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Posts Tagged ‘purchase a car’

Rental Car Availability

Every year, rental car agencies sell the older vehicles in their rental fleets and restock with the newest models. Larry Lovejoy of Automobile Consumer Services Corp (ACS) states, “These cars can be a great deal for the average buyer. They have been well-maintained, so in essence you are buying a nearly-new car with no worries about mechanical problems. Furthermore, (if you buy a rental car from a car dealership) some dealers might extend the warranty for the full term or you can drive it under the balance of the warranty.” This means every rental agency sells a lot of cars in good condition that get replaced with new cars, either directly to buyers, or to dealerships that mark the cars as “fleet” or “program” vehicles.

Rental Car Reliability

In order to keep customer satisfaction high and ensure repeat rentals from customers, a rental car agency must maintain their vehicles in optimal condition, both mechanically and physically. This means drive train, exterior and interior are well maintained, as no agent wants to strand a client on the road with a defective rental or malfunctioning power seats.

Each time a rental vehicle is returned to the agent, it is checked over with care and cared for with attention to detail to prepare it for rental by the next client. The engine and transmission are checked and any noises or noted problems are repaired. Regular maintenance is done on schedule – such as oil changes, transmission fluid changes, radiator fills and flushes, replacing windshield wiper blades, belts, tires, refilling any and all fluids, and regular brake service. Obviously, the quality of maintenance might not be as good with a private owner, therefore a used car from a private owner might be in poorer condition.

Interior and Exterior Maintenance

Often, private citizens fail to perform much-needed maintenance on the inside and outside of their vehicles. Rental agencies can’t afford to neglect anything. Their vehicles must appear as nearly new as possible so that people will want to rent them. This means that after each and every rental, a vehicle is detailed inside and checked for any wear and tear on seats and carpet. When problems appear, they are repaired before the minor damage becomes noticeable. Exterior dings are quickly repaired and the paint job is maintained by washing and waxing the vehicle in order to maintain a shiny, like-new appearance.

Where to Buy Rental Cars

Now that you understand why former rental cars are great buys, where do you locate those which are available for purchase? Lovejoy of ACS said, “(Used car) dealers like these cars because they can get them at low prices and sell them at a good profits.” Often you will find advertisements in the newspaper indicating special sales prices on “program” or “fleet” cars at a new car dealership’s used car lot or even at a dealership selling only used cars. The CarFax.com report on the car will tell you if it was a rental car. You could contact rental car agencies directly, and find out if they have any vehicles for sale. Some rental agencies list their vehicles in newspapers and sell to private buyers, and you can often get a great price by going directly to the rental agency.

Some of us choose to purchase our vehicles and some people choose to lease them. The question is which is best option to take, lease or buy?

Look upon a car lease as a long term rental. You do not really own the vehicle and at the end of the lease you will then return it and pay any end of lease cost, that are due, to complete your contract.

In contrast when you buy a car and pay for it with a loan, the car remains your property at the end of the loan period. If you then wish to purchase a new car it’s up to you to trade in or sell the old one.

Most new cars will lose their value as soon as you drive it out of the sales room! Obviously it also depreciates with age and when the mileage increases.

Lease payments will cover just the portion of the cars value that you use during the time you drive it, the depreciation and not its complete cost. Finance charges are added on to your payment.

When you purchase a car with a loan you are liable to pay back its full cost, plus finance charges. Depending on your deposit or trade in value of another vehicle, this can obviously result in higher payments than for a lease, even if you get a long term loan.

At the end of the lease you may be liable to pay excess mileage fees. A maximum number of miles are usually stipulated that you can drive whilst you are leasing the vehicle. It is usually policy that you would repay a charge per mile for every mile driven over that limit. You can often buy extra mileage at the beginning of the contract at a cheaper rate than you would pay for the extra mileage at the end!

As regards damaging the car, the leasing company would naturally expect a degree of wear and tear. However the car will be checked for any damage or excessive wear and tear when it is returned at the end of the contract.
A fee would have to be paid should you choose to end a car or van lease early.

It is a misconception that the car lease company takes responsibility for the maintenance of the vehicle during the lease period. You will be responsible for the costs of maintaining the car, just as if it was owned by you.
Warranty on the vehicle is covered whoever owns it. Usually you will find that lease terms end before a vehicle goes out of warranty.

The best way to try to get an idea as to the deal that would suit you best is to work out how much you would actually be prepared to pay to own a vehicle. Add up all the payments you would make on the vehicle and then compare that to the value when the payments have ceased. Owning a car does not usually make money unless maybe when buying a classic car.

So, is it best to lease or buy?

Leasing:

A car lease might be best if you need a new car every two to three years.
You would prefer to drive a new car but cannot afford one.
On average you drive 15,000 miles or less each year.
You would not be using the vehicle in such a way that it would cause excessive wear and tear.
You are not in a position to make a large down payment.
You use the vehicle for business and are able to write off your lease expenses.

Buying:

You plan to pay off the car and keep it to avoid loan payments.
You are in a position to pay for repairs after the warranty period has passed
You put more than 15,000 miles a year on a car
You have credit issues and sometimes if this is the case it will be easier to buy than to lease a car
You may intend to trade it in for another car in less than two years