Should you buy a rental car? The pros and cons of rental cars

Learn why it makes sense to buy a rental car

Common wisdom says it’s a bad idea to buy a rental car. The reasoning is that rental cars are abused. There’s really no truth to that, and I’ll go into more detail on that below. In reality, it makes sense to buy a rental car because it’s often of better value than buying a car from a dealer or private party.

Let’s start by examining who rents these cars and look at how they’re used. Understanding the typical renter will help you see why the abuse thing is bogus.

The majority of rentals  are by families on vacation

Families Don’t Abuse Rental Cars

Families on vacation don’t burn doughnuts or get into drag races. Dads don’t drive like crazy with Mom and the kids in the car. Just the opposite, families are extremely safety conscious because they don’t want to get nailed for body damage, and they certainly don’t want to get inconvenienced by smashing the car and having to get different transportation.

Yes, families do get into fender benders because they don’t know the streets and highways. So, you may see body repairs in the rental car documentation, but those accidents are usually mild. The interiors also take a beating from families because the kids make a mess and puke in the back seats. However, rental car companies clean their cars after every rental. The bottom line: families don’t abuse rental cars.

The next category of rentals are business people

Business people don’t abuse rental cars

Business travelers are the second largest category of renters. Business people drive rental cars from the airport to their hotel, and from their hotel to the client’s office. They don’t go joy-riding, site seeing, or off-roading. They generally don’t get into accidents, because they don’t want to have to tell their boss that they got into an “at fault” accident. They’re very aware that their driving could affect their company’s insurance rates.

The last category is repair renters

The remainder of rentals are by people who need a short-term rental because their main vehicle is being repaired. Those renters don’t abuse the rental car. They drive it to work and back. That’s it.

Rental cars are maintained — In Some Cases, Better Than Many Car Owners

Rental car companies get a good deal from carmakers, but those good deals come with conditions. Carmakers require rental companies to maintain the vehicles according to the carmakers’ posted maintenance guide. Carmakers are especially sensitive to brand reputation and don’t want their cars to fail during the rental or after they’re sold to the public.

So, who are these supposed rental car abusers?

It’s not teenagers since rental car companies won’t rent to anyone below 21.  That leaves bad drivers who have already smashed up their cars and need a vehicle to drive while theirs is being repaired. What percentage of rentals are to these drivers? It’s minuscule.

The pros and cons of buying a rental car

Pros of buying a rental car

• You’ll get a newer model with the most recent safety features
• Rental car companies perform the required maintenance and document the services they perform. It’s cleaned after every rental.
• If the vehicle has been in an accident, the records will show the extent of the damage
• The pricing will be comparable to used cars being sold by local dealers
• The high miles will be reflected in a slightly lower price compared to comparable models with lower mileage
• If you don’t put on a lot of miles, it’ll have the normal amount of miles when it’s time to sell.

Cons of buying a rental car

• A rental car will have more miles than a comparable used car of the same model year
• Most rental cars are the base model and usually don’t have all the features of an upgraded model
• Its resale valve will be lower when you sell because the CarFax will show that it was once a rental car. However, the longer you own it, the less this will be a factor.

©, 2014 Rick Muscoplat