I am looking to buy car from Avis Rental Cars. My car broke down in Chicago so I had to rent a car through them to come to Minneapolis. I liked their Toyota Corolla 2020 LE model - which I drove as well. I've scheduled a test drive with them tomorrow.
Is it okay to buy a rental car which has 25000+ miles? I've seen mixed reviews about rental cars on how people abuse them and the companies don't service them. But for a Toyota corolla 2020 with 25000 miles, would that be issue? I mean it's Toyota corolla after all. Please let me know if I should proceed or not? Also what should I look for in test drive?
My use case is normal commute to work and home and few small trips here and there. I averaged around 7000+ miles a year.
And thank you for this wonderful community Scottie.
@girishfcb
Never buy a rental car, period. A car will always break down quickly if it's not taken care of properly. You gotta keep in mind that people (like me) floor the hell out of the car cause it's their car.
I recently went looking for a used Toyota. I wanted something a few years old without a lot of mileage. Right now the prices on cars like this are very high, and you have no idea what kind of treatment these cars have had. I've always been a buy used and drive it til the wheels fall off, but I ended up spending a few thousand more and getting a new Camry. Got a full warranty and I will know what has been done to the car.
Might have been a mistake, but the used car market right now is crazy.
If you’re not well versed with automobiles, it might not be a good idea to buy an ex rental because too many things may go wrong in future, due to the car being abused.
I doubt you’re getting much of a discount on a 2yr old car either. What’s the price difference wen compared to new?
@inthrustwetrust
The price difference is what pulled me into considering rental cars. They are for around $13,500 while the new ones cost $20,000+ around my area. Also I looked into lot of dealers and also online dealers like Vroom AND Caravana and looking at their history, I found most of them to be previous rentals as well.
Since Toyota corolla is a much reliable car than others, my thought is that it should be fine with the 25000+ miles from rental.
It is Toyota Corolla and low mileage. Less things can go wrong with it compared to any other car, but still the people drive the rental car very hard and the maintenance is not good since the rental company does not keep the car for long term.
I agree with the above comments, how much did they ask for it? Maybe you can put a little more money and buy a brand new one if you need a car right away.
@yaser
Around my area they're asking $13500 for 2020 Toyota Corolla with 25000+ miles. The new ones are usually $20,000+. The price difference is what pulled me into considering rental cars.
I bought a Prius V from Hertz 3 years ago.
it’s the first time I bought a car and didn’t get ripped off.
My next car will be from Hertz, too.
@vegan
Nice. What was your buying process like? Did you take the Hertz car to mechanics for inspection?
The buying process was great.
I purchased a 2015 Prius V in July 2016 with 13,580 miles on it for $18,777 plus document fee of $135. No pressure. Fixed prices so no negotiation.
I used the 3 day try before you buy program. You rent the car just like a normal rental. If you don’t like it, you turn it back in. If you like it, you return and purchase the car.
During the 3 day trial period I had my mechanic check out the car. He said it was good to buy. I was most concerned about it having been in a wreck because Hertz is self insured a wreck won’t show on a CARFAX check.
I looked online at Hertz car sales and knew I wanted a Prius. I found one I wanted at a Hertz car lot about 2 hours from me in Baltimore. I planned on renting a Hertz car locally, driving it and returning it at the Hertz car sales lot, and drive back the car I was interested in buying. It wasn’t able to turn in a rental at the Baltimore location. I continue my online search and find the car I want at Hertz in Warminster PA and I could turn in my rental there.
Walter Young was the salesperson and he was great. The same Prius model I was looking at in Baltimore was several thousand dollars less at the Warminster location and it had less miles.
I mistakenly thought that all Hertz lots would have the cars priced the same. Walter explained that when the car came into them it was mismarked at too high a price. If a car sits on their lot for a certain period of time, the price is dropped. I happened to be there when the price had just dropped.
Hertz had financing, but I had already arranged financing with my credit union. My credit union was surprised at the low purchase price. I’ve never been upside down in the purchase of this car. I could always sell it for more than I had in it.
I have 81,000 miles on it now and I’ve had no problems.
Based on my great experience, my brother-in-law bought a Chevy Suburban from Hertz. The price was thousands less than the price of a similar Suburban from a dealer.
To give you an idea of how nicely I was treated by Hertz. It was over 2 hours from home to the Hertz location. I’d have to take time off work to return to the Hertz location to buy the car or turn in the car if I didn’t like it at the end of the 3-day try before you buy program. They agreed that I could keep the car until the following weekend, a full 7 days later. This is before I’d agreed to buy the car.
After purchasing the car, I left the lot with the paper temporary 30-day license tag. When it got close to the 30-days and my tag was going to expire, Hertz gave me a rental car to use, at no charge to me, until my license tags arrived.
Look at the car you are interested in online, and check several locations. I do a search for Toyota, Corolla, and sort by lowest mileage. I search within 200 miles, but you can change that depending on how far you are willing to drive. You’ll have a list of Corollas and you can page through them to find ones in the price range you want and with the low mileage.
I’m happy to answer any questions.
Good luck, and let us know what happens.