Buying a 2012-13 Genesis Sedan 3.8 Base Rental Vehicle

[Troutknoxville]

Quick Question?

I live in the DFW area and I am finding base 2012 Genesis sedans for around 22k. They are usually around 30k miles but they all look in good shape.

But the thing is that they are rental cars. Has anyone had anyone on the forum purchased one of these cars? Have you had any issues? Does rental car company take good care of these cars/maintance?

Thing that scares me is that alot of people has driven this car and when you get a rental car you usually drive it like crap.

Thanks,

Michael

 

[WowCool]

Thats why they are priced to tempt you..
I have owned a few ex rentals, they certainly have a hard life, but, usually serviced and been looked after for at least the first 2thirds of their life..
Why not pay an independent motor engineer to check out a couple of cars..
Go from there..

 

[GenesisCaptain]

Most rental companies do a very good job with maintenance and service. And, they work pretty hard to ensure that their cars are in very good cosmetic condition too. Their business models depend on recovering top dollar through their wholesale remarketing, and the only way they get there is if their cars have a reputation for high quality.

That said, rental cars will have more minor wear things like fingernail scratches by the drivers door handle and seat and carpet wear. The other three doors and seats will look great, however.

Former rental cars are a good value because they are priced aggressively, yet they do not have a proportionally higher risk of issues relative to the discount.

 

[Mark_888]

I am not sure how aggressive that pricing really is, since I think you can negotiate a new base trim Genesis for about $30. Given that the extended drivetrain warranty is only for original owners, when taking that into consideration a new one is even a better deal.

I think there is a risk anytime you buy a used car, but I am not sure people drive any worse with a rental than there own car. After all, no one wants to have an accident in a rental. If you look at the thread on top speed of the V6, I am pretty sure I would not want to buy a used car from any of those people who were driving there own personal car.

 

[WowCool]

Sorry:- High speed or fast driving is NOT mistreating a vehicle. Hard cornering will eventually wear suspension & tires..
When the original 2.0L Ford Cortina (UK) arrived on the scene it was capable of a sustained 90mph on the Freeways/Motorways. No fuel injection, no ABS or
Traction Control or in fact any of todays high tech specs.. Many of them where company cars and just had regular:- Plugs, Points, oils & filters.. 90-100K was easily achieved.. And these cars came under the heading "Well Driven"
Mark_888 I always considered you a lateral thinker, maybe I was wrong..
"Old Fuddy Duddy" might be more appropriate........
People might aspire to a Genesis.. BUT cannot go the New route.. Rentals if chosen carefully are an excellent buy............

 

[Fast55]

Most rental companies do a very good job with maintenance and service. And, they work pretty hard to ensure that their cars are in very good cosmetic condition too. Their business models depend on recovering top dollar through their wholesale remarketing, and the only way they get there is if their cars have a reputation for high quality.

That said, rental cars will have more minor wear things like fingernail scratches by the drivers door handle and seat and carpet wear. The other three doors and seats will look great, however.

Former rental cars are a good value because they are priced aggressively, yet they do not have a proportionally higher risk of issues relative to the discount.

Uhh, no. I have a friend who used to work for Enterprise and I can tell you with utter certainty that many people do in fact, "drive it like they stole it." Obviously not everyone and not every car, but A LOT, and they are maintained at the absolute limit of the manufacturers recommendations and many times over those limits. I would not buy a prior rental even if it was CPO, and without a CPO warranty I would run, not walk away.

 

[Mark_888]

Mark_888 I always considered you a lateral thinker, maybe I was wrong..
"Old Fuddy Duddy" might be more appropriate........
People might aspire to a Genesis.. BUT cannot go the New route.. Rentals if chosen carefully are an excellent buy............

On this forum, I may be an "Old Fuddy Duddy," but I think the general public would be in 95% agreement with me that they would rather purchase a car that has not ever gone over 85 mph versus one that has been driven at 110-140 mph. Whether or not the ones driven at 110-140 mph have any more mechanical problems than a car never driven over 85, I don't claim to know that, and I am not really interested in conducting any experiments on that subject. The question of the OP was about driving style of rental car drivers (versus non-rental cars) and I will stand by my answer.

Speaking of Old Fuddy Duddy, at least I know how to use the Quote button on this forum.

 

[Mark_888]

Uhh, no. I have a friend who used to work for Enterprise and I can tell you with utter certainty that many people do in fact, "drive it like they stole it." Obviously not everyone and not every car, but A LOT, and they are maintained at the absolute limit of the manufacturers recommendations and many times over those limits. I would not buy a prior rental even if it was CPO, and without a CPO warranty I would run, not walk away.

I think it depends on the car. A large sedan is not going to be driven like a car rented by someone looking for a sportier model. Remember, we are talking about the Base trim level Genesis, not the R-Spec. Also, a Genesis is a fairly expensive rental (unless given as a free upgrade), so not sure they are driven that hard compared to many non-rentals. When it comes to brakes and tires, I would expect a lot more wear and tear on a rental.

But I shouldn't really give advise on used cars, since I have never bought a used car since graduating college. I would rather buy a less expensive car than a used one. If I absolutely could not afford $30K for a new Genesis Base Trim, I would look at a new Honda Accord or maybe Sonata.

 

[wd40]

Quick Question?

I live in the DFW area and I am finding base 2012 Genesis sedans for around 22k. They are usually around 30k miles but they all look in good shape.

But the thing is that they are rental cars. Has anyone had anyone on the forum purchased one of these cars? Have you had any issues? Does rental car company take good care of these cars/maintance?

Thing that scares me is that alot of people has driven this car and when you get a rental car you usually drive it like crap.

Thanks,

Michael

I would stay away from rentals. They get thrashed pretty hard. Additionally if they are wrecked, the rental companies repair in-house and there is no Carfax or other data base that will show you damage. I have personal experience with folks that bought repaired vehicles with no disclosure. Hard hits too. Be patient, look around and don't be afraid to go out of state.

 

[GenesisCaptain]

Uhh, no. I have a friend who used to work for Enterprise and I can tell you with utter certainty that many people do in fact, "drive it like they stole it." Obviously not everyone and not every car, but A LOT, and they are maintained at the absolute limit of the manufacturers recommendations and many times over those limits. I would not buy a prior rental even if it was CPO, and without a CPO warranty I would run, not walk away.

I have direct experience here. I can tell you with certainty that rental cars from the major brands (Avis, Hertz, Budget, Enterprise, etc.) are low risk and command a premium on the wholesale market because of their quality. There are exceptions, like your Enterprise friend cited, but those are fringe cases. Rentals are generally good cars. The franchise dealers will not put a bad former rental on their lots because: 1) the buyers will generally filter out the turds at auction, and 2) if a franchise buyer gets a turd, the rental remarketer will likely take it back because they do not want the reputation hit.

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[WowCool]

There you go: Happy Now,,,,

On this forum, I may be an "Old Fuddy Duddy," but I think the general public would be in 95% agreement with me that they would rather purchase a car that has not ever gone over 85 mph versus one that has been driven at 110-140 mph. Whether or not the ones driven at 110-140 mph have any more mechanical problems than a car never driven over 85, I don't claim to know that, and I am not really interested in conducting any experiments on that subject. The question of the OP was about driving style of rental car drivers (versus non-rental cars) and I will stand by my answer.

Speaking of Old Fuddy Duddy, at least I know how to use the Quote button on this forum.

I will Quote you on That""

 

[shagnat]

No one could run fast enough to sell me a rental car. NO WAY!!!!!

 

[PMCErnie]

Thats why they are priced to tempt you..
I have owned a few ex rentals, they certainly have a hard life, but, usually serviced and been looked after for at least the first 2thirds of their life..
Why not pay an independent motor engineer to check out a couple of cars..
Go from there..

Good advice and I would take it if I were looking for a used Genesis at a bargain price. Also check the build dates. Some of these cars can accumulate their mileage quickly. I would buy the ones that get up there in mileage more rapidly.

My '09 Taurus is a former fleet car. Bought it at 28,000 miles and it has been great.

 

[StangKiller]

Run quickly in the opposite direction and buy CPO from a dealer if you want to go the used route.

 

[Mark_888]

There you go: Happy Now

I will Quote you on That""

OMG! He finally figured out the Quote button.

 

[Fast55]

I have direct experience here. I can tell you with certainty that rental cars from the major brands (Avis, Hertz, Budget, Enterprise, etc.) are low risk and command a premium on the wholesale market because of their quality. There are exceptions, like your Enterprise friend cited, but those are fringe cases. Rentals are generally good cars. The franchise dealers will not put a bad former rental on their lots because: 1) the buyers will generally filter out the turds at auction, and 2) if a franchise buyer gets a turd, the rental remarketer will likely take it back because they do not want the reputation hit.

I can't say what these are worth at auction, but I find it hard to believe rentals "command a premium". Maybe they don't take a hit, but they actually go for more??? Like Mark said, I'm sure there are nice rentals, and I'm also pretty sure a G would not generally attract the "Ben-Hur" types, but I'm more than pretty sure that former rentals don't command a premium from retail buyers, usually for good reason.

 

[Vermillion3]

Rental, Dealer Used, CPO, Private Party or any other condition other than new must be evaluated on a case by case basis. My goodness I would have though that you folks on here would know that there are always exceptions to any rule. The car is used bottom line........ it matters not who or what owned it, the car will tell the tail. Treat every used car the same no matter where or who she came from and you'll do fine.

Pictures tell you the model and maybe the color that's it. Put hands and eyes on it first; a lot of times this is enough to eliminate a ride from your list. Have YOUR mechanic or hire a pro to go through it. Do some homework, call Hyundai ask them to tell you about the car based on the VIN. You will be surprised at the stuff you can learn. If serviced at a dealer call that service department and talk to them. Heck if you have concerns about a particular dealer or lot call some local body shops/repair shops in the area and ask them about the place its crazy the info you can gain and all info is good some not so useful, but it all goes toward a better understanding of who and what kind of car your dealing with.

Gems are everywhere but they are hard to find; if you limit your search bases on prejudices, hearsay and conjecture you make your search that much harder.

 

[GenesisCaptain]

I probably worded "command a premium" poorly, because I lumped in a lot of things like price, buyer interest, seller reputations, probability of issues.

One critical thing to consider is that there are few current or one model year old cars in the market, and former rental cars make up a significant portion of this volume. Second, most rental cars come with 20K to 30K miles. So, if you are comparing cars with 20K - 30K miles, formal rental cars do well, even when you look at cars a year older that were not rentals.

Formal rental cars have amazingly low probabilities of issues, almost as good as cars coming from franchise and major financial consignors.

I would never buy a car from a wholesale auction. But, if I had to, I would look for a financial services car first and probably a formal rental second. I bump the major franchise dealers to third, because their cars could have come from or been anywhere.

As far as buying a used car in retail, I would only buy from a first owner or a major franchise dealer. You have all the risks above for where the franchise dealer got the car, but you have the advantage of a professional buyer who selected it and then some significant recon that went into it after wholesale.

 

[kf4zra]

from a guy that rents over 100 cars a year, I can tell you that I would never buy a rental. unless i just needed a cheap disposable car for basic point to point transportation.

I'm on my 3rd rental this week. mon in FL Dodge caravan, tue in Omaha lincoln MK X, today in Columbus Ford edge.

lots of miles on all of them, all the bumpers scratched since nobody cares if they scuff a rental with their luggage.

I have seen all kinds of "substances" all over headliners, seatbelts, spilled in gear shifters, on windshields, on gauges, etc. The sticky steering wheels, oh the sticky steering wheels. I don't know WTF people are doing in rental cars, I don't want to know because i have to use them for work.

I don't think most people rent a car to abuse, but many people that rent cars aren't paying for the gas (their company does) so they aren't shy about using the gas pedal. They are also not used to the blind spots, acceleration, braking, and other aspects of the car. They are also usually unfamiliar with the area. These all go together to result in jackrabbit starts, emergency merges, hard braking, etc.

Since it doesn't belong to them, people don't care for it like they owned it. kind of like renting an apartment vs owning a house.

If budget is an issue, see if you can't save up just a little longer and get the car you truly want. or pick up a model year older privately owned or CPO example. It's the end of the model year now so deals can be had on new ones too.
Having rented over 12 base genesis, I can tell you that the base stereo would have to go immediately. I miss my rspec cooled seats and moonroof in the base cars too.

 

[LantanaTXGenesis]

OP, I'm also in the DFW area and was looking within about a 50-75 miles radius for a used 2012 Genesis in September.

I ended up pulling the trigger on a 2012 base with 24k miles for $21,497.

Unlike some of the other posts, I actually seek out rental returns and find them to be an incredible value. Sure, you could probably find a new base 2013 for $28-$30k, but what's that car actually going to be worth 12-24 months down the road.

Obviously exterior and interior condition are important, but all of the vehicles I looked at on franchise dealer lots were very clean, with minimal wear and tear in and out. Have some had bumers touched up and door dings pulled? Absolutely. If you take a random sample of used cars at most dealers today you will find that almost all of them are program cars (rental returns).

Bottom line is a that I bought a 12 month old car at an $8-9k discount over a new one. Still have almost 4 years and 35k miles of bumper to bumper warranty. As far as the 10yr/100k powertrain, who cares. In my past 20 years of driving over 30 cars I've yet to have a single powertrain component fail or be replaced on any of my vehicles.

Go for the rental return, I see them as a tremendous value.