I am going to look @ a Mondeo 2.2 TDCi Titanium that is an ex-rental vehicle from Avis.

Are there any known issues with ex-rental cars other than the usual fact that they have been trashed?

Car will be either 6 months old or 15,000 miles whichever comes sooner.

Thanks, Chris.

I wouldn't touch an ex-rental with a bargepole personally, too much chance of it being completely thrashed each and every time it was rented out!

I know they can be had for very keen priced, but they're that cheap for a reason

Steve

I'd not worry about a 6 month/15K miles ex-rental car to much personally. Only a potential 175 (give or take a few ) different drivers....

Think of it this way....

How do you drive hire cars?

I have bought ex-rental in the past, suppose it depends on circumstances and luck of the draw, but I had no problems at all. The cars have to be kept to a high standard, will come with balance of warranty etc regardless. I think the only thing to check would be tyre and wheel damage, tracking and general interior and exterior scuffs. Think of the saving you will make and the holidays you can enjoy with the money!

I am going to look @ a Mondeo 2.2 TDCi Titanium that is an ex-rental vehicle from Avis.

Are there any known issues with ex-rental cars other than the usual fact that they have been trashed?

Car will be either 6 months old or 15,000 miles whichever comes sooner.

Thanks, Chris.

Everyone knows that rental cars are the fastest in the world, I use rentals a lot when working away as I am this week in Belfast. It gets ragged from cold, no cool down cycle for the turbo at the end it just gets switched off ...... it's a rental, it's not my car so not my problem.

May come over as negative, but I know of nobody that has treated a rental with respect. The mondeo is a solid car, but it will probably have had 100k's worth of engine wear in the first 30k of actual mileage due to the above noted neglect.

Unless it was a giveaway, I would avoid it.

Also worth considering that the rental firm will still be on the V5 when you come to sell it - which will make it very hard to sell.

I can get it for £8,500 which following the parkers web site based on 10,000 miles usage is:

Original Price £19,782

Franchised Dealer £13,630

Independent Dealer £13,050

Private Good £12,230

Private Poor £10,250

Part Exchange £11,415

It will have 15,000 miles on the clock, not 6 months old. There are 50 to choose from, 7 of which are the models I want - so one of them might be ok....

That's my predicament you see, it's such a big saving but I know it will of been driven in the same way I would drive a rental car :(

But the suspension and interior should be as per a 15k car - its just the engine you need to think of. Less so on a diesel I would have thought though.

Personally I'd buy one only if I was going to keep it for 5 years or so. By the time you come to sell it on you need to be at the point where the value is negligable.

Personally I'd buy one only if I was going to keep it for 5 years or so. By the time you come to sell it on you need to be at the point where the value is negligable.

I undertand your point, but I was thinking its the kind of car you would buy to keep only up to the point the manufacturers warranty runs out.

Guess both options have their ups and downs.

Buy one, run it until warrenty expiires or one more year then trade it in.

I would buy it, if it looks tidy manufacturers warranty should give peace of mind, if you can get it on a ramp you can check for underside damage not covered by the warranty. If you have any doubts get the AA or similar or even the local ford stealer to give it a once over

I would buy an ex-company car deffo, mostly the same driver, miles and miles of motorway, even at 100k + they would be a good buy.... but an ex-rental? if that were the case I'd go as someone else said, keep it until the warranty run out, then get rid....

I have just gotten rid of my 2001 plate focus, it was an enterprise rental car and i bought it when it was 12 months/12000 miles old.

It had 104000 miles on the clock when i chopped it in, in that time it never broke down, always started first time, had one set of pads/discs, was on it's original exhaust and had a new alternator as well as the usual oil changes and tyres and that was it, i suppose my motorway journey to work helped with some things but it has been the best car i've had so far.

So i think like most things it's a gamble, you could get a good or bad one, you'll have to judge it on it's own merits/price etc

As an example, Working for europcar, used to get 2.0 passats fresh off the lorry with 6 miles on the clock...

start them up then drive them to the carpark (1 mile trip) flat out in 2nd, and switch off as soon as parked.When we did a "service check" as long as the oil was on or above min it was ok- never changed.

Renault used to get back about 18% of the cars tehy supplied us as we managed to break them within 4hrs of being delivered.

Americans are a nightmare- several cases of clutches falling out due ot "never having driven a stick shift before"

I'd rather walk

To be honest I wouldn't go near one chances are it'll have been screwed more times than Abi Titmus and hit more kerbsides than George Michael

Go in with open eyes and see if you can get a friendly mechanic to give it a once over to look at it. Most of them are sold "as is" and don't undergo any prep so I'd imagine any damage/faults would be pretty obvious by inspection and driving. Luckily you seem to have plenty to choose from so be fussy

Chris

Buy an ex rental eh? There's one argument that says it'll have been abused from new as hard as possible and any lights on the dash ignored for a fortnight till the holiday's over.

There's another argument that any car might've had that sort of life.

My personal thoughts are that if you buy something with your own money you're more likely to look after it.

But any used car is a gamble (and so are some new ones!)...

I can get it for £8,500 which following the parkers web site based on 10,000 miles usage is:

Original Price £19,782

Franchised Dealer £13,630

Independent Dealer £13,050

Private Good £12,230

Private Poor £10,250

Part Exchange £11,415

It will have 15,000 miles on the clock, not 6 months old. There are 50 to choose from, 7 of which are the models I want - so one of them might be ok....

That's my predicament you see, it's such a big saving but I know it will of been driven in the same way I would drive a rental car :(

That is scary depreciation, in your case at £8.5 its what 55% in 6 nmonths? Even if its the best example a dealer is expecting it to have lost 30% in 6 months:eek: :eek: and people want to buy a Ford over a Skoda:rofl: (from new)

No different than buying any other type of car.

If It looks ok, drives ok, and hasn't been involved in an accident and has it's service history then it probably is ok.

Not everyone thrashes hire cars, I'd say go for it, the balance of the manufacturers warranty will sort out any problems you might have anyway.

That is scary depreciation, in your case at £8.5 its what 55% in 6 nmonths? Even if its the best example a dealer is expecting it to have lost 30% in 6 months:eek: :eek: and people want to buy a Ford over a Skoda:rofl: (from new)

All cars depreciate like mad when purchased new, most of the people on this site think Skoda has really good residual values, but unfortunately they are in for a big shock when they sell their Skodas.

Hows 80% depreciation over 3 years sound? thats the truth of Skoda I'm afraid.

Personaly I at anyone buying a Skoda over a Ford after my experience with Skoda's and the dealers.

Our Octavia was £15k when the last owner bought it - I picked it up 3 years later with 69k on the clock for £5k

All cars depreciate like mad when purchased new, most of the people on this site think Skoda has really good residual values, but unfortunately they are in for a big shock when they sell their Skodas.

Hows 80% depreciation over 3 years sound? thats the truth of Skoda I'm afraid.

Personaly I at anyone buying a Skoda over a Ford after my experience with Skoda's and the dealers.

Obviously it depends on model but I would buy 6 month old furby vRS' at £6 k and Octy vRS' at £9k all day long. except i've never seen one.

Hows 80% depreciation over 3 years sound? thats the truth of Skoda I'm afraid.

That's absolute crap.

The point is I can get one direct from a guy my uncle knows at Avis for £8,500 which is a huge depreciation I know but bearing in mind I should be paying £11,000 it's quite a steal and I can only get it because of my uncle's contact.

These cars are apparently bought by various car supermarkets and then sold for £10,995-£11,995 and that is cheap!!!

So take'th of that what you will, on one hand it will of been trashed, on the other hand i'm getting a car for Cat D prices, probably less than 6 months old, fully taxed, balance of manufacturers warranty, uk car (not import), have several to choose from and my father in law is a mechanic so should spot any potential faults.

Chris.