O/T Would you buy an Ex Rental car?
Turbo Mini Forums

Found a nice motor to replace my daily.

58 Plate Fez Zetec S, 1.6 3 door.

7000 miles, £4k less than new price.

Only thing that puts me off is the fact that it is ex Enterprise rental.

Dealer is my local Ford guy who I bought the Focus from, he says he sells lots of ex-rental cars without a problem, but he would say that.

Should I take the risk or steer clear?

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

Tricky. We all know how people usually treat hire cars. I have always thrashed them to within an inch of their life, set off from every junction as an emergency start with the tyres ablaze, driven along on limiter, etc etc.

Having said all that, not everyone will, and how much damage can really be done in 7kmiles?

OK maybe £4k less than new, but how much less than new is a privately owned example that has low miles and is 12 months old?

Wifey had a rental 306 with 1000 miles on the clock and absolutely no clutch what so ever. That went back and she got a new Mazda 3. That was fine.

It's luck of the draw really. Some will have been thrashed and some not. Unless there's obvious body damage tyre wear/replacements then it will be hard to tell.

If it's less than 3 years old then you still have manufacturers warrenty to back you up. Why not go down the auctions and save a bit more money. You will have budget on your side. You would just be looking to save a few quid rather than turn a profit, so can bid a little higher...

rule number one: drive it like you stole it!

with that said, they are serviced regually, and at least you know that they are maintained well, which is more then can be said for most private sales.....

if it looks tatty id leave it but if it looks like a minter it cant be that bad, haggle for longer warranty, if its not packed up or showing faults in 12 months quite unlikely it will do it in the next 12-24-36 if you look after it.

Edited by Brett on 9th Nov, 2009.

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

It would be maintained on a budget so that wouldnt help too much.

But ask yourself one question.

Would you marry a disease ridden whore?
But you will also be able to go over the speed limit in reverse, and have video proof. So its a gamble.

In boost we trust

See if they can do a garuntee on it.

1/4 Mile 14.3secs 96Mph Terminal 10psi of boost.


Fibreglass Parts? - http://www.tdkracing.co.uk/
Split Rims? - http://www.force-racing.co.uk/

It has the manufacturers warranty until Feb 2012.

It depends very much if TM members have actually had their hands on it really.

I'm sure most folks will treat a hire car with respect, but not young scallies.

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

Go for the titanium then you can fit a towbar.

Plus, Bill oddie would look odd in a car with a bodykit, huge rear spoiler and tinted windows

On 9th Nov, 2009 sturgeo said:
Plus, Bill oddie would look odd in a car with a bodykit, huge rear spoiler and tinted windows

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

lol, hope your good at doing wheelies

1/4 Mile 14.3secs 96Mph Terminal 10psi of boost.


Fibreglass Parts? - http://www.tdkracing.co.uk/
Split Rims? - http://www.force-racing.co.uk/

It will tow 900kg.

Trailer plus Miglia = 850 kg

The Gross vehicle weight of the new Fez is actually just a few kilograms less than the Focus at 1500kg.

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

Won't be very nice to drive with a trailer and mini on the back though.

I'm not that comfortable with my A4 when it has car + trailer + parts on the back...

If it has manufacturer's warranty until Feb 2012, it implies it is a Feb 2009 registered.

That intrigues me....

Around here the normal deal between Enterprise etc. and the lease companies is that the vehicles are leased for 12.5k miles or a year (whichever comes first) and then sold on.

Where I used to work we had a mixture of leased pool cars and long term rentals and we still had to supplement with additional short term rental but, the deal was always the same, 12.5k or a year whichever came first - big stickers on the dashboard of every car we used - and it was always the 12.5k that came first around here.....

But this one has reached neither......

Why ???

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

a lot of the 'ex-works' cars are hire cars and normally hit the manufacturer again at 7k miles so would run true.

I suppose it is down to the individual drivers; my old boy has an 'ex works' Omega. he thinks Vauxhall had it at head office - i disagree! anyway, its done 249k miles so can't have been treated too badly in the first 7k

Slightly different, but I bought my Xsara with 110k on the clock, 3 years old and an ex Lloyds TSB car. It was very cheep and is about to clock 200k. It is knackered no though.

http://www.twin-turbo.co.uk
http://www.hillclimbandsprint.co.uk/default.asp

A man without a project is like a like a woman without a shopping list.

youve got 2 years manufactureers warrenty left so dont know what your worriing about tbh.

check engine number is correct (somebody may have swopped it whilst hired)

give it a good check for body damage and make sure it drives straight. (may have been kerbed)

and have a look at front tyres (and rears may have been swopped around) should give a good indication on how cars been driven. if there new its defo been thrashed.

it will be probably no more been thrashed than a ex dealership demo car, lol.

no longer a series, but still 1.3 turbo.

Well, I've just been to have a nose around it.

It's more or less faultless. Just one odd rear tyre that they claim to have replaced as it was damaged.

Front tyres have about half the tread left, so a bit more wear than I would like.

It's got the Yamaha engine, so plenty of beans.

Fitting a tow bar is going to be tricky as it has rear diffuser in the way. Plus it has not been "homologated" for towing, whatever that means.

I'll take the MD down tomorrow for a test drive.

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

if it has not been homologated for a tow bar, then you can't legally tow with it. right pain in the arse.


I'd buy an ex hire if it looked ok,


sturgeo, I'll cook you some tea buddy

Edited by Jimster on 9th Nov, 2009.

Team Racing

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

Nothing revs like a rental...

Team Racing

no longer a series, but still 1.3 turbo.

That and it may invalidate my insurance :( :( :(

Have to think of something else.

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."