Piston Slap: To Rent, To Own

Sajeev Mehta
by Sajeev Mehta
Brad writes:

Hi Sajeev –

I’m a longtime reader of the blog, and also have been car less for the past 17 years. I live in a major Pacific Northwest city and haven’t needed a car. But I’m getting older, I’m partnered up and need to visit in-laws out in the boonies, and I just find myself wanting a car. I don’t want an older car. The two cars I did own back in my teens and early 20s were a 1980s Buick Skylark and a 1988 Dodge Omni. I think dealing with the repairs on those two beaters put a bad taste in my mouth for very old cars. So I’m looking at new or slightly used.

I’ve noticed that various rental car companies sell off their car with 30-40k miles on them for a decent price. What is your opinion on buying a rental car? On one hand, I think that people abuse a rental car, but then again, a rental car also might be well maintained by the company. Thoughts on buying a rental car?

Sajeev answers:

Normal rental cars (not Vettes, etc) aren’t more or less of a crap shoot than other used cars. My only advice is to avoid cars that wound up in press fleets, or those used in driving schools. If a car is sold by a manufacturer at an auction…

Most rental cars aren’t abused as badly as you might think, thanks to today’s performance inhibitors built into the system. Neutral dropping the transmission at red line? Not possible, as the factory tune often has a 3000rpm governor in park or neutral. Air-fuel ratios always(?) err on the safe/rich side, as you approach red line. Traction control systems take the fun out of serious hooning too. Aside from excess brake wear from the active handling nannies (addressed by fleet mechanics) and the chance of transmission problems in the WAY distant future, I don’t believe that buying a former rental is a bad idea.

I’m more horrified at the prospect of buying a clean one-owner car with zero service history and a teenager in the house that’s beat the living shit out of it when they had the opportunity. That’s real fear: you can’t trust that smiling family! Rental cars have good upkeep, and the factory “tunes” them for safety and longevity. The odds are good that you’ll get a decent machine.

So go ahead and get whatever vanilla rental machine suits your, um, fancy.

Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry…but be realistic, and use your make/model specific forums instead of TTAC for more timely advice.

Sajeev Mehta
Sajeev Mehta

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  • KenyG KenyG on Mar 20, 2013

    I purchased a year old Grand Prix in 2008 that had been a hertz rental. Came with 28k on the odometer & cost me 17k. I think new at the time they were about 22-23, 2008 was the last year for the GPs. Got the balance of the GM factory warranty, which I think was 40k or 3yrs. Car doesn't have OnStar - but was loaded otherwise. Other that brakes & tires, and normal maintenance its been trouble free for nearly 60k miles.

    • See 1 previous
    • 28-Cars-Later 28-Cars-Later on Mar 21, 2013

      @danio3834 I have one of those exact ABS-less models, except mine is an '08 and I bought it in '10. Very strange indeed... could ABS have been tied into the traction control option, because I know that wasn't standard on these.

  • Kyree Kyree on Mar 21, 2013

    The good thing about a rental car is that it will have been serviced and will have service history. I always tell buyers to beware of cars that have no service history or are very rarely driven (which is not good for most cars). Granny's eight-thousand-mile 2010 LaCrosse may be harboring some ugly gremlins...

  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
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