Warning To Potential Buyers Of Used Avensis

[Peter60]

Hi

This is just a warning to anyone considering buying a year old Avensis or Corolla, many Toyota dealers in the UK and especially the North West are selling ex Enterprise Rental cars, and all they will tell tell you is that they come direct from Toyota UK and they have one company owner.

The reality is Toyota UK lease them to Enterprise for one year then take them back and sell them through the dealers claiming they are cheap bargains.

Problem is they have had dozens if not hundreds of probably abusive drivers. The log book normally has the name of a Toyota leasing company not Enterprise or any other rental to disguise the origin of the vehicle. You may already know this, but if you see loads of 2004 Corollas or Avensis cheapish at your dealer at the moment they will all be ex Enterprise rental cars, this also includes 2003 cars so please be aware.

Regards

Peter

[Tawse57]

Um, this is common throughout the car industry nowadays. Manufacturers sell or lease cars into fleets and fleets sell them back after a year to sell to customers. This way private owners can get a 1 year old car with X thousand on the clock but often for MUCH less than new - hence why so many people on here have bought 1 year old Avensis for about 12K. You can read about this on virtually every car website or in any car magazine. Go and read www.autocar.co.uk or www.whatcar.co.uk, etc, etc, etc.

Now, the chance you take is whether you have had a bad driver in the car you buy or not. The reality is, against the myth, that most of these cars have actually done motorway miles and have been serviced regularly so they are probably well maintained.

However, there are so many of these cars on the market - a whopping 80,000 1 year old fleet cars are about to hit the used market this March and is expected to have a BIG impact on used prices - the considered advice is to look around until you get one that is in pretty immaculate condition.

[MJG]

Um, this is common throughout the car industry nowadays. [sNIP]

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My Corolla t-sport turns out to be one of these. The car is immaculate however with no signs of abuse to either the bodywork or interior or the wheels (no kerbing damage).

It drives as new, what is very surprsing is that the ashtray and cigarette lighter has no signs of ever being used nor is there any indication that the car has ever been smoked in - very unusual for rental - it smacks of being a long term rental car.

The bit that annoyed me though is that is was sold to me as an ex-lease car (which I wasn't too bothered about) however when I got the v5 back I checked out the previous owner on Google which was listed as ERAC.

Doing a Google brings up ERAC as Enterprise rent a car........I suppose if I wanted to push it I could nail the dealer on this technicality.

However all of the above said the car ist still in immaculate condition has a full service record (Mileage slightly up on average at 9,000), drives really well and I got it well below what I was expecting to pay for one of these great cars. It also is only 7 months into the three year warranty, and as I only plan to keep it until the warranty expires I'm not too concerned, as if any thing goes bang I will be covered.

So I am still happy particularly as I have discovered this is not uncommon practice these days in th UK motor industry.

[Peter60]

I'm not saying the cars are bad in fact I know that Toyotas will take a hell of a lot of abuse in the long run with little or no problems.

My point is the dishonest way the dealers are going about selling them, if they put up a sign saying ex rental cars for sale cheaper than the rest, then you can make an informed choice, its the fact that they are almost knowingly deceiving you, thats what gets up my nose.

[MJG]

My point is the dishonest way the dealers are going about selling them, if they put up a sign saying ex rental cars for sale cheaper than the rest, then you can make an informed choice, its the fact that they are almost knowingly deceiving you, thats what gets up my nose.

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I agree, that was the bit that hacked me off, it was only when I checked out 'ERAC'

via Google when I got the v5 that I found it who the previous 'One company owner' was.

I then came across your post this morning and the last piece of the jigsaw fell into place.

The Toyota warranty books with just make reference to Toyota Car distribution centre Derby and the plates just have Toyota GB PLC on - still I got the car well below what I was expecting to pay so I suppose now I do now know fully and properly why that is. The reason they are careful with the full truth is of course for the reasons you give.

Hopefully people who have read your post will now more be more fully aware........

[Smart Jims Toy]

What a way to cause (unneccessary?) panic in those of us who've just purchased a 'nearly new' example!!!

It certainly made me double-check the V5C and handbooks for my car which I picked up at the beginning of the month. The previous owner on my documentation is recorded as Toyota (GB) plc with a Leicester address.

The service manual confirms all the mileage was achieved within 7 months (09/03 - 04/04) of being registered (approx 1500 per month) and after being serviced, has been stored? upto the start of this year.

As others have pointed out the condition of the vehicle at time of purchase was immaculate and there weren't any clues to suggest abuse - tyres evenly worn and appropriate for miles covered. No rips, tears etc in interior fabric. No scratches or trim damage, and certainly a clean cig. lighter & ash tray

I have to say, my employer doesn't allow any staff to use our own vehicles on business trips - we have a european wide exclusive agreement with a major hire company - so I've often used cars that only have a few hundred miles or so on the clock.

I think the majority of people that need hire car treat them with respect - to crib a creme egg advert "how do you treat yours?"

My dealer was cerainly above board esp. as they had to source my vehicle in from another dealer

[Desmond22]

I would think this has been going on for some years. In 1997 I bought a Carina 1.8 CDX which was less than a year old and was registered to Toyota. Apart from a brake sensor replacement it gave me perfect service for 60k miles and 6 years.

The giveaway was the paintwork - after about six months I noticed tiny scratches in the metallic paint. They had obviously been there before but my polishing had filled them and at certain angles to the light they were visible as white against the red paint. The car had clearly been through many carwashes and the brushes had made the marks. Most private owners would have handwashed their new pride and joy. My remedy was to use a colour polish but it was never totally satisfactory.

[Tawse57]

I think you hit the nail on the head with the one potential problem buying cars this way and that is the dealership polishing up the car whereby you will only discover any 'marks' X months later.

I was in the Cardiff Toyota dealership last week and they had about a dozen 1 and 2 year old Avensis on the forecourt all which looked immaculate. Incredibly smart indeed. Some of you might recall me mentioning being in the Swansea dealership a few times when they had a 'man in a van' repairing scratches to nearly new cars, including Avensis, on their forecourt. The difference being the Swansea dealership is near a small town centre, pubs and houses so is 'on the way home' whereas the Cardiff dealership is on an industrial estate.

So the Cardiff ones looked great inside and out but I have no idea how 'polished' they had been - if at all. I read only last week in one of the car mags their info on buying nearly used recommended walking away from 1 year old cars that had any chips in the paintwork due to the high number of 1 year old cars on the market people could be choosey.

The other giveaway is a worn driver's seat. The exception to this, IMPO, seems to be Mazda 6s which appear to nearly all look knackered inside at 12 months old from worn seats to well scratched cheap plastics. I have looked at many nearly used Mazdas and can't believe how worn they look inside. Boy that plastic marks easy.

[MJG]

What a way to cause (unneccessary?) panic in those of us who've just purchased a 'nearly new' example!!! 

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Mmmmm ... I don't think there is the need for anybody to panic.

I think the OP's intention was to alert potential buyers to the issue.

The bottom line is had I seen this post a couple of weeks ago I would have known the exact questions to ask.... like who exactly was the previous owner.

Given the condition of my CTS I would still have bought it, I just may have been able to shave even more than I did off the price......

[MJG]

I have looked at many nearly used (sic) Mazdas and can't believe how worn they look inside. Boy that plastic marks easy.

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Then you obviously haven't checked out the MX-5. We have just bought a two year old MX-5 Phoenix Special Edition with leather (not plastic) seats which looks as good as the day it left the factory..........

[sigrid]

I just spoke to my local dealer, who is a small family concern, and they dont buy bulk or anything and he said the bigger dealers are invited by Enterprise rent a car to visit a large warehouse or field where all the one year rental cars are kept. The dealers then send their salesmen down to pick out the best condition ones from the bunch.

I think credit goes to the original poster because these cars are not the same as a one individual driven company car, and I think there is a great deal of dishonesty here, especially as when the salesman is smiling sweetly at you and telling you how they have your best interests at heart etc....they know damn well it is an ex rental and they are withholding information that you need/deserve to know. Its not on in my opinion.

[manchel]

The company I worked for before retiring used Enterprise all the time for Managers use. I have absolutely no problems with buying one of these cars seeing how fussy these 'old wrinklies' were. However I do agree that the dealerships should be up front about the origin of the vehicles on the forecourt. I have just bought my Avensis last week and the condition is immaculate, 10k on the clock and no visible signs of wear inside or out - in fact, my good lady thought I had gone mad and bought a new one! The service record only shows that it was prepared initially by Toyota (GB) Vehicle Distribution Center and the milage was done in the first six months of intitial registration. It also shows that the car has been at the dealership for 5 months. I am about to phone them and ask just who the previous owner really was, not having the log book yet, because I was told that it was owned by Toyota GB not that it could have been leased or a rental car. Dont get me wrong - I am still happy with it, having saved £7000 had I bought new, but now, armed with this knowledge I am about to do a thorough inspection and get them to put right anything that I may find. Any problems and, well, there is always the 14 day return clause. lol

[Tawse57]

Is this the '2004 Avensis 1.8 T3-S Auto Silver Steel with less than 10k on the clock for £11.450 from a Toyota main dealer'?

Excellent price. They still want 12.5K to 14K round my way for manual 2004 T3-Ss.

[joynenr]

Just bought an Avensis T4 1.8 from Bridgend Toyota World.

The car is 18 months old and first registered to Toyota.

The car had done 6 miles and was still in it's white protective wrapping.

Does this sound like an enterprise car?

Have had one problem which it has been back to the dealer for (please see other posting).

Not that i'm complaining for 12k i think it was a steal.

[Hepatacyte]

I have also just bought a 1yr old Avenisis. The V5 stated the previous owner as Toyota GB. However, I found some paperwork in the glove box that showed that the car had been rented out by Hertz. I spoke to the sales manger who admitted that they often got Enterprise cars but did not know they also got Hertz. He did seem a bit surpised and did offer me a replacement car on the 14 day guarantee scheme but since the car was in v. good nick I didn't bother.