I am looking at potentially purchasing one of two 2020 Corollas, both being sold by dealerships. Both were formal rental cars and both cars are the LE trim with the 4 cylinder engine and CVT transmission.
First Corolla is sold by a local dealership and has 32,000 miles. When I looked up the VIN, it showed that it was made in Mississippi. The listed price is $14,998 (excluding sales tax and dealer doc fee).
Second Corolla is sold by a local CarMax and has 33,000 miles. This one however, was manufactured in Takaoka, JAPAN. The listed price is $15,998 (excluding sales tax and dealer doc fee).
Both cars being rentals and having similar mileage, my question is--Is it worth paying the extra $1,000 to buy the one from CarMax that was made in Japan? I know Japanese-made cars are the best in quality, but is it worth paying the extra cash?
I will be paying in full cash and will be bringing my mechanic to do a thorough pre-purchase inspection before I buy either vehicle. I'm also slightly concerned that since they are rentals that they may have been beat up by the people who drove them, but I'm hoping that this isn't the case since travel in 2019-2020 decreased due to COVID-19.
People say rentals are lousy, but in this case you're getting a year old Toyota which are known to be able to get by with minimal maintenance. My mom purchased a rental car and didn't drive it like a mad man...it was one of the better cars she'd had. Now if you were buying a rental sports car sure...I'd rent something with a hellcat engine and punch it....exactly how hard are we thinking people are pushing a 4 banger engine? Are we thinking that 4 cyc is going to have done serious transmission damage? Come on now. The 4 cycl are pretty bullet proof.
I would definitely pay the extra $1,000 for the made in Japan quality between the two.
Do you like playing with fire? Why the infatuation with rentals? The wear rental cars suffer, only manifest themselves later during the ownership period.
It may check out good now, but are you prepared to suffer premature part failures 5-6 years down the line?
I’d avoid rentals if I were you & stick to privately owned cars. The assumption is an owner would treat the car much more carefully than a ‘renter’. Again, that’s an assumption.
What’s the price difference between these 2 & a new Corolla post discounts?
The msrp is $20,700 bucks for his trim and he could probably get a discount because it is now 2021.
If the difference was only $3000-$4000, isn’t it wiser to just buy new?
yes I would certainly consider a new one. Plus you could probably bring the price down a lot because of the time of year.
Rental cars are more of a risk but my familys primary car is a former rental car is perfectly fine with 12 years of wear. I also know that Carmax sells much cleaner vehicles so I would go with Carmax because the price difference is low. There should also be a return policy so in the return period bring it to a mechanic to check it out.
Why don't you consider a new one the price difference is not that much or even private party?
To me buying a rental car is a gamble . So it is really up to you.
Add %20 on the price and you can get a brand new Corolla LE.
I consider all rentals 4 wheel drive race cars.. Am sure there are some good ones out there though.
Rentals road hard and put away wet...minimal maintenance if any.
Offer $10,000 at most. Rental companies are overwhelmed with vehicles.
Personally, I'd buy new...for $15000. Cash is king.
%20 more is the cost of a brand new Corolla and no way are they going to haggle because it is Carmax I would get a new 2020 one.