>>I bought a Ford Direct Mondeo estate some years ago. Six months old with 6000 miles. It was ex-Hertz. Cheap too
Ex Rental is OK if it is cheaper - it is not necessarily a bad car but it is not a pristine low mileage truly one owner car.
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Ex-rentals can be very good. Despite the possible downside of many different drivers the upside can be that it has been kept clean, valeted regularly and had its fluids and tyres checked often and appropriately. Some private cars do not get treated as carefully.
The one I bought was immaculate. Maybe I was just lucky of course.
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The one I bought was immaculate. Maybe I was just lucky of course. >>
Nope. Par for the course.
Now that the secret is out due to the Telegraph, and if the OFT forces all 2nd hand cars to have their source declared, will it mean:
1. price of nearly-new non-ex-rental cars goes up
2. price of nearly-new ex-rental goes down
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>Rental cars will have had lots of different driving styles, meaning that they will have been run in effectively. <
Well, you can believe that if you want.
It's a bit like saying the car has had 200 caring owners - or hoping it has...
Edited by mike hannon on 14/09/2009 at 13:17
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>Rental cars will have had lots of different driving styles meaning that they will have been run in effectively. < Well you can believe that if you want. It's a bit like saying the car has had 200 caring owners - or hoping it has...
Nope - experience on here, and my own, proves that this is the case. Nothing wrong with an ex rental car. The one we bough has even been out the country to europe (I found the letter of authority in the handbook) That car, one of those terrible renault things that are always breaking down, went on to do 47k faultless miles before we sold it. Its still doing stirling service.
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Nope - experience on here and my own proves that this is the case. Nothing wrong with an ex rental car.
Well our experience was different. An awful car and had a major problem which meant we had a courtesy car, too small and thirsty, for weeks until it was sorted out. This on a car only a few months old. Didn't keep it a year in the end.
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We have had 2 used cars that could have been rental. I say "could" because I did not ask, Corsa had been owned by he Vauxhall dealer for just over 12 months.
A Sierra thet never missed a beat in 5 years.
A Corsa that was similarly faultless for four years.
What is the big deal UNLESS the buyer asks if it was ex-rental and was TOLD that it was not.
Judge a car on condition.
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Are ex-rentals cheaper?
Is the reason they (ex-rentals) are cheaper because they were originally bought in huge numbers cheaply from the manufacturers so, therefore, they can be turned over (re-sold) again at 9 months old cheaper by passing on some of the original factory volume discount?
I, for one, wouldnt pay a premium AT ALL for a 1 year old 1 private owner car as compared to an ex-rental.
Besides, the dealer that took the car in of the private punter probably had to offer him/her a bit more for it after 1 year to take the sting out of the depreciation and to get him in to another shinet new car! LOL!
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The reporter phoned me last week, then completely ignored everything I told him.
The simple fact is that most used cars of 3 to 15 months old will be ex-rental, ex-courtesy fleet, ex-driving school or ex-Motability (when the user has become unable to drive at all). The remainder will be ex-fleet demo or ex-dealer demo. The number of genuine 'ex-management' cars is tiny. Glass's Guide does not distinguish between them.
Many of the public have a ridiculous perception that ex-rental cars will have been abused and this stigma sticks, which is why salesmen lie about the origins of the cars.
The fact is that an ex-rental, driven by a variety of different drivers, is likely to be better run in than a car driven only by a single driver. And the penalties for damaging a rental car are now so severe that hirers rarely dare to abuse them.
Lack of service history, failure to service, lost documents, lost keys are factors that devalue a car.
HJ
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In reply to HJ:
Many of the public have a ridiculous perception that ex-rental cars will have been abused >>
It seems that they pervade even the membership of this backroom, where you would think that such unfounded views would be virtually absent. A forum search of recent comments for the words "ex-rental cars" brings up these three threads (plenty more similar ones there if anyone is interested).
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=72256&...f
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=67736&...f
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=67732&...f
Edited by jbif on 14/09/2009 at 18:36
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My nephew in New Zealand has a 2 litre Focus that is ex-rental, and was bought as such. He's a practical fellow who seems very happy with it.
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As all the management cars I drove were rental cars- and were looked after, - and I have happily bought and run ex rental cars , I read theTelegraph article and thought the reporter was a plonker...
But then the Telegraph is hardly a serious paper any more: it's more like the Daily Mail without the intelligence :-)
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I agree madf, I get the DT on a voucher scheme which means I pay up front but pay a reduced cost. It is full of coupons to clip for meals in dire Spanish and Italian restaurant chains and the reorting quality has lost a lot of its gravitas. I am thinking of going to a similar scheme with the Times but I really would miss Matt! He is the only reason I am still with th DT!
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I really would miss Matt!
So would I AS. But Nicholas Garland who does some of the big political cartoons in the middle can also be awfully good.
As for the rest of it... I won't put the boot in out of deference to our leader's connection with it, but it isn't as good as it used to be. I blame the proprietors who are doing their best to make Digger Murdoch look like a friend of Britain, but there are also the questions of TV, the internet and no one knowing how to read or giving a damn any more.
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I really do not understand why this is news, as its been going on for years. I've even seen some cars for sale still with the enterprise rent a car sticker on the back.
The simple fact is that most used cars of 3 to 15 months old will be ex-rental ex-courtesy fleet ex-driving school or ex-Motability (when the user has become unable to drive at all). The remainder will be ex-fleet demo or ex-dealer demo. The number of genuine 'ex-management' cars is tiny. Glass's Guide does not distinguish between them.
Completely agree, if you want a car that has been guaranteed to be well looked after and had one private owner etc then buying a nearly new car is not for you. The amount of cars this age that have genuinly been privately owned by an individual and are now for sale is going to be minescule, about 5% maximum. Dealer Demos, Press, Management, Learner, Courtesy or Rental are all just as bad as each other in my books.
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It shouldn't be a shock as it's been going on for years. My dad bought a 6 month old Sierra from a main dealer back in 1986 and there was no secret it was an ex rental from the Channel Islands. Even the boot and interior was a bit sandy before they valeted it.
The Ford dealer I use always uses the term 'ex-management cars' but this is meaningless even if it were true. Are Ford 'management' particularly good drivers or something?
The Ford Direct car I once bought had a company of some description listed as the first owner.
There was a thread on here earlier this year about hire cars, most of the respondents said they would treat a hire car as if it were their own car IIRC. As HJ points out the penalties are pretty stiff for abuse these days.
Key thing surely is to buy on individual condition and how the car drives.
Edited by Marc on 14/09/2009 at 20:11
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The issue for me is not necessarily the merits or otherwise of the ex-rental car...but the willingness of some in the industry to lie to buyers, just because of the knowledge/perception about buying ex-rental cars. It's the lack of integrity, at a time you're splashing out a lot of your hard earnt cash.
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The issue for me is not necessarily the merits or otherwise of the ex-rental car...but the willingness of some in the industry to lie to buyers
I was always brought up to believe never to believe anything said by anyone selling a car, whether they are trade or otherwise. Hear them out, but check it yourself.
The ex-rental car lies are only part of the same game, and it puzzles me that anyone has enough surprise left to be indignant about it.
Shock horror! Car salesman lie! Next week ... new evidence that the Pope is probably Catholic
;-)
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STOP PRESS: Bear steals roll of kitchen towels, flees into forest
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You two are on form tonight......
I think that we ought to demand good service, insist on it, stand our ground. Some places get it right. Instead of being walked on, stand up and fight. That's where the indignation comes from, not from surprise.
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WP speaks for me too.
TBH (try it sometime car sales folk), if they can't tell the truth on something as simple as a vehicles previous ownership then i want nothing to do with them.
I have nothing against rental cars as such provided the buyer is given the correct facts and can make their informed choice.
Yes it will have been driven by all sorts, thrashed mercilessly from cold, not allowed to cool before shutdown, possibly misfuelled, gears hammed up, but if it's priced correctly it may well be worth a gamble to some.
Look at the front tyres of a typical 8 to 10K renter, the tyres will be almost borderline and may well be renewed by 10/12K, some serious welly to skim the tread off that quickly.
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Ask to see the V5 before you agree to buy the car.If its not available dont buy the car.If you dont recognise the name check it out.Simple really.
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Sounds like a very good reason to bring back the good old-fashioned logbook!
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Ask to see the V5 before you agree to buy the car.If its not available dont buy the car.If you dont recognise the name check it out.Simple really.
Not sure if thats true, I've heard of Ford leasing cars to rental companies then selling them on. What that means, is that the V5 will say Ford-UK, even though the vehicle could have been a hire car. Simiarlarily, the AA Ford Focus' (which IMO are worse than renters as they have been abused and had dual controls fitted then removed) are registered to Lombard, who are a respected vehicle fleet manager.
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"Ask to see the V5 before you agree to buy the car"
I would hope that most people do this as a matter of course irrespective of what the salesman says, but then again...
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"Ask to see the V5 before you agree to buy the car"
My father brought a Toyota from a main dealer in Birmingham and the salesman told him it was a 'managers car'. Only when he looked at the logbook did he see 'ERAC Ltd'.
It doest help when the salesman starts to tell porkies.
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Ah well, so buying nearly new is a like lucky dip -- you pays your many and takes your chances.
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Anyone who buys a secondhand car and does not check the service history, the past ownership and get it HPI'd ... is a naive idiot and deserves anything they get.
Anyone who thinks a dealer in secondhand cars tells the truth will no doubt believe there are WMD in Iraq - we just have not found them yet. And Santa comes down the chimney at Christmas.
Anyone who buys a secondhand car with worn out tyres without asking for them to be replaced is both of the above.
PS:
I have a nice car to sell, one family owner, carefully maintained, only 47,000 miles all MOTs and ............ :-)
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If I remember correctly, car manufacturers' new business car sales compared to private buyers is 70:30.
I've always understood that "Nearly new" used cars are generally ex-lease or rental vehicles bought at big discounts and normally only used for a few months before being replaced.
Hence the bargains to be had for private buyers of secondhand cars.
The subject has been raised earlier this year:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=72260
Swan National was a very well known source for such vehicles when connected to LloydsTSB.
However, you don't seem to hear very much these days about the ex-hire cars that used to be available after duty in Jersey.
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I always feel that private owners are more likely to sell a nearly new car because it has a fault whereas ex-fleet (whether hire or not) are simply sold when they reach a given age or mileage. So I'd be very wary of a nearly new private sale. Just why are they selling?
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Just remembered that the largest buyer of cars in the UK is the charity Motability - in fact I've bought one or two ex-Motability cars in the past on behalf of friends and they've been top notch.
Probably due to the fact that the cost includes regular servicing as well as insurance, road tax etc.
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When i worked at ford most of the 'Ford Direct' stock was ex rental. Though we were always told to tell the customer it was an ex managers car. The log books always came through as 'ERAC Ltd' which was of course Enterprise Rent A Car.
Nothing wrong in buying an ex rental - most of our used car stock was from Hertz or Enterprise and in pretty good condition.
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My current car, and my prev car where both Ex mobilty
Full manufacture service history and low miles... my current vectra (apart from a slight scuff on the back bumper) is in tip top condition.
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You don't see that many rental Audi / Lexus / Honda / Mercedes.
Does that mean that low-mileage used cars from these manufacturers really are likely to be ex-manager, or ex-demo?
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You don't see that many rental Audi / Lexus / Honda / Mercedes. Does that mean that low-mileage used cars from these manufacturers really are likely to be ex-manager or ex-demo?
Ex-rental Mercs and Audis exist, as they are often in the rental companies 'presitige selection' or whatever, and cars like the A-Class or A3 tend to be popular courtesy cars at dealers/ bodyshops.
Havent a clue about Lexus as they are a very low volume manfacutrer these days
Honda are no different to the likes of VW or Toyota, there cars can be used as daily renters.
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When we bought the Sierra there was a blue one stood on the parking lot that the dealer steered me towards. Lower milage than the one we bought, but newer and more expensive.
I said no - not on the basis that it was ex rental (I knew this without asking as 10 days before I HAD been driving it as a rental) but because I knew it had a fault, having dumped water on my feet on a roundabout in Southampton - not something you expect when you ar driving!.
In those days the Ford dealer rented cars for 3-6 months to Hertz who hired them out, I had put 2500 miles on the car for Hertz.
At that time any recent car in his used stock will have been through Hertz but the owner would be listed as the dealer! So knowing the previous owner does not help.
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