How to tell if a car is ex-rental?

How to tell if a car is ex-rental?

Author
Discussion

Jag_NE

2,949 posts

99 months

Tuesday 19th June 2018
quotequote all
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.


FlatToTheMat

1,426 posts

162 months

Tuesday 19th June 2018
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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!

S11Steve

6,374 posts

183 months

Tuesday 19th June 2018
quotequote all
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.

Nickp82

3,165 posts

92 months

Tuesday 19th June 2018
quotequote all
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.

Jag_NE

2,949 posts

99 months

Tuesday 19th June 2018
quotequote all
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.
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.

silentbrown

8,793 posts

115 months

Tuesday 19th June 2018
quotequote all
TooMany2cvs said:
So two previous owners, not one.
No, one owner previous to the owner shown on the V5.... smile

The question's always open to misinterpretation - not always accidental...

Sir Bagalot

6,463 posts

180 months

Tuesday 19th June 2018
quotequote all
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 yes

Jag_NE

2,949 posts

99 months

Tuesday 19th June 2018
quotequote all
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 yes
Nice. Can you tell me where to buy this please? Thanks. Mine want £10 per day when I collect at the desk.

Wooda80

1,743 posts

74 months

Tuesday 19th June 2018
quotequote all
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 yes
Do tell us how you spent the 63p!
Or are you investing it? Would you favour a growth or income strategy in the current circumstances?

Chucklehead

2,729 posts

207 months

Tuesday 19th June 2018
quotequote all
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.


codenamecueball

529 posts

88 months

Wednesday 20th June 2018
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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.

TwistingMyMelon

6,385 posts

204 months

Wednesday 20th June 2018
quotequote all
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

GreatGranny

9,097 posts

225 months

Wednesday 20th June 2018
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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.

Pistonheader101

2,206 posts

106 months

Wednesday 20th June 2018
quotequote all
Didn't even realise but does appear to be the case.

My last 3 rentals from enterprise were mercs starting with a K plate, as was the Volvo xc90