I have a chance to buy an Avalon for a good price. It is only a year old with total miles being low, miles being under 30K. I looked up the car fax and was a little unhappy that it was a formal rental. The car fax is clean however, no accidents, one owner and the history only shows basic things like Tires mounted. I know I hear that people like to beat up rentals. Should I consider it or pass it up? Their arent too many used avalons that show up in my area. Thanks.
Sub Sonic
With the way people abuse rental cars, no freaking way to put it simply. No way, I don't care how good the "deal."
Carfax only says so much. I've bought rentals before (not for myself, for friends who had to have - inexplicably - that exact fleet-spec Taurus. In white), and you eventually turn up the evidence of shenanigans: cigarette butts rotting under the carpet, engine mount going out at 50k because of people beating on them, etc.
I know when I rent cars, I get the max insurance ($7!) and, shall we say, hoon
EDIT: I don't know how far you want to go checking it out, but the Avalon was probably not rented by young'uns who would be more prone to beating on it. Then again, maybe it was rented by old people from a soda commercial, or from Six Flags...
I know when I rent cars, I get the max insurance ($7!) and, shall we say, hoon
EDIT: I don't know how far you want to go checking it out, but the Avalon was probably not rented by young'uns who would be more prone to beating on it. Then again, maybe it was rented by old people from a soda commercial, or from Six Flags...
I run a fleet of over 200 vehicles (corporate, not rental) so I'm pretty familiar with the market and how fleet vehicles are treated. The vast majority of 1-2 year old Toyotas you see on the used market are going to be former rental/fleet cars. Somewhere around 15%-20% of mainstream Toyota's (Camry, Corolla, Avalon, Sienna, etc) are sold to fleets. If indeed rentals were horribly unreliable, I don't think Toyota would have the reputation that it does.
I'm not going to argue that rentals live an easy life, because most people do not give them much care and they're certainly not being babied or maintained beyond what Toyota recommends. That being said, cars are not as fragile as some would believe. Buying a rental is a little more risky, but with a proper inspection there's a good chance the vehicle will be very reliable. The pricing is almost always favorable and a 1 year old Avalon with 30k miles most likely was driven on longer highway trips. If you're planning to keep the vehicle forever, then there's probably a good argument for buying brand new and giving the car all the love and attention that some people around here give their cars. If you're just going to keep it for 5-8 years like the average buyer then you'll likely never notice any difference.
I bought my Avalon from an old man that lived in a very urban area. He had busted two rims from hitting pot holes and drove a lot of short trips. I probably would have been better off with an ex-rental but I have no intention of keeping this thing forever and it will certainly last the 100k-150k miles I care to put on it.
I'm not going to argue that rentals live an easy life, because most people do not give them much care and they're certainly not being babied or maintained beyond what Toyota recommends. That being said, cars are not as fragile as some would believe. Buying a rental is a little more risky, but with a proper inspection there's a good chance the vehicle will be very reliable. The pricing is almost always favorable and a 1 year old Avalon with 30k miles most likely was driven on longer highway trips. If you're planning to keep the vehicle forever, then there's probably a good argument for buying brand new and giving the car all the love and attention that some people around here give their cars. If you're just going to keep it for 5-8 years like the average buyer then you'll likely never notice any difference.
I bought my Avalon from an old man that lived in a very urban area. He had busted two rims from hitting pot holes and drove a lot of short trips. I probably would have been better off with an ex-rental but I have no intention of keeping this thing forever and it will certainly last the 100k-150k miles I care to put on it.
Rentals
I'd expect that the sportier and younger person rentals (Mustang/Corolla/etc.) would be pushed in driving, but, The Avalons (if you could find one) like the Caddilacs and Mercedes would be driven by a more considerate older group of people.
I understand that rentals are maintained well by major renters (Hertz, et al) and Toyotas have a long life if maintained.
I'd expect that the sportier and younger person rentals (Mustang/Corolla/etc.) would be pushed in driving, but, The Avalons (if you could find one) like the Caddilacs and Mercedes would be driven by a more considerate older group of people.
I understand that rentals are maintained well by major renters (Hertz, et al) and Toyotas have a long life if maintained.
I don't think many people "beat the ****" out of rental cars. Not many "kids" rent cars - they can't due to cost or age restrictions. Rental cars are usually rented by mature people travelling on business, families on fly/drive vacations and by those having their own vehicles repaired.
The Avalon would be a Premium extra-cost rental car or one that frequent renters like us would get as a no-cost upgrade. Sometimes a person gets a higher category rental car simply because that's the only thing left like the time we reserved a full size sedan on a 2-week fly/drive vacation and had to take an Infinity M35 sedan at the same price. (I hated the M35!)
A clean CarFax means nothing. An off-lease vehicle isn't necessarily better than a former rental car. A couple of years after I bought an off lease Lexus LS, I discovered that the car had been previously rear ended and improperly repaired even though the car looked and drove like new - it was still a wonderful car during the 10 years I owned it.
I wouldn't reject the rental Avalon out of hand. If anything, rental car companies maintain their cars "by the book" which can't be said for many car owners.
The Avalon would be a Premium extra-cost rental car or one that frequent renters like us would get as a no-cost upgrade. Sometimes a person gets a higher category rental car simply because that's the only thing left like the time we reserved a full size sedan on a 2-week fly/drive vacation and had to take an Infinity M35 sedan at the same price. (I hated the M35!)
A clean CarFax means nothing. An off-lease vehicle isn't necessarily better than a former rental car. A couple of years after I bought an off lease Lexus LS, I discovered that the car had been previously rear ended and improperly repaired even though the car looked and drove like new - it was still a wonderful car during the 10 years I owned it.
I wouldn't reject the rental Avalon out of hand. If anything, rental car companies maintain their cars "by the book" which can't be said for many car owners.
Thanks for the honest and great comments guys. The only additional info I have on this car at this point is that it was purchased and and used in florida. So it is possible that some little old people were renting it and driving it. Then again it might have been rented by families that needed a big car to haul luggage to places. I have never dealt with used cars. I always bought new, but with the massive depreciation on cars these days, I am not opposed to a car with a year or two in good shape.
SS,
You might be better off looking for a lease return. You should be able to find 2014 or 2015 models in excellent condition at pretty much any Toyota dealership or, check some of the usual pre-owned auto publications. I found a really nice (previously leased) Avalon at a local Ford dealer. Leases tend to be very well taken care of.
You might be better off looking for a lease return. You should be able to find 2014 or 2015 models in excellent condition at pretty much any Toyota dealership or, check some of the usual pre-owned auto publications. I found a really nice (previously leased) Avalon at a local Ford dealer. Leases tend to be very well taken care of.
I am one of those people that beat on rentals.. so I would NOT buy this car. Sedan, mini-van, truck, econo-box... doesn't matter I'm gonna hit the rev-limiter and max out everything.. it's a rental, that's its job... to take 'abuse'....
With that said, I'd only buy a rental if it was a literal 'steal'... anything short of that and you'll be dealing with the aftermath of my shenanigans...
With that said, I'd only buy a rental if it was a literal 'steal'... anything short of that and you'll be dealing with the aftermath of my shenanigans...
So car engineers build a car.. they have rev limiters, transmission is built to haul some sort of trailer and/or loads, most cars are used for travelers from airport to theme parks or some other destination..
So are from body shops who rent out cars..
Either way.. If these havent been in a dukes of hazzard movie, im quite sure theyre fine..
Those pedals, steering wheel and gear shifter are the same whether or not you drove it or others drove it..
Just punching the gas, hitting the brakes, etc isnt beating on it.. its designed for that type of treatment.
Any trade in, lease return etc can all be said the same thing.. no one knows what the previous treatment was like..
Look underneath the car. Does it look newish? alot of caked up dirt? any scrapes? this will be a sure sign of abuse. Check oil color, see thru means your good. Black means car wasnt serviced often.
Motor mounts will be under the drivetrain warranty usually 5yr/50k
Id buy one if it was in good condition.
But look to a extended warranty if your still nervous.
So are from body shops who rent out cars..
Either way.. If these havent been in a dukes of hazzard movie, im quite sure theyre fine..
Those pedals, steering wheel and gear shifter are the same whether or not you drove it or others drove it..
Just punching the gas, hitting the brakes, etc isnt beating on it.. its designed for that type of treatment.
Any trade in, lease return etc can all be said the same thing.. no one knows what the previous treatment was like..
Look underneath the car. Does it look newish? alot of caked up dirt? any scrapes? this will be a sure sign of abuse. Check oil color, see thru means your good. Black means car wasnt serviced often.
Motor mounts will be under the drivetrain warranty usually 5yr/50k
Id buy one if it was in good condition.
But look to a extended warranty if your still nervous.
Ever here that expression, "beaten like a rented mule" ? My dealer let me use a free rental car when i had warranty work done, when we went out to inspect this 2016 Corolla it had a lot scratches all across both sides, i felt like Jerry Seinfeld when i said, "better give me the insurance" (just bring it back with the same level of fuel) and in my head finished with "going to beat it like a mule" !
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