Buy A Used Rental Car

Q.I bought two used car before and they all have hidden problems that I didn't find at the buying. I can't afford a new car yet and I'd like to have farily new car at good price. So a used rental car might be a good choice. Does anyone has any experiences with this kind of car? I read my local paper and I can't find many rental cars around, while there are a lot of rental companies around. They seem to have a quick turn around of new cars. How can I find a good like new rental car, preferly less than a year old? Is there anyway that you can determine if it is extremely abused? I live in the DC area and I am looking a used Toyota Corolla or Camry, or Geo Prizm, or things like that.

A.My dad bought an '85 Pontiac Grand Am this way in '86 or '87, and the car has performed flawlessly for him. The car had about 12K miles on it then and is pushing 90K miles now. He has LOVED not having to make a payment on it for many many years now. Rental companies probably won't sell their cars until they have at least a year on them. Bear in mind that almost no one takes care of a rental as well as they take care of their own cars, but because rentals may not have more than 15000 miles on them, the chance that they are already destroyed by poor maintenance is minimal. Bear in mind that the rental company has a lot to lose and everything to gain by keeping their cars in the best shape they can (preventive maintenance always pays off later). My advice? Take your buddy who knows about cars along and let him check it out. Smell the oil--if it smells burnt or looks very cruddy, pass up the car. Look for leaks. If you find any (save maybe drain plugs), pass up the car. A car as new as the average for-sale rental should have no major mechanical problems, and leaks this early on can be indicative of problems down the road. Probably the worst part of the rental car will be the interior. It may have some stains or noticeable wear. I say this because the last rental I brought back was immaculate, which caused the agent to remark in a very surprised way, which leads me to believe that most renters leave the interior of the car very dirty.

Hillcrest VW - anyone buy used car there?

I would like to hear from anyone who has bought a used car at Hillcrest - specifically do they negotiate on sales prices...I just bought a 2000 Passat from there a month ago. I'm satisfied with the treatment I received. The odd thing was that they ...

Blue Book For Used Cars

My wife is planning on spending roughly $15K on a car, and I suggested that rather than buying a new Honda/Saturn/whatever, she consider buying a nice used car. Cars that come to mind include: ~1985 Mercedes 3** S*, 1986-88 BMW 5 Series, 1987 Cadi...

Find Used Cars Online

I'm in the Austin TX area and I need a little information. Will a pre-Ford model be more reliable than a post-Ford model? One camp in the household thinks we should spend upwards of $30k to get a late-model dealer certified car with some portio...

Used Auto Parts Houston Tx

Does anyone have a good source for used MB parts in the Houston, TX area? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, TIA,Lone Star on Harwin, and Murrys on Airline have the best selection of junked Mercedes I have seen. Murrys ships around the count...

Book Value For Used Cars

Does anyone know of a jewish organization that will accept donated cars in New England (I live in NW Vermont)? Preferably one that give it to someone who is in need of a car to get to work rather than an organization that will sell it and reap t...