General Would you buy ex hire car?

IJK · Dec 20, 2013

Hi all.

Been offered a 500s 1.2 petrol 4months old mileage 3000 But just been told its ex hire car.
Gulped in horror really but the price is CHEAP!

Looks nice really good condition. But..... Its a hire car.
Opinions please!

ahmett · Dec 20, 2013

Well what could go wrong? As long as it hasn't been a write off in the past id get it especially with such low mileage!

frupi · Dec 20, 2013

Basically, that is what our old POP started out life as, a fleet or hire car for a courtesy car company. It had the half leather/aircon/Blue and Me upgrade pack. We bought it in 2011 after just four months use as a courtesy car with only 825 miles on the clock for about 2.5k less than a brand new one on a Fiat forecourt.

There really shouldn't be any need to 'Gulp in horror'. It is mostly a myth that people mistreat hire cars. It should be fine. You'll have the remainder of the Fiat warranty. Don't forget too, it is an absolute must that you pay the £27 for the third year dealer warranty and transfer it into your name. If you don't and something goes wrong, you may regret not doing so. Don't forget also, to transfer ownership of the etch registration to the ISR. They did ours for free because the car had formally belonged to a company.

http://www.retainagroup.com/isr-registration.html

RUI · Dec 20, 2013

frupi said:
It is mostly a myth that people mistreat hire cars.

Just don't buy one that I have ever driven then

IJK · Dec 20, 2013

Don't forget too, it is an absolute must that you pay the £27 for the third year dealer warranty and transfer it into your name. If you don't and something

I didn't know that. Thanks

frupi · Dec 20, 2013

IJK said:
Don't forget too, it is an absolute must that you pay the £27 for the third year dealer warranty and transfer it into your name. If you don't and something

I didn't know that. Thanks

No probs. I'm going from experience from claiming on a warranty perspective. When I first joined this forum, there were some who effectively said 'Oooh, no, don't bother, it isn't worth the paper it's written on. It covers next to nothing' Actually, that is inaccurate information. I had some items replaced under the third year dealer warranty which had I had to pay Fiat's prices, would have cost me around about £1200, considerably more than the £27 it cost to transfer the warranty.

rossocorsa · Dec 20, 2013

Any idea what real use the isr registration is other than for someone to pocket 20odd quid for doing almost nothing I just can't get what use it is

frupi · Dec 20, 2013

RUI said:
Just don't buy one that I have ever driven then

I'm sure you don't actually really mean that. I mean, why would you mistreat a car just because you don't own it? I've hired multiple cars throughout my driving life and I've never kicked the backside out of any of them. That would just be utterly pointless and ridiculous.

frupi · Dec 20, 2013

rossocorsa said:
Any idea what real use the isr registration is other than for someone to pocket 20odd quid for doing almost nothing I just can't get what use it is

Sadly, it would appear you have failed to even read the ISR website and understand the service offered. You need to look at the bigger picture. Too many people these days just think everything offered is some sort of money grabbing exercise. Twenty odd quid is not a lot of money if you can afford to run and own a car, especially if you're spending a few grand on one. The following is an extract taken directly from the ISR website:

Stolen Fiat parts identified during hunt for a gun!

A police officer who makes regular use of our service, called to say that whilst searching for a gun following a major incident, he had discovered instead various vehicle parts. One of these was a door, with our etch code on the window.

The code brought up the record for a PNC stolen Fiat Punto, details of which our operator gave to the officer. His response was "You never fail to deliver."

rossocorsa · Dec 20, 2013

Sounds like cods wallop to me tbh I really can't see that it's worth spending on such a slim possibility of being useful, it makes me laugh when they write pleading for me to pay to register my car when actually they clearly already have my details. Actually in the quoted situation I think they would still be able to identify the car to the police even if the owner details had changed?

frupi · Dec 20, 2013

rossocorsa said:
Sounds like cods wallop to me tbh I really can't see that it's worth spending on such a slim possibility of being useful, it makes me laugh when they write pleading for me to pay to register my car when actually they clearly already have my details. Actually in the quoted situation I think they would still be able to identify the car to the police even if the owner details had changed?

Clearly, your choice and your opinion and you are entitled to it.

As I eluded to in an earlier post, when I phoned the ISR to register our old POP details, they actually didn't charge me to update the records from the previous owner which was a company because I was the first private owner of the vehicle. When we sold the car to a dealer just two weeks ago, I made sure I updated the change of ownership details on the ISR website (no charge) of our old POP to the new owner i.e. the dealer, with the recorded mileage of the vehicle etc. Did the same too for our old Mazda when we part exchanged that for our old POP.

Personally, I can't really see what your beef is, other than the fact it appears you think the whole thing is too much trouble and a complete waste of time/money, just as some people might think that paying £27 for the third year dealer warranty as a second or subsequent owner, is a complete waste of time and money - until of course something goes wrong!

SeanW · Dec 20, 2013

My car is an ex-hire car. Had 32000 ish on the clock. 2009 build, registered 2011 (suspect it was possibly sat in a showroom or in a holding yard before being bought cheap by the hire company). They had it 18 months before chopping it. Probably because it's an unpopular engine choice for them (1.8l petrol).

So far the only mechanical problems with it were caused by me...

frupi · Dec 20, 2013

I bought our old POP from an authorised re-seller for nearly new ex fleet cars. When I arrived at the dealership, they had a couple of large car transporters loaded fully with Fiat 500's, all only a few months old with less than 3000 miles on the clock, being unloaded. The salesman informed me they were getting a delivery every day that particular week. We were lucky to have got the one we did with only 825 on the clock, the cars were selling like hot cakes. Allegedly, there were dealers going to the place I bought my car from, buying them for exactly the same price as I paid for mine (the cars were sold with zero discount because they were already substantially discounted) and then ending up on forecourts for considerably more than had been paid for them.

rossocorsa · Dec 20, 2013

frupi said:
Clearly, your choice and your opinion and you are entitled to it.

As I eluded to in an earlier post, when I phoned the ISR to register our old POP details, they actually didn't charge me to update the records from the previous owner which was a company because I was the first private owner of the vehicle. When we sold the car to a dealer just two weeks ago, I made sure I updated the change of ownership details on the ISR website (no charge) of our old POP to the new owner i.e. the dealer, with the recorded mileage of the vehicle etc. Did the same too for our old Mazda when we part exchanged that for our old POP.

Personally, I can't really see what your beef is, other than the fact it appears you think the whole thing is too much trouble and a complete waste of time/money, just as some people might think that paying £27 for the third year dealer warranty as a second or subsequent owner, is a complete waste of time and money - until of course something goes wrong!

Yep it does just seem a waste that is all plus I wish they hadn't etched chrysler on my windows too!

sutera1996 · Dec 20, 2013

My Mum's Peugeot 308sw is an Ex Europecar rental

Bought it 1 year old with 18k for a fraction of the price

Yeah no major problems besides 1 water pump over 4 years

Yeah why not!

jrkitching · Dec 21, 2013

ahmett said:
Well what could go wrong?

They might have hired it to you

.

frupi said:
It is mostly a myth that people mistreat hire cars.

It's not the mostly that would concern me - it's the other one. All that said, most hirers treat the vehicle well - after all, they'll be paying an excess charge if they return the vehicle in a damaged state.

Also, even owners sometimes mistreat cars and to that extent, buying any used car is a little more additional risk than buying new.

I'd be more concerned about buying an ex-driving school car than an ex-hire car.

Usually both driving schools & hire car operators use shadow companies to register the vehicle so that its history is not immediately obvious to the second purchaser.

Check the paintwork carefully under good lighting - hire car companies clean cars frequently (and none too carefully), so I'd expect to see quite a few swirls & scratches.

frupi · Dec 21, 2013

I couldn't agree more with regard to ex driving school cars, I would certainly never buy one. I don't care how much TLC the driving instructor gave the car. I accept we all have to learn to drive, but the driving school cars I see on a daily basis 'bunny hopping' away at the lights, stalling frequently and the sound of crunching gears etc, no thanks. Apologies in advance to all driving instructors out there!

Most Easterly Pandas · Dec 21, 2013

RUI said:
Just don't buy one that I have ever driven then

Ditto, I'd have wanted a new set of tyres on the 500 I used for 7 weeks if I were buying it

Although TBH I never abused it beyond what it was designed to cope with.

frupi said:
I couldn't agree more with regard to ex driving school cars, I would certainly never buy one. I don't care how much TLC the driving instructor gave the car. I accept we all have to learn to drive, but the driving school cars I see on a daily basis 'bunny hopping' away at the lights, stalling frequently and the sound of crunching gears etc, no thanks. Apologies in advance to all driving instructors out there!

Even if an automatic then?

frupi · Dec 21, 2013

Most Easterly Pandas said:
Even if an automatic then?

Absolutely MEP, I wouldn't even buy an ex driving school automatic car. I'm not sure what the figures are for those who learn to drive and take their test in an automatic vehicle, but I suspect it is far far fewer than those who take their test in a manual car.

Since parting with my very large gas guzzler a few months back to finance an extended trip abroad, I wouldn't personally ever own an automatic vehicle again. Imvho, automatic is fine in a very large vehicle/luxury vehicle, but for me personally, not great at all in a small car. I drove a automatic Vauxhall Corsa hire car to Scotland a few years back and it was absolutely awful for me to drive.

Most Easterly Pandas · Dec 21, 2013

frupi said:
Absolutely MEP, I wouldn't even buy an ex driving school automatic car. I'm not sure what the figures are for those who learn to drive and take their test in an automatic vehicle, but I suspect it is far far fewer than those who take their test in a manual car.

Since parting with my very large gas guzzler a few months back to finance an extended trip abroad, I wouldn't personally ever own an automatic vehicle again. Imvho, automatic is fine in a very large vehicle/luxury vehicle, but for me personally, not great at all in a small car. I drove a automatic Vauxhall Corsa hire car to Scotland a few years back and it was absolutely awful for me to drive.

Automatics in smaller cars are an acquired taste, but agree on what you say about the size of the car / engine to gearbox. We've a dualogic Bravo and mk3 Panda, the Bravo suits the dualogic setup (be it a more complex setup behind the scenes) a lot better than the Panda.

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