver and was in pristine as new state.

So some bargains around to get if you know where and when.
Rental companies do the maintenance because they dont want to void the waranty.


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## rf860 (Jul 24, 2011)

shinyporsche said:


> Most people own an ex-hire car but don't know it.
> Herts, Enterprise, Europcar, Sixt, Budget et al by tens of thousands of cars every year, rent them out for a few weeks and then churn them out through auctions or official dealer channels as 'approved used cars'.


Surely this doesn't make sense. They would be loosing huge sums of money in depreciation. I can't see a few weeks of renting the car out covering the depreciation and making them a profit. Yes they will get massive discount for ordering in bulk, but even still.

Back on topic, i would never buy an ex-rental car. When something is not somebody's personal possession, generally, they don't care for it anywhere near as much as they would their own.

For example, I had a courtesy car this week and i will freely admit i ragged it to death due to the complete lack of power from it - totally unsuitable for motorway driving. Had it been my own car, i would have thought twice about revving the **** of it.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

rf860 said:


> Surely this doesn't make sense. They would be loosing huge sums of money in depreciation. I can't see a few weeks of renting the car out covering the depreciation and making them a profit. Yes they will get massive discount for ordering in bulk, but even still.
> 
> Back on topic, i would never buy an ex-rental car. When something is not somebody's personal possession, generally, they don't care for it anywhere near as much as they would their own.
> 
> ...


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## -damon- (Aug 19, 2010)

i used to work for a very large dealership and lots of there cars came from enterprise.


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## nyrB (Jun 15, 2012)

*Just purchased a ex-hire car from a local dealer, milage a little higher for the year & has had a few knocks. Overall it's been well maintained & the paint work damage has been repaired to a high standard & it looks & drives like a new car, I could eat my dinner in the engine bay it's so clean. I've had it for 18months now & no problems whatsoever. I think as it's a Focus auto possibly means the boy racers didn't go for it. My advice is as been stated if it suits your pocket & has been well maintained go for it. The trouble where I live in Spain is it's difficult to buy a late used car that's not been in the lease/hire game! Benidorm being the biggest tourist destination in Europe. The car suited my needs & looked good.:car:*


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## Teddy (Dec 15, 2007)

I've often wondered where the millions of holiday destination hire cars end up. For example can a car in Majorca end up in Germany?


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## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

I would never by an ex hire car personally due to them simply being revved to f*ck & generally being abused.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Majorcan hire cars usually get run into the ground or get passed down to the really cheap hire companies, or they end up in mainland Spain.

It wouldn't bother me having a hire car, where do you think most of the12 month stock comes from ? Ford used to own a chunk of hertz and vw europcar from what I remember it's a way of getting cars on fleet and sales up.


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## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

I worked for Enterprise for over 2.5 years and wouldn't have a problem buying an ex hire car. Some are ragged ****less occasionally but I'd say it's no more the case than with any other car you'll pick up at 6-24 months old. 

And for those wondering... Enterprise doesn't make money renting cars... they make money buying cheap in bulk and selling them to dealers. Renting just covers the costs... They can defleet with a days notice and Mr Dealer has his car ready to rock and roll. Being hire cars they are maintained very well also. 

The only cars they didn't 'own' were the Mercs and Land Rovers when I was there.


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## ECS (Feb 13, 2013)

VW Golf-Fan said:


> I would never by an ex hire car personally due to them simply being revved to f*ck & generally being abused.


Never seen a new car being thrashed around the factory to the transporters then...


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

ECS said:


> Never seen a new car being thrashed around the factory to the transporters then...


I remember seeing this in Calais once with a load of new Peugeots being loaded on the RORO transport ferry. Was like watching a French version of the Italian Job!!!


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## shinyporsche (Oct 30, 2012)

rf860 said:


> Surely this doesn't make sense. They would be loosing huge sums of money in depreciation.


The buying power of the big rental companies means they buy the cars at a big discount.

Car rental companies are really in the car sales business - that's how they make their money. The rental side is just to save them needing a chuffing great carpark.


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## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

ECS said:


> Never seen a new car being thrashed around the factory to the transporters then...


Who mentioned the factory smarta$$?


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

johnnyguitar said:


> My wife's MK5 Golf was an ex-Budget hire car, bought through a main VW dealer. It had 13K miles on it and was in the condition you would expect for a nearly new car.
> 
> I have collected and delivered lots of defleeted (is that a word?) hire cars and the *conditions ranged from excellent to dangerous depending on the car*. Also the mileages tend to vary according to the company that owned them, with some branches taking responsibilty for purchase and maintenance of their own vehicles, hence the servicing, tyres, etc may get done on the cheap.


Like any other car on the used market then...

Don't be put off, just inspect the car thoroughly in the same way as you would any prospective purchase and don't buy a car that does not ring true.

My AstraG SRi was an ex hire car, bought it with just shy of 10k on the clock and took it to 80k in 3 years and it needed just one repair done under warranty in that time, so it cost me nothing other than regular servicing. Car was in very good condition bodywork wise as well, with nothing untoward coming up on the paint gauge.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

VW Golf-Fan said:


> Who mentioned the factory smarta$$?


A bit over the top.

ECS made a fair point that even new cars might have been ragged and revved before you bought it.

They could also have been damaged repaired too.


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

Kerr said:


> A bit over the top.
> 
> ECS made a fair point that even new cars might have been ragged and revved before you bought it.
> 
> They could also have been damaged repaired too.


He is just showing his ignorance ignore him.


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## forge197 (Apr 16, 2006)

We've had two ex-hire cars both low mileage, neither caused any issues, in fact we've had more hassle with new buys, body work on both was very good and they were clean, we don't keep cars massive lengths of time so long term we won't know, both were still under manufacturers warranty so negate some risk. The other consideration is they were well below market rate to purchase and so on PX the loss was less.

Would I buy one again yes.


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## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

nick_mcuk said:


> He is just showing his ignorance ignore him.


Quite often have to these days.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

I've seen the condition of supposedly new range rovers at the end of the production line, escorts being driven off the end of the production line and moved at high speed to the carpark and also hen fords arrived by boat at dagenham them being pushed by the car behind if they refused to drive.

We regularly have hire cars at work and they are all fine, thrifty have the nicest ones, then Avis europcar and enterprise tend to be a little worn. We also have some long term hires so it's not unknown to put 15k in 6 months on one for us.


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## ECS (Feb 13, 2013)

VW Golf-Fan said:


> Who mentioned the factory smarta$$?


Me, did it not cross your mind that your precious golf might have been redlined all round the factory car park before you bought it?


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## SarahAnn (Apr 6, 2011)

I've just bought one. A volvo V60. The price new with all of the extras would have been £36k and I bought it for £18k at less than 10 months old. 
I'm very happy with it


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