Would You Buy A Rental Car?

[Hemidoc]

I work at a new car dealer.
Enterprise brings there cars in all the time if they have a problem.
They won't rent a car that has an open recall or something wrong with it.
Funny story: I had Enterprise bring me a PT Cruiser with a coolant leak.
I checked it and as fast as I put water in it the water ran onto the pass side floor.
Any who turned out someone had taken a screwdriver to the HVAC box and knocked holes in the heater core.
Enterprise agreed to pay to fix it.
When I pulled the dash back to get to the HVAC box I found a crack pipe in the defroster duct
Guess that's what they were digging for.

 

[dkevinb]

I rent from all the majors- Alamo, Dollar, Avis, Budget, National, Hertz. Agree on the thorough check for any used car you buy. I don't know why I so often get crummy cars...but my whole sales team faces the same issues. If a company guaranteed a clean, newer car, I would pay a premium for that, for sure.

Our corporate cars have always been Hertz, and they've always been almost brand spanking new, many of them with < 1,000 miles. Personally we rent Enterprise most of the time because of their rates, and they're just really nice people wherever we've gone. The cars are pretty plain vanilla, but always in good shape. Don't think I've ever done Alamo, Dollar, Budget or National.

Last spring we rented an Impala from Hertz and drove it from SoCal to Virginia and back the long way. It had about 2,500 miles on it when we picked it up. By the time we got to Tennessee the Change Oil light had come on, so we did. When we turned it back in we'd put an additonal 6,551 miles on it. We had it for 19 days, no mileage charge. Great car. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

 

[dkevinb]

I work at a new car dealer.
Enterprise brings there cars in all the time if they have a problem.
They won't rent a car that has an open recall or something wrong with it.
Funny story: I had Enterprise bring me a PT Cruiser with a coolant leak.
I checked it and as fast as I put water in it the water ran onto the pass side floor.
Any who turned out someone had taken a screwdriver to the HVAC box and knocked holes in the heater core.
Enterprise agreed to pay to fix it.
When I pulled the dash back to get to the HVAC box I found a crack pipe in the defroster duct
Guess that's what they were digging for.

That is funny. I just read that one of the big problems in Colorado now for the rental car companies is people from out of state dropping them off at the airport to fly home and trying to get rid of their leftover weed before they get on the plane. They keep trying to give it to the rental car employees. Tough problem to have.

 

[Hamaki]

I think luck, chance, whatever, has a lot to do with it. I've only been really happy with one new vehicle purchase - a 1990 Dodge diesel pickup we still have. Looks like hell but always starts, always goes and I've hauled tons of hay, trash, firewood, etc. with it. I think it probably has close to 500k miles on it. Odometer quit working about 12 - 15 years ago. Other new vehicles have not been as satisfactory and one was a real problem.

We've had good luck with all three used cars bought from Enterprise. Those we bought from used car lots & private parties were much less of a success.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Our corporate cars have always been Hertz, and they've always been almost brand spanking new, many of them with < 1,000 miles. Personally we rent Enterprise most of the time because of their rates, and they're just really nice people wherever we've gone. The cars are pretty plain vanilla, but always in good shape. Don't think I've ever done Alamo, Dollar, Budget or National.

Our corporate agreement is with Avis, so basically everyone in the company who travels gets an Avis Preferred membership. I've generally had good luck with the cars there. I wonder if they do give the "better" cars to people who actually are in the loyalty program?

My earlier comment about flogging the living hell out of the Camaro SS notwithstanding, I really am generally quite civil in a rental car. I'm a business traveler. I have better things to do with my time than act like a hooligan in a rental car. Given how many business travelers are out there renting cars in relation to vacationers or pleasure travelers, I'll bet a LOT more miles are driven in those cars by people like me than by people who are flogging them.

 

[TallDan]

Our corporate agreement is with Avis, so basically everyone in the company who travels gets an Avis Preferred membership. I've generally had good luck with the cars there. I wonder if they do give the "better" cars to people who actually are in the loyalty program?

My earlier comment about flogging the living hell out of the Camaro SS notwithstanding, I really am generally quite civil in a rental car. I'm a business traveler. I have better things to do with my time than act like a hooligan in a rental car. Given how many business travelers are out there renting cars in relation to vacationers or pleasure travelers, I'll bet a LOT more miles are driven in those cars by people like me than by people who are flogging them.

Similar story here, I have avis preferred, and consistently get better cars. For example, right now, I have a Toyota Highlander for a reservation of a mid-size car. Formerly had Avis First as well, which got me slightly more. Even when they gave me a Challenger SRT-8 (again for a mid-size reservation), I wouldn't say i beat it up at all, but I would say i burned more gas than usual.

 

[dfc]

Would you marry a hooker?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Have you ever bought a used car from a dealer?

Chances are you've bought what once was a rental car. Used to be it was not so easy to get the history on a car. Now it's a selling point, if you ask for it.

I'm fairly certain our current car was once on a rental lot. Was a year old when we bought it. Been the best car we have ever bought.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Would you marry a hooker?

Dunno. Does she still have a factory warranty?

 

[TallDan]

Would you marry a hooker?

Pretty sure I didn't, but I also didn't ask for a full history of sexual partners and the nature of their relationship and then contact each one of them to verify the accuracy, then cross check that with medical history to ensure it all lines up...

...did you?

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0slTBGBEf0g[/ame]

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Carfax will give you the history of your car. I always get one before I buy.

 

[dfc]

Dunno. Does she still have a factory warranty?

I'll have to ask.

 

[dfc]

Pretty sure I didn't, but I also didn't ask for a full history of sexual partners and the nature of their relationship and then contact each one of them to verify the accuracy, then cross check that with medical history to ensure it all lines up...

...did you?

My wife was worthy of a white dress...

 

[Hamaki]

My wife was worthy of a white dress...

Were you?

 

[Zuljin]

Pretty sure I didn't, but I also didn't ask for a full history of sexual partners and the nature of their relationship and then contact each one of them to verify the accuracy, then cross check that with medical history to ensure it all lines up...

...did you?

They should have a service for that. VagFax or something.

Were you?

Now that is a loaded question.

 

[podz]

No, I would never buy a rental car.

I used to rent cars for an entire week during business trips. They were usually brand new, mid-class models. And they invariably had tiny engines because engine size affects car cost a lot. After a week of stomping the gas on those sewing machine motors, they'd be running like they were "completely ragged out" by the time I returned them to the rental agency.

Many people who rent cars treat them the same way as I do. I look at it like this: if they are making me pay a super premium price for using their car, then they give me something with a sewing machine motor, I still need to keep up with the flow of traffic, etc. Stomp the gas constantly to get the damned thing moving.

 

[dfc]

Were you?

I wasn't even worthy of an off white dress.