Buying An Ex-Rental Car In Canada: All Your Questions Answered

Today is customer question time and this one is a good one. It’s a situation many of us find ourselves in, often without knowing it. The question was ‘Is it a good idea to buy an ex-rental car with my auto loan?’

We asked our auto loans team to outline the pros and cons of buying an ex-rental car. This is what they said.

Buying an Ex-Rental Car

There are more ex-rental and fleet cars on the market than you might realize. Some of the better-known online car retailers and even some local car supermarkets often sell cars that come from rental companies like Avis or Enterprise.

This is why you may have bought one without realizing it. We have hundreds of ex-rental cars ourselves!

Companies like this buy thousands of cars per year and will sell them once they are a year or two old. They sell at this time as there is still value left in the car and the mileage isn’t so high that nobody would buy them.

Buying an ex-rental car can be a good idea in some situations.

Pros of Buying an Ex Rental Car

Good Condition: rental or fleet cars are serviced and maintained to a high standard to maintain reliability. They are well looked after by the company to preserve their reputation.

Cheaper: Ex-rental cars are also priced cheaper than many competing cars as they need to be sold to make room and money for the next batch of new cars.

Cons of Buying an Ex-Rental Car

High Mileage: People tend to not treat rental cars very well and they can often have higher mileage.

Check carefully for damage and wear and tear as both can be more prominent on ex-rentals. Many resellers of ex-rentals will recondition the cars as much as possible before selling them but you need to make sure before you commit.

Limited Inventory: The other downside to ex-rentals is that they are often limited in terms of makes, models and trims.

We all know that Hertz, Enterprise, Avis and others prefer mass market cars and particular models. They also have a preference for inoffensive colours and middle of the road trims.

This limits the available inventory somewhat so if you’re looking for something particular, you may not find it with an ex-rental.

However, if you like the makes and models used by rentals companies and are less worried about colours and trims, you’re likely to easily find what you need.

Should You buy an Ex-Rental Car?

We think so. In fact, I own one. As long as you make sure there is minimal wear and tear, that the car has been serviced on time, repaired when needed and has a solid history, it’s all good.

There are certainly no more risks buying a used car that was a rental than one that was privately owned that’s for sure!

If you have found a source of ex-rental cars and need the finance to buy one. Contact one of our car loans team to help.

If you're ready for a car loan, we'd love to help with that! simply fill in the form below to get started.