What do you think of buying a rental car? How did it work out for you?
I recently bought a car, and when I was shopping if I saw rental on the carfax I would just move on ...
But now my boyfriend is looking for a car, and his budget is a bit lower than mine was .. I found a really nice looking 07' sebring, with 50k miles on it ..
but I ran autocheck on it and it used to be a rental car
What's your experience with purchasing previous rentals?
Best Answer
The Eagle Keeper has a typical perspective, to buy a car with good resale to protect it's future value. But, that argument works best with new cars. Do you want to pay more money for a used car because it will be worth more in the future? The logic eludes me.
Any car that depreciates rapidly may pose a tremendous bargain as a used car. Net quality differences are very small today, but net perception of quality is very large. Thus, the Sebring may be a remarkable value.
Rental cars are often abused, as pointed out, but rental companies discovered long ago that broke down cars are very expensive at the point of breakdown, since the manpower investment to get another car in the renter's hands is huge, and even more expensive in the long run because of lost consumer confidence. SO, they over maintain them. Most people who rent cars treat them as someone else's property, and drive them conservatively. A few get a Mustang GT and take it to Phoenix International Raceway for a few laps( I've seen this!). Don't allow the rare exception to influence your decision.
The power train parts are Japanese (Mitsubishi) and the platform was developed by Mercedes. It is good stuff. And, since there is considerable prejudice in the market place, you should be able to get the car for less than half it's original price ( I SAID price, NOT STICKER...new Sebrings typically sell for about 5-6K below sticker). Try that with a two year old Honda. Indeed, you should be able to get this two year old Sebring for about what a five year old Accord sells for.
If you like the car, and a you have it inspected by a reliable mechanic, just get it. It could be a great buy.
Other Answers
- I have never purchased a rental car but driven many. And i know me personally i beat the hell out of them and im sure many other people do as well. Thats one reason i wouldnt buy one but if they do offer a warranty then i would consider it as long your happy with what the warranty covers. Another thing to consider would be if you ever decide to sell the car for what ever reason then it being a previous rental car would obviously hurt the resell value.
- I bought two back about 15 yrs ago w/o any problems. But avoid those Sebrings b/c they have a poor history of reliability & poor resale later on. I'd reconsider what make of car your looking for. Mazda 3, Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sentra, & Honda Accords tend to be the best used cars out there. Last thing you want is to finance a car only to find out later on as time goes by that you owe considerably more on a car than it's worth. I know all cars devalue, but try to find the one that retains value better than average.
- I use to work for a car rental co. and most of the cars they have they sell quickly most with less then 12,000 miles. it is rear u see them with 50K unless it is a popular rental. The Sebring on the other hand has been mixed some are good cars and some are lemons. When u weigh that in there are a lot of others too choice from. It comes down to do u want the car because of its style or history. Cost vs pending service life. Need vs want.
- go direct to rental companys they sell them all the time and give warrantys
