Just saw a commercial for Enterprise "Car Sales"

"area man" (hurrburgring)
11/03/2013 at 10:54 • Filed to: What

Who DA FUQ would go to a used lot full of ex-rental cars?

DISCUSSION (33)

CalzoneGolem > area man
11/03/2013 at 11:02

Someone who wants a new Saturn Vue really badly.

Kinja'd!!!

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > area man
11/03/2013 at 11:03

Dunno, I got an email from them advertising it through my master card. There is no ways in hell I buy a used rental car, unless it was $500. Then I'd hoon the shit out of it at lemons.

The Transporter > area man
11/03/2013 at 11:07

The answer is: more than you'd think. Each rental car agency generates a significant amount of their gross revenue from re-selling their cars after they're done with them. Where do you think those privately owned Aveos and Captivas come from? Nobody in their right mind would buy one of those shitboxes new. But in a post-Cash-for-Clunkers world $9,000 for a 2 year old car starts to seem like a pretty sweet deal.

EDIT: Correction, ex-rental Aveos are now going for as low as $8,000 now.

oldirtybootz > area man
11/03/2013 at 11:08

My dealership occasionally purchases Chryslers, Jeeps, and Dodges from Enterprise to resell. They're really not terrible and after I clean them and they've been through the shop, you wouldn't know the difference. Most normal used cars that come in are nastier and need more work than the rentals.

SaabLife, because Gripen > area man
11/03/2013 at 11:09

Yeah, I saw one of the Enterprise car sales lots and one of the Hertz places the other day. It had a few 2012 Lincoln MKS's, a few Mustangs, a Mercedes GL, and a M class.

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > area man
11/03/2013 at 11:10

The same people who buy former cabs. Which were cop cars before they were cabs.

ttyymmnn > area man
11/03/2013 at 11:15

My wife and I bought a '96 Stratus from a dealership that had first been owned by Hertz (it was called a "program car"). It had about 16k miles on it, and was in very good condition. In spite of the occasional hoon who rents a car, most rentals are driven pretty easily, they are maintained well and cleaned often. We kept that car for a number of years, until my wife pulled out in front of a city bus and it was totaled (she was fine, thankfully). For us, on a budget and needing a new(er) car, it was a great deal.

dogisbadob > CalzoneGolem
11/03/2013 at 11:21

The Opel Antara is awesome. GM should've dropped the Equinox and just sell the Captiva in retail since the Saturn Vue is no longer sold.

dogisbadob > area man
11/03/2013 at 11:22

Someone that wants a fast car cheap.

Straightsix9904 > area man
11/03/2013 at 11:37

They aren't all ex-rentals, in fact, very very few of them are. My friend use to work as an ex-buyer for Enterprise. He went to the exact same auctions as Car-Max and all the other used car dealers.

My friend also bought a used Kia Soul from there. (Trust me, I didn't know he was doing it and he didn't consult me) and it is actually a pretty good car and he got a fair deal. (as good as a Soul can be)

Straightsix9904 > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
11/03/2013 at 11:38

They normally aren't rental cars that they are selling.

Klaus Schmoll > area man
11/03/2013 at 12:27

I don't know about the US, but in Europe rental companies dump their cars after 6 months. They then get the full mechanical/visual treatment and hit the used at low prices. They are a pretty good deal actually.

sellphones2493 > area man
11/03/2013 at 12:33

Apparently a fair amount. When my Subie was in a body shop for 3 weeks after a Panera Bread Truck slammed into the front of it in a parking lot, I was given a Volvo V70 rental from Enterprise. I had the car for 4 days, then Enterprise called saying that I had to trade it because they sold it. I didn't complain because they promised me something equal or better. I got a Jeep Grand Cherokee as a replacement, and after a week I got the same phone call. Getting a new car every few days became fun. In the end, I ended up getting a Cadillac SRX!

The Transporter > Klaus Schmoll
11/03/2013 at 14:48

In the US it depends on the used car market. If a car is in high demand it probably won't last 6 months. Usually, the upper limit is 2 years or 60,000 miles, but I've seen some last much longer than that.

HooninMyVolvo > area man
11/03/2013 at 15:30

I bought my '11 Volvo in 2012 with 26,000mi on it as a former rental car. I payed easily 11-12k less than it was new, and have yet to have any problems with it 24,000mi and a carjacking later.

Klaus Schmoll > The Transporter
11/03/2013 at 16:50

If they keep them for 2 years/60K miles, do they service the cars? Over here they reckon that the logistics involved with having to take the cars out of the system, getting them serviced, and then re-entering them into the system isn't worth the hassle so they dump them when the first service is a little overdue.

area man > Klaus Schmoll
11/03/2013 at 16:54

I think it's a safe bet in this country that most rental cars are too abused to be saved by regular servicing.

area man > dogisbadob
11/03/2013 at 16:55

For some reason it looks more capable than the Equinox/Vue.

area man > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
11/03/2013 at 16:56

Exactly, and you're not going to get anything from Enterprise for that cheap.

area man > The Transporter
11/03/2013 at 16:57

Yeah, I probably sounded a little too dismissive of the concept... I just thought most fellow Jalops would chuckle at the concept, since we all know the abuse these cars take.

area man > oldirtybootz
11/03/2013 at 16:58

I bet it depends on the model. But you're right, individual ownership can be just as bad for a car.

area man > ttyymmnn
11/03/2013 at 16:59

Well, 16k miles is pretty low. Sounds like you got a great deal, but who knows what problems you might have faced with double or triple the rental mileage.

area man > Straightsix9904
11/03/2013 at 17:00

Sounds like I jumped the gun a little bit. The commercial was just so sunny and happy while glossing over all the realities of buying a former rental car, I couldn't resist posting.

area man > The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123
11/03/2013 at 17:01

area man > sellphones2493
11/03/2013 at 17:02

Haha, that's pretty funny. I think it's safer to buy one of the higher-end rentals from them, rather than something like a Corolla.

area man > HooninMyVolvo
11/03/2013 at 17:04

That's decent mileage. Glad to hear you had a good experience. I think the car you get really depends on that and the company in general - if they're good about maintaining.

Klaus Schmoll > area man
11/03/2013 at 17:11

A good friend of mine who is an engineer at BMW in Munich (dude is constantly going to the arctic circle or southern France to play around with/test/develop or whatever they may call it their prototypes) bought an ex-rental Focus a few years ago. His reasoning was that the car was too young to be really messed up, they thoroughly check them and repair everything that might be dodgy, and most important that modern engine management systems prevent them from getting damaged by high reving them after a cold start and such shenanigans.

Given that since he graduated he always got to play with nice cars, he never developed an urge to put his own money into a nice ride, so he got the Focus years ago and still drives it without any remorse. The car before that was a rusted out early 90s Civic hatch.

area man > Klaus Schmoll
11/03/2013 at 17:20

Those are good points that I was apparently incapable of coming up with. There's a reason your friend works for BMW apparently. What a cool job!

ttyymmnn > area man
11/03/2013 at 17:28

Who knows indeed. With that kind of mileage, I probably wouldn't have bought it.

Klaus Schmoll > area man
11/03/2013 at 17:29

Yeah, I'm a bit jelly actually!

If only I paid more attention to this boring physics and computer stuff... Nah, I'm good! I always knew that I wanted to interact with people, and I really love teaching. But still, nice job, and nice pay check too.

oldirtybootz > area man
11/03/2013 at 18:48

We've gotten 300s, Chargers, Wranglers, 200s, Avengers, Journeys, Caravans, Town and Countrys, and they've all been fine cars.

The Transporter > area man
11/03/2013 at 19:39

It's probably less abuse than the average car gets in private hands over the same period of time. Rentals probably stack up the miles quicker, but at least they undergo regular preventative maintenance and cleaning.

The Transporter > Klaus Schmoll
11/03/2013 at 20:14

When I go into work tomorrow half of my day will probably be spent shuttling cars back and forth to our regional maintenance facility for oil changes. If tires start to reach the wear bar, they are replaced. Before the car is sent to be wholesaled, tires are replaced. Break pads are one of the things that are checked every 30k miles, and if they need replacing, they get replaced. If the car needs an alignment, it gets an alignment. If there's a vibration in the brake pedal, the rotors get ground down and resurfaced. Most shocks will still have some life left in them by the time the car goes to wholesale, but I image that if the ride were that bad, they'd get replaced.

I can't speak for every rental agency, but the one that I work for would rather spend a little bit of money up front for routine maintenance to avoid the customer service nightmare of having to pick up a stranded customer because the engine seized up due to a lack of proper maintenance. They also want to sell these cars for as much as possible, as well, so they need to be kept in the best shape that's feasible. I have seen a few cars go way past the limit for routine maintenance, but that usually only occurs if the car has been on rent for over a month straight. Most of our cars that have broken down on customers failed due to poor build quality, but even these are very rare.

On a completely unrelated note, I wouldn't recommend buying a new Dodge or Nissan if you want reliable transportation.

Also, if the agency you rent from has a name that is synonymous with low cost (Thrifty, Dollar, Budget), you're probably going to get what you pay for. Thrifty seems to be particularly bad. Our company has had a number of refugees from that place and if they treat their employees with such a high level of disdain, I highly doubt they treat their cars any better.