Questions about buying from Enterprise Car sales

[bullmack]

I bought a Dodge Grand Caravan from Enterprise about 5 years ago. When I got it home I realized one tire was a brand mis-match (although correct size, etc.) They took care of it without hassle. I will say it's a vehicle that sits unused a lot of the year at a 2nd home.

 

[robertrwalsh]

My GF has bought two that way. My brother also. You usually get a clean, professionally maintained high mileage two-year old used car with some remaining warranty. It will be a "loaded" or top-end model typically, at approx the same price you could by a new stripped-down model of the same type. You don't eat the depreciation, somebody else has already done that. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

 

[.38SuperMan]

Over the decades I’ve purchased three lease returns. The first was a late 3 year old Isuzu Troopr that I bought from my local dealer. It was still under factory warranty and cosmetically in excellent shape. After a couple of weeks the engine started knocking and I took it to the dealer. They drained and flushed the oil but it continued to get worse. I took it back in and the factory rep was coming in that week. He evaluated it and said the engine needed an upper rebuild. (Edit) the factory rep figured the engine had never had an oil change.

Unfortunately my dealer refused to perform the repair. I wound up going to the factory rep again and he authorized me to take it to any other dealer for the repair. My next closest dealer was over 100 miles away but I did get it resolved with no further problems.

I currently have 2 lease return Mini Cooper S. One I’ve had 4 years and the other 2. Both were factory certified and bought from a dealer. Other than replacing batteries I’ve had no issues at all. I was very pleased with the prices as well.

You may pay a little more for a factory certified car but you know it’s in tip top shape when you get it.

 

[65-2x2]

I looked at Hertz after a big tree fell on my car. I wasn't impressed and ended up buying new. My philosophy is buy them new then drive them until the wheels fall off. It is the only way you ever get your money back. If I was in the used car market I would certainly consider a Hertz; most people rent them, pick 'em up at the airport and park them at the hotel. I know that they are extremely well maintained.

 

[Beemerguy53]

Many years ago I bought two previous rental cars back to back. Never had a problem.

In my experience most people that can afford to rent a car take care of them.

There's a persistent stereotype that folks who rent cars abuse them, but I don't find that to be the case at all. I travel a lot for work, and rent cars frequently. No matter the company, I find that they're clean, well-maintained, generally not dinged up (though there are exceptions), and run just fine. The only knock I can make on rental cars is that they're generally base models, and lack many of the optional creature comforts, such as heated seats and automatic climate control, that many of us have come to expect.

If I was looking for a reliable used car for a college student, I'd have no fear of buying a rental car.

 

[rwsmith]

Greetings!

Has anyone here purchased a program car through Enterprise Car sales? With my 2 teens heading off to college this fall, and normal activities, I think I have to become a 2 car family. Sadly (or maybe fortunately), a new car isn't in the cards.

Has anyone here purchased a used fleet car from Enterprise? Are the sales representatives permitted to negotiate? Is anyone aware of the type of standard warranty that would come I'a purchase?

As always, thanks in advance for your help!

I've bought 2 vehicles rental companies and I'm pretty sure one was enterprise. Fairly low mileage, well maintained both cars/vans gave good service.

 

[gjgalligan]

I recall a story from several years ago about a guy had bought a used rental car and later found several pounds of drugs hidden inside one of the doors.

 

[BE Mike]

After many, many problem used cars of various models, I finally went with new Fords. If you are going to keep your new car for 10 years and take care of it and can afford it, I'd get new. I had a used rental car. It was ok, but was starting to show signs of a weak engine. I was t-boned by a rental Camero a few years ago. The driver was driving it like he was on a dragstrip.

 

[James K]

My wife and I have bought several lease returns from dealers without issue. I was a driver for a private transportation company that did most of their business with Enterprise. We picked up and delivered new cars/trucks/vans as well as used ones either going back for resale/auction or their bone yard for units like long-term work trucks. Many return vehicles were in excellent shape and worthy of purchase. We were not allowed to buy any from Enterprise but wish we could.

A little due diligence and inspection on your end and you could get a nice deal. People tend to not beat up leased cars as they will be inspected on return. Most rental cars are also treated well unless they are performance based. Even then it's rare they are totally abused because they get inspected too.

 

[JcMack]

My son recently bought a body shop that he worked in for 35 years. The shop has an exclusive contract with Enterprise to repair their wrecks. 6-7 years ago I asked him about buying a Enterprise car, and he strongly advised against it. Hertz is dumping all their Teslas so there's an idea.

 

[EllDee]

Well, I'm kinda late to this one, but several years back I worked for Enterprise delivering rental cars they were selling to dealers. My thoughts are that you need to look them over just like you would any used car. As mentioned, they are well maintained and have been kept quite clean. Enterprise usually keeps them for approx. 2 years, then sells them with some warranty left. Most will be pretty good deals. May be somewhat bland, but still useful. Enterprise does rent some high end cars as well, and those are generally pretty nice used cars.

For several years I travelled a lot over the whole country. Drove a lot of rental cars. Most people use them to get from the airport to their hotel, then to their meeting, then back to the airport. Those that have been driven hard will look like it, so as usual, buyer beware.

 

[greenwellg]

After buying 200 salvage vehicles and rebuilding them over the past 40 years and after Pop passed and left me a nice cash inheritance I bought a new base model 2024 Toyota Prius. Over the 40 years of driving recycled cars for free and closing on 75 years age, I just wanted a new car that was extraordinarily efficient and reliable.
Rental cars are probably the best deals on the normal market. I would look for something like a good friend bought a 2004 Mercedes with 21k miles, garage kept for $7k from a private seller.

 

[rwsmith]

Both of mine were Dodge Caravans. Not something young people would take to the drag strip.

 

[Golphin]

Do not depend on Carfax reports for a rental as the companies fix their own cars most times and do not report damage to Carfax. The factory warranty if any would be the warranty on the car.