Experience buying former rental?

[WranglAir]

Hi there, first post but long time itch for a Wrangler… would love to hear of experiences with buying a former rental Wrangler e.g. from Hertz, Avis, or Enterprise. They’re starting to have JLs at what seems to be competitive prices below KBB. I do realize they’ve gone through 20k-30k rental miles but on the other hand I like to think that they’re less likely to have made it this far with some of the typical QC issues out there (steering, etc). Appreciate your thoughts, good or bad!

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[DaltonGang]

I would never buy a rental. When I was a kid, I worked at Budget Rent-A-Car. All the cars are driven like they were stolen. It didnt matter what company, they are driven hard. Even today, whenever the wife and I need a rental, they all seem well broken in, even with less than 10,000 miles on them.
So, no no no.

 

[jakebrake]

fastest car in the world is a rental.

 

[ascuro]

Agreed. You can never be absolutely sure how a used vehicle has been treated, but it's almost a guarantee that rentals have been abused the most.

 

[sf5211]

I agree with the above posts and wouldn’t do it because I baby my vehicles. My brother who’s a mechanic buys into the “it’s well broken in” theory. I guess if you could test drive one......

 

[roaniecowpony]

My personal opinion is they probably get better than average maintenance during their life as a rental. Lube and oil and other routine maintenance are likely done as part of a corporate policy, rather than some Johnny Joe Idaho's schedule.

Do they get driven harder than a personally owned vehicle? I dunno, but there are a lot of guys on this board that want Hemis, performance modifications, etc.. You think maybe they want these mods to drive like granny? I would believe most rentals of late model vehicles are driven by people on business travel, followed by family vacation travel. Neither of these groups strike me as people that drastically abuse vehicles. Do some people abuse rentals? Sure, but then some people abuse their own vehicles. Then there's always the debate over what abuse is. The little bit of driving the car wash boys do in them are unlikely to hurt anything. More likely, a private owner takes his Jeep out and bangs it around on the rocks which almost no rental would see.

 

[sost1sg]

My personal opinion is they probably get better than average maintenance during their life as a rental. Lube and oil and other routine maintenance are likely done as part of a corporate policy, rather than some Johnny Joe Idaho's schedule.

Do they get driven harder than a personally owned vehicle? I dunno, but there are a lot of guys on this board that want Hemis, performance modifications, etc.. You think maybe they want these mods to drive like granny? I would believe most rentals of late model vehicles are driven by people on business travel, followed by family vacation travel. Neither of these groups strike me as people that drastically abuse vehicles. Do some people abuse rentals? Sure, but then some people abuse their own vehicles. Then there's always the debate over what abuse is. The little bit of driving the car wash boys do in them are unlikely to hurt anything. More likely, a private owner takes his Jeep out and bangs it around on the rocks which almost no rental would see.

^^ I agree with this. I have two friends who bought their cars from enterprise and got a great price and have had no issues with the vehicles. With a wrangler, just give it a good look inside outside and underneath.

 

[Moreace]

Not a Wrangler, but my wife purchased a 1 year old Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with about 14,000 miles on it. It was a former rental, but we don't know where from (purchased off a Jeep lot). She still has it today with 95,000 miles and never had an issue. She claims is the most reliable car she's ever owned. As with anything used and refurbished, experience can differ wildly. Give it a good look over and test drive, but I wouldn't rule it out.

 

[ChrispyJL]

Enterprise, Hertz and Avis are Teir 1 rental companies, they take pretty good care of their vehicles.
They sell them once they are out of factory warranty. Recalls are fixed, regular maintenance is done, people renting from teir 1 companies are normally not beating it, their clientele is a higher class than cheaper rental companies , I work for one, so I know their business model, they charge more than thrifty rental so broke trash doesn't rent their vehicles.

Chucks car rental extraordinaire?...yeah probably not safe to buy a used car from them.

 

[KrzybonesJLU]

I considered this last year when I was looking for a JLU. It’s very tempting because of the pricing and the fact that all rental fleets have strict upkeep on the cars. But every JLU I found had some sort of little issue. For example the media port on the dash kept shorting out the radio. Another JL I test drove— on start up the engine gave a “clack clack”. My opinion is just bite the bullet and try to get brand new. Or if anything get a CPO. At least you’ll have piece of mind that the cars under warranty. And with CPO cars I believe there is an extension on the warranty. Can’t remember what it is but it covers but it is easy to look up. Definitely glad I went new simply because—
1. The fact that I am the first owner feels great.
2. Peace of mind that I know true condition of the car.

Regardless of which route you take. Just trust you Gut! If the car feels right then just go for it.

if I recall AVIS allows you to test drive the car for a couple of days. I’d take that opportunity to take the car to a shop and have it professionally inspected.

Good luck on finding your Jeep!

 

[roaniecowpony]

All the hysteria about abuse aside, Hertz, for example, provides a 12 month powertrain warranty in addtion to any residual factory warranty that may exist. They also have a $200 buy back/trade protection option, roadside assistance for a year, $35/day/10 day rental car coverage, $375 food/lodging when 100 miles from home, and finally for those that partake, an extended warranty program for purchasing longer coverage.

 

[Moregone]

I bought my Used 2018 JLUR from a local Jeep dealer CPO and was told it was a prior rental. I was more worried about hard offroading than racing around town. I crawled under and looked at all the control arm brackets, cross members, skids. They were all perfect. Everything has been totally fine for me. The one weird thing is it looks like the windshield frame got a minor repair.

 

[viper88]

I bought my Used 2018 JLUR from a local Jeep dealer CPO and was told it was a prior rental. I was more worried about hard offroading than racing around town. I crawled under and looked at all the control arm brackets, cross members, skids. They were all perfect. Everything has been totally fine for me. The one weird thing is it looks like the windshield frame got a minor repair.

It's not uncommon for JL windshields to be replaced. They seem to crack just by looking at them. Your windshield frame might have been damaged during a replacement. Or by someone who lowered and raised it. Take a look at the bolts for signs of prior removal.

 

[Moregone]

It's not uncommon for JL windshields to be replaced. They seem to crack just by looking at them. Your windshield frame might have been damaged during a replacement. Or by someone who lowered it.

Not the glass but the frame. When I first saw it (months after buying it) the first thing came to mind is they hit something hanging down low. Its the like the top corner by the freedom panel, it looks like it was crushed and then repaired. The metal is wavy and wrinkled some and the paint is textured and little darker.

 

[sf5211]

Also, not every rental is abused. I go to the west coast once a year and rent a vehicle. I drive it normal like I would my own car.

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