Would You Buy A Rental Car?

My family squabbled amiably this weekend about the wisdom of buying a rental car.

ARGUMENT: Supposedly people tend to drive them hard, since, well, they’re only rentals; as long as drivers don’t crash the cars, they don’t have to worry about the long-term effects of speeding, riding the brakes, evading arrest by making a sharp turn and off-roading through a corn field, and so on.

COUNTER-ARGUMENT: Supposedly, rental companies treat each car like it’s Air Force One, maintaining and conditioning the hell out of it between the time that it comes back from one renter and it goes out again with another.

ARGUMENT: Do you really want a car that so many other people have driven?

COUNTER-ARGUMENT: That sounds a lot like slut shaming to me. And maybe ageism too.

ARGUMENT: [combusts in shame]

*

AutoTrader.com lists some of the positives and negatives of buying a former rental car, though it also cautions that often enough prospective buyers aren’t told that their pre-owned vehicle ever lived in an Avis parking lot. That’s to say that even if you think you’d never buy a former rental, you may have done so without knowing it. Fun!

But, increasingly, the process is more transparent, and a car’s history is listed as well as its cost:

Another benefit to buying a used rental car is its cost. As CARFAX and other vehicle history report services often list a car’s previous use as a rental, shoppers can use this information to negotiate a lower price. This gives bargain-hunting shoppers an edge when it comes time to sign the papers.

Auto Trader ends up giving the idea a qualified endorsement: “for those who don’t mind hiring a mechanic before buying a car, a used rental may prove to be a well-maintained, inexpensive choice among used cars.”

US News points out that rental companies often add deal-sweetners.

Many rental companies offer additional incentives to try to get you to buy one of their used rental cars. With each purchase, Enterprise Car Sales includes CARFAX vehicle history reports, a one-year/12,000-mile powertrain warranty and a year of roadside assistance with the American Automobile Association (AAA). Keep in mind that you can get a CARFAX report at any used car dealer and most dealers offer some kind of extended warranty.

And Hertz’s website specifies one very attractive deal-sweetener: no used-car salesmen. No salesmen at all, in fact.

Our cars sell themselves, leaving our team to do what it does best: place you in the driver’s seat for up to 3 days and help you make an informed decision with zero pressure.

That’s change I can believe in.

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