Should I buy a former rental car?

If you listen to the guys on ‘Car Talk’ (Click and Clack, the Tappit Brothers), you wouldn’t buy a former rental car if they came free in a box of caramel corn with peanuts. They confessed, on the air, to some of the dubious stunts they had pulled in rental cars. But the odds of buying a car abused by Tom and Ray are pretty small. Most people who drive rental cars are people like you. If you think that’s a good thing, then the thought of buying a former rental shouldn’t appall you.

Rental cars for sale by a rental company have been cosmetically and mechanically maintained. They should come with a warranty. Theoretically, they’ve had any bugs driven out of them. If you buy from a reputable rental firm, no one will have messed with the odometer. What’s not to like? If you’re really spooked by the idea, hang on to the car until just before the warranty runs out, then sell it and buy another one. If the car is too new to make sense as a sale car, well, maybe it was a production lemon or has been in too close contact with another object. So you don’t buy that one.

The biggest advantage in buying a used car is somebody else took the big depreciation hit. The advantage in buying a former rental car is it still looks good, and if somebody spritzed a little eau de new car in it, it will smell good, too.

These are some highlights of the certification program used by Enterprise when offering their rental cars for sale: the cars are priced below Kelley Blue Book, there is a limited 12 mo/12,000mile powertrain warranty, if you change your mind within 7 days they’ll buy the car back (minus $200 administrative fees), 1 year roadside assistance by, ta-da, Triple A. They also accept trade-ins and can arrange financing, but you may get more toward a down payment if you sell your old car yourself, and you may get better financing if you are pre-approved by your bank, just like buying any other car, new or used. If you look on their website you’ll find a list of all the things that are inspected/corrected before a car is offered for sale. Of course, you still have to pay all the normal add-ons—tax, title, tags, documentation, emissions testing, finance fees, but you knew that.

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