How to tell if a car is ex-rental?
Discussion
I have a "K" c-class and its definitely an ex-rental. As others have pointed out, a K prefix does not guarantee that a car is an ex-rental but it is quite likely. There are a plethora of nearly new K cars on Autotrader versus anything else when I have looked at buying.
As a previous poster remarked, does it really matter? I take the view that the PH'er tendency to thrash hire cars is in the minority, most people don't really give a toss when it comes to cars and will just drive it normally to get from A to B. If anything, the financial terror of extortionate excesses on hire cars potentially promotes more careful operation.
I would be more concerned about buying a 3 year old ex-company car because you risk the scenario of inheriting a car that has been caned by an unsympathetic owner, every day. My CC gets caned from cold most days.
As a previous poster remarked, does it really matter? I take the view that the PH'er tendency to thrash hire cars is in the minority, most people don't really give a toss when it comes to cars and will just drive it normally to get from A to B. If anything, the financial terror of extortionate excesses on hire cars potentially promotes more careful operation.
I would be more concerned about buying a 3 year old ex-company car because you risk the scenario of inheriting a car that has been caned by an unsympathetic owner, every day. My CC gets caned from cold most days.
frijolitas said:
Several Volvo dealerships have advised me that a K Reg on a Volvo denotes ex-rental. The person at thedealership I'm speaking to now - because they may have a car that meets my needs - tells me that this isn't something she's ever heard of. The car I'm seeing is K Reg. She says it's only had one private owner but obviously one private owner could mean Hertz!
Interesting theory and I think its correct, Ive rented two Volvo's in the past year (1xHertz, 1x Sixt) both had 'K' as the first letter on the plates. I just went through my phone to check the photos.Interesting tip and thanks for sharing!
Jag_NE said:
I have a "K" c-class and its definitely an ex-rental. As others have pointed out, a K prefix does not guarantee that a car is an ex-rental but it is quite likely. There are a plethora of nearly new K cars on Autotrader versus anything else when I have looked at buying.
Mercedes (and VW/Audi/Skoda) have their fleet HQ in Milton Keynes so a K prefix would be right, but recently a lot of the fleet PDI work is being done in Maidstone, so end up on a G prefix.There are a plethora of cars with reg numbers beginning with 'k' because of the concentration of manufacturer HQ's in the Milton Keynes area - Mercedes, VAG, Suzuki to name a few (plus Volvos for aforementioned reasons). Yes, a fair share of these will be ex-rental cars but the 'k' by no means denotes a car as being such, just that it was registered in the Luton/Northampton area.
The Crack Fox said:
Jag_NE said:
the financial terror of extortionate excesses on hire cars potentially promotes more careful operation.
Nope. The insurance excess is peanuts, and for seasoned automotive adventures on a budget is actually a godsend, because you can get up to all sorts of shenanigans knowing that the (typically) £10/day excess is money well spent if you come unstuck. Not saying there's deliberate abuse of rental cars, but I can tell you that there's quite a few folks who enjoy spirited fly/drive holidays, doing remarkable things in unremarkable cars. OP - Plenty of cars for sale, pick another if you're even a smidgen unhappy with the one you're looking at.
Jag_NE said:
I have a rental booked for August and it’s 800 Euro unless you pay an additional fee to reduce it. There are a lot of tight people out there who would rather save it and drive carefully. % split, I have no idea.
I rented in May for 4 days. Budget informed me of the £1,200 excess.I declined their charge of £10+ per day to reduce it to £0. Instead I had already bought excess insurance online for £7.08 and even managed 63p cashback on that
Sir Bagalot said:
Jag_NE said:
I have a rental booked for August and it’s 800 Euro unless you pay an additional fee to reduce it. There are a lot of tight people out there who would rather save it and drive carefully. % split, I have no idea.
I rented in May for 4 days. Budget informed me of the £1,200 excess.I declined their charge of £10+ per day to reduce it to £0. Instead I had already bought excess insurance online for £7.08 and even managed 63p cashback on that
Sir Bagalot said:
I rented in May for 4 days. Budget informed me of the £1,200 excess.
I declined their charge of £10+ per day to reduce it to £0. Instead I had already bought excess insurance online for £7.08 and even managed 63p cashback on that
Do tell us how you spent the 63p! I declined their charge of £10+ per day to reduce it to £0. Instead I had already bought excess insurance online for £7.08 and even managed 63p cashback on that
Or are you investing it? Would you favour a growth or income strategy in the current circumstances?
Q: How do i tell if a car is ex-rental?
A: It is.
The K plate thing could be true, but plenty of "O" Volvos, "A" VWs, "D" Vauxhalls, "Y" BMWs etc are out there too.
If you mean daily rental fleet like Enterprise, Hertz etc, then the chances are if it's 6-10 months old then that's exactly where it came from, though there are plenty exceptions to the rule.
If you're happy with the car as it's presented, then buy it. If it spent the first 6 months in daily rental it'll make not one iota of difference in 99.9% of cases, as they're are often better cared for than your average new car.
A: It is.
The K plate thing could be true, but plenty of "O" Volvos, "A" VWs, "D" Vauxhalls, "Y" BMWs etc are out there too.
If you mean daily rental fleet like Enterprise, Hertz etc, then the chances are if it's 6-10 months old then that's exactly where it came from, though there are plenty exceptions to the rule.
If you're happy with the car as it's presented, then buy it. If it spent the first 6 months in daily rental it'll make not one iota of difference in 99.9% of cases, as they're are often better cared for than your average new car.
Volvo are K
VAG are on G plates
Vauxhall have a lot on D plates
Kia are mostly L
Mini/BMW are Y
Mercedes are mostly K
If they haven't been through the dealer branding yet an easy spot is the number plate will just have the company name (Skoda UK, Kia Motors, BMW UK) instead of a dealership name.
VAG are on G plates
Vauxhall have a lot on D plates
Kia are mostly L
Mini/BMW are Y
Mercedes are mostly K
If they haven't been through the dealer branding yet an easy spot is the number plate will just have the company name (Skoda UK, Kia Motors, BMW UK) instead of a dealership name.
OP if this kind of thing bothers you so much buy new
Ultimately second hand cars are second hand, so you will never know what the last owner got up to
I had a feeling mine 3 year old car was used as a taxi in its first year, as it had a MOT in its first 6 months of being new, but life's to short to worry about it , as long as it looks good, drives good and has a warranty thats decent: JOB JOBBED
Ultimately second hand cars are second hand, so you will never know what the last owner got up to
I had a feeling mine 3 year old car was used as a taxi in its first year, as it had a MOT in its first 6 months of being new, but life's to short to worry about it , as long as it looks good, drives good and has a warranty thats decent: JOB JOBBED
I wouldn't let it worry me.
My wife's V60 was an ex company car, bought with 83k miles at 3 years old and has been faultless in the year we've had it.
Just about to tick over 100k and due an MOT next week.
Only things I've done is 4 x new tyres a month ago.
Tyre fitter said that rear pads will need changing in 2-3 months and fronts soon after so will do that myself.
Volvo's take the miles really well.
My wife's V60 was an ex company car, bought with 83k miles at 3 years old and has been faultless in the year we've had it.
Just about to tick over 100k and due an MOT next week.
Only things I've done is 4 x new tyres a month ago.
Tyre fitter said that rear pads will need changing in 2-3 months and fronts soon after so will do that myself.
Volvo's take the miles really well.
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