*HELP* Ex-hire car history seems odd?

[StrawberryJam]

Hi Arnold Clark are currently selling some ex-hire estates 11 plates for around £12.5-13k all with around 35k miles in the two years.

I happened to pop into Enterprise with the reg plate and asked about service history as there are no stamps in the logbook. The assistant pulled up the maintenance records to confirm service. I had a quick read and jotted down some figures

Reading the Enterprise history gave v.interesting reading -
28/03/11 Car was registered
29/03/12 First entry on Enterprise maintenance log as Tates (possibly Brighton area to gain radio code?)
29/03/12 Tates Faxed
29/03/12 Tates Radio CR Deal
16/04/12 Tates Radio Seathud
21/05/12 Serviced at 19792 miles (/20k in 2 months or 20k in 14months)
26/10/12 Serviced at 33971 miles (14k in 5 months)
30/10/12 3 tyres replaced under 3mm
19/11/12 A&S Fleetcare is referenced (possibly settlement of the 2nd service)
19/11/12 deleted from active file

Any thoughts out there?
Is it likely to have sat for 1 year doing nothing in a carpark somewhere?
It has covered 34k miles in effectively 5 months - should I be concerned?
What should I make a good point in checking for?

Cheers Dave

Edited by StrawberryJam on Tuesday 26th February 21:19

Edited by StrawberryJam on Tuesday 26th February 22:26

Edited by StrawberryJam on Tuesday 26th February 22:53

[Potatoes]

Very odd indeed, a company wouldn't allow a depreciating asset to sit and not turn them a profit or some revenue at the least...

[Butter Face]

I would guess that the second date (registered on the maintenance log) should be in 2011. Operator error.

[Pablo68]

StrawberryJam said:

Hi Arnold Clark are currently selling some ex-hire estates 11 plates for around £12.5-13k all with around 35k miles in the two years.

I happened to pop into Enterprise with the reg plate and asked about service history as there are no stamps in the logbook. The assistant pulled up the maintenance records to confirm service. I had a quick read and jotted down some figures

Reading the Enterprise history gave v.interesting reading -
28/03/11 Car was registered
29/03/12 Car was first recorded on Enterprise maintenance log
21/05/12 Serviced at 19792 miles (seem big miles to me eg 20k in 2 months)
26/10/12 Serviced at 33971 miles (14k in 5 months)
30/10/12 3 tyres replaced under 3mm
19/11/12 deleted from active file

Any thoughts out there?
Is it likely to have sat for 1 year doing nothing in a carpark somewhere?
It has covered 34k miles in effectively 5 months - should I be concerned?
What should I make a good point in checking for?

Cheers Dave

Ex-Hire car. 'Nuff said really.

[stevensdrs]

Unlikely to have sat for a year doing nothing imo. Does it just have the 1 keeper on the V5?

[Marcellus]

Might it have sat at the manufacturers for a year before enterprise bought it?

[Butter Face]

Marcellus said:

Might it have sat at the manufacturers for a year before enterprise bought it?

Doubtful.

They buy large fleets in one go.

[Welshbeef]

Honestly why would anyone who is a petrol head or any knowledge of cars even think twice about hire car purchase???? They are driven like they are stolen by every user utterly abused.

I'd argue treatment wise these cars have to be the worst possible choice of car - in fact a stolen recovered joy ridden car would be so much more appealing

[stumpage]

Welshbeef said:

Honestly why would anyone who is a petrol head or any knowledge of cars even think twice about hire car purchase???? They are driven like they are stolen by every user utterly abused.

I'd argue treatment wise these cars have to be the worst possible choice of car - in fact a stolen recovered joy ridden car would be so much more appealing

5 years ago I got a 10 month old Passat Estate Sport 170 for £10k less than new. It was 10 months old with 20k on the clock. I was in perfect condition and was an ex Enterprise Hire Car.

It now has 78k on the clock and had been perfect. No faults, just been regular service, cam belt changes etc. People go on about how hard hire cars are driven but if a car has done 20k miles in 10 months it more than likely to have been sitting at 70 ish on the Motorways. Hardly killing a modern car with mid size Diesel engine.

Also at 10 months old I still had 2+ years of manufacturers warranty. I see it as a bit of a no brainer.

Edited by stumpage on Tuesday 26th February 21:20

[StrawberryJam]

Ha! I was expecting some backlash, although the majority of mileage I assume is motorway, and once up to running speed I dont expect to be too much abuse. the car has covered a lot of miles in a short time so must be sitting at speed on motorway.

1 previous owner although I have not seen the V5 the garage assures me it is. Some other history details at the start:
29/03/12 Tates Faxed
16/04/12 Tates Radio Seathud
Also 19/11/12 A&S Fleetcare is referenced (possibly settlement of the 2nd service)

I dont mind a fairly new car that is booted, what can honestly go wrong that would not have gone wrong already? (touch of death maybe)

34k in 5 months = 226 miles every day!

It just seems odd? Does Anyone know someone who works at enterprise that could shine some light regarding no use within the first year after being registered.. (was it lost at a back of a carpark?)

[sonarbell]

stumpage said:

Welshbeef said:

Honestly why would anyone who is a petrol head or any knowledge of cars even think twice about hire car purchase???? They are driven like they are stolen by every user utterly abused.

I'd argue treatment wise these cars have to be the worst possible choice of car - in fact a stolen recovered joy ridden car would be so much more appealing

5 years ago I got a 10 month old Passat Estate Sport 170 for £10k less than new. It was 10 months old with 20k on the clock. I was in perfect condition and was an ex Enterprise Hire Car.

It now has 78k on the clock and had been perfect. No faults, just been regular service, cam belt changes etc. People go on about how hard hire cars are driven but if a car has done 20k miles in 10 months it more than likely to have been sitting at 70 ish on the Motorways. Hardly killing a modern car with mid size Diesel engine.

Ive been hiring cars for 20 years..Always treat them like I own them. The only one Ive ever thrashed was the new MG 6? Turbo..It was so bad performance wise that it needed to be taught a lesson. (Mr Fawlty !)

[xRIEx]

stumpage said:

I was in perfect condition...

Alright, no need to boast.



Dunno about ex-hire cars, but my driving instructor told me their old cars go back to the manufacturer (or maybe lease company) and sit in a warehouse for a while before they're sold so the mileage seems more reasonable for the age of the car.

[StrawberryJam]

xRIEx said:

Dunno about ex-hire cars, but my driving instructor told me their old cars go back to the manufacturer (or maybe lease company) and sit in a warehouse for a while before they're sold so the mileage seems more reasonable for the age of the car.

The mileage did seem ok for 2 year old, but in actual fact it was covered in 5 months starting 1 year after the car was registered... Should I gamble or not gamble?

[AndyNetwork]

It could be that they were offered a preferential rate to buy so many, even though they didn't need them at that point so had them sat around for a while.

Also, I know some hire car companies will lease them, and only take them once they have had their first service. A mate of mine who was IT manager for one of the lease companies, used to drive around in cars that were destined for Avis. He used to drive them for about a month or 2 until he got it to the first service, and then pass it on to Avis.

This one could just have been given to someone who only lived around the corner, and therefore took a year to get to its first service.

[A3tdi]

With regards to Enterprise (i have a few friends who work for them), cars go to auction at the end of there lifecycle or if a pre-determined deal has been completed for a set of cars to a specific destination. (also employees have an option to purchase cars at the end of there cycle). It is completely possible it was sat unsold for quite a while if reserve wasn't met.

I can try to get a bit more info you would like?

[poing]

StrawberryJam said:

29/03/12 Tates Faxed
16/04/12 Tates Radio Seathud

Might just be me but wtf is this? I have no idea what a Tates is, is it a dealer? If it is then how did they fit it in the fax machine and is that why they decided to radio it out to sea once the fax machine broke it?

[ajb85]

Ex rentals that have done moon-and-back mileages in a short space of time is not unusual. If the credentials stack up, I would not worry.

It's a good thing that you have proof of mileage in the early days. It's commonplace for lease cars to have next to to no history, and then have their mileages wound back in time for the first M.o.T.

It also makes me curious why people assume a hum-drum hire car, such as a VW Passat or Insignia, will naturally have been abused and thrashed from day one. They're not go-karts, and I don't believe they're treated as such. The only thing you will find is interiors that are a little worn (shiny steering wheels and the like), and having to replace timing belts and clutches a little sooner than you would with the same car half the mileage.

[Sid's Dad]

I actually worked for one of the big hire car companies. Overall, the cars were maintained as well as any other fleet-owned vehicle. Most rental car drivers were either typical fleet car users or tourists, and drive as well and as badly as anyone else.

So check the car as you would any other fleet vehicle, especially the NSF wheel and suspension ( a lot of people unfamiliar with RHD cars clip the kerb), bumpers, etc. and you'll be fine.

We used to have quite a problem with fag burns on the trim but that's much less of a problem nowadays as most are non smoking with big penalties if you sneak a crafty one.

And remember that most of those "ex management" one year old cars sold by franchised dealers are actually ex hire cars, so at least you are under no illusions as to what you're buying.

[so called]

I once bought a Peugot 30? convertible for my wife. 11 months old 170 miles on the clock. Previous owner was Peugot UK. Just counted myself lucky finding a bargain.

[jamiebae]

Butter Face said:

Marcellus said:

Might it have sat at the manufacturers for a year before enterprise bought it?

Doubtful.

They buy large fleets in one go.

Nope, it's quite common actually. Hire co firms will often take on a job lot of per-reg cars from a manufacturer or dealer group, run them for a bit and return or sell them - there are a load of MG 6s knocking around at the mo which are exactly that, per reg cars run by a hire company.

High mileage isn't unusual. A lot of businesses use short term cars for new starters and replacement cars after an accident or when waiting for a new one to arrive, I stuck 14k on a new Civic hire car in 5 months, and 7k on a Focus in 2 months while waiting for my BMW to be ordered and built.

If the car looks fine there's no reason not to buy it, most nearly new stock is ex hire, VM fleet, ex demo, ex courtesy car or similar so are all in the same boat really.