buying used Rental 4runner
- Thread starter Kjell
- Start date
Fourty-four
Guest
Northof49 said:
The trans temp? Or the engine operating temp? Either way, I'll have to try it out on mine because I never realized that my overdrive was locked out when the engine is cold. Then again, I live a few miles from the interstate, and I might not have noticed it at low speeds on back roads.
Fourty-four
Guest
Northof49 said:
If you are buying a one-owner used vehicle, you can usually tell by the owner if the vehicle was pampered, abused, or treated normally.
With a rental, there are just too many asses in the driver's seat, so it's likely that some of them were morons behind the wheel, if you know what I mean.
Whenever I sell my personal vehicle, the new owner has no idea how lucky he is to get it, because it's always been perfectly maintained and carefully driven. Now that I think about it, I'd love to buy a used car from me! LOL
Fourty-four
Guest
RickyCRX said:
That's what I thought, but others are disagreeing. I think they might be confusing the torque converter lock with the overdrive. That's an honest mistake.
I totally agree. Not all rentals have been abused (though some certainly are/were, as seen by some of the posts here), and not all one-owner vehicles are models of car care perfection (again, as some 4Rs here definitely are).
Sure, but you still are taking a risk -- albeit a potentially lesser one if you know the owner -- when you purchase a used vehicle.
Do you really think a private seller will tell you about the time he accidentally hit the transmission shifter from drive to park while driving down the street (I remember this happened to someone on this board)? Or the time his car got towed improperly? Or the mess he had to clean up when his dog had an accident on the seats? Do you think a dealer selling a one-owner vehicle would know any of this?
Granted, I don't think any of that would seriously affect a car (except maybe an improper tow over a long distance). But if you're thinking that a used car you're buying has never been in a sticky situation, you're deluding yourself.
I fully understand the uncertainty about buying a rental. IMHO, that same uncertainty needs to be applied to any used car, regardless of the owner.
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Uneek
Super Moderator
I'll admit it, I drive rentals like a maniac. I stomp the gas every opportunity I get even when it's expensive, especially when they give me those 4-cyl econoboxes. I've also tested Park position in the transmission as a brake system a couple times. 
I know this is about 4Runners, but my Mazda does not go into OD when it's cold. If the freeway is less than a 2-3 miles away, it'll stay in 3rd for some time and RPMs will keep climbing as I'm speeding up. After about a few miles on the freeway it'll just drop without giving it more or less gas. If I drive 5+ miles to the freeway, it will shift into OD. Fluid is at the correct level and it looks clean.
I know this is about 4Runners, but my Mazda does not go into OD when it's cold. If the freeway is less than a 2-3 miles away, it'll stay in 3rd for some time and RPMs will keep climbing as I'm speeding up. After about a few miles on the freeway it'll just drop without giving it more or less gas. If I drive 5+ miles to the freeway, it will shift into OD. Fluid is at the correct level and it looks clean.
I bought my 04 sr5 from a toyota dealership in south carolina and it was a former rental. I have had zero problems with it. They had about five 4runners when I bought mine and you could tell that one of them was beat up pretty bad.
The vehicle I purchased came with the basic warranty. It was in great condition and it had about 24,000 miles on it. I purchased it for $23,000. I now have 50,000 miles on it and it has been outstanding.
As far as people not wanting to buy a used car, or a rental I can understand being particular about a big purchase like an auto. However, there is nothing wrong with buying a used vehicle, rental or not. In fact, I hope people keep leasing and trading in their newer vehicles so people like me can save thousands of dollars. I would much rather someone else take the hit of depreciation than me.
Bottom line is that you can save dollars by not having to buy a new vehicle and get a vehicle that is one or two years old that performs exactly the same.
The vehicle I purchased came with the basic warranty. It was in great condition and it had about 24,000 miles on it. I purchased it for $23,000. I now have 50,000 miles on it and it has been outstanding.
As far as people not wanting to buy a used car, or a rental I can understand being particular about a big purchase like an auto. However, there is nothing wrong with buying a used vehicle, rental or not. In fact, I hope people keep leasing and trading in their newer vehicles so people like me can save thousands of dollars. I would much rather someone else take the hit of depreciation than me.
Bottom line is that you can save dollars by not having to buy a new vehicle and get a vehicle that is one or two years old that performs exactly the same.
Fourty-four
Guest
godsey73 said:
Very true. But your chances are better buying a privately owned used vehicle instead of a used rental vehicle. I think that is the point many people are trying to make here....
Picked up one of the nicer rentals I've had today in Baltimore... a 2006 Honda Accord. I looked around the car and not a single scratch or ding anywhere on it. The new car smell could be smelled standing next to the car. When I put the key in the ignition and looked at the odometer, it had 10 miles on it.
The car's first trip to redline was with 11 miles on the odometer, merging onto Hwy 100 West.
It now has ~140 miles on it and has seen redline several more times already this afternoon on the way to Chambersburg, PA.
Ricky
The car's first trip to redline was with 11 miles on the odometer, merging onto Hwy 100 West.
It now has ~140 miles on it and has seen redline several more times already this afternoon on the way to Chambersburg, PA.
Ricky
Fourty-four
Guest
RickyCRX said:
Nice! Gotta love those rentals!!!
My buddy used to do some brutal neutral drops in rental cars.
Beating the crap out of the cars -- and I'm not talking really about redlining, but more of the suspension-beating, tire shredding, power-braking kind of stuff -- increases the cost of maintaining the cars. In turn, that drives rental prices up.
Kind of ironic, isn't it?
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Mmm, no, it doesn't... How many failures do you think occur in 20k miles due to this type of use? Most modern cars will take it for at least 20k miles.... When was the last time you saw a rental with over 20k on it? The highest I've ever gotten (and I travel a LOT) one with was 18k miles. The rental car companies sell their cars before they have to incur any sort of repair/replacement expenses. The tires on these cars are 60k+ mile tires, so even an occasional bit of hard driving won't hurt them.
I've had this Accord to redline now probably a dozen times. I've got over 250 miles on the odometer and the majority of the miles were 75-80mph highway miles. I really doubt this thing will have any issues related to the way I've driven it these last two days.
Ricky
I've had this Accord to redline now probably a dozen times. I've got over 250 miles on the odometer and the majority of the miles were 75-80mph highway miles. I really doubt this thing will have any issues related to the way I've driven it these last two days.
Ricky
