Warning To Potential Buyers Of Used Corollas

[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 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

[MJG]

Hi

This is just a warning to anyone considering buying a year old Avensis or Corolla, [sNIP]

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.

[Twincam.GTi]

This is happening through a lot of Car Companies, not just Toyota ... how do I know ... my employer has a contract with Enterprise (and quite a few others) ... and my employer ... Ministry of Defence.

Do the cars get abused? ... We work with the British army so what do you think!

[MJG]

Do the cars get abused? ... We work with the British army so what do you think!     

←

Well if mine wasn't before it certainly is getting some welly now........they just beg to driven hard.........................

[ColinM]

This is a common ploy used by most manufacturers, not just Toyota.

Rover Direct, for example, is ex-Rover management/rep cars, ex-rentals, ex-leases, etc, etc. Rover used to be open about what the category of previous user was, but no longer do so. But the risk is no greater than with any car on a forecourt, bearing in mind the vast majority of new cars are destined for these types of first users.

Just remember, buyer beware!!!

[db70]

Toyota UK have a car purchase plan for its employees, i.e. we pay a fixed amount every month for either a 1 or 2 year plan, after which we can purchase the car for an agreed price or return it and take out a new agreement. (similar to a PCP offered by most car makers) Most of the cars are sold on through the Toyota dealer network as approved used vehicles, and are registered to the employee c/o Toyota GB, so previous owner should be an individual and not leasing company. Most of these cars are thrashed to hell (mine included!), but are looked after very well, as we have to pay big penelties on return for any defects, e.g £80 for a small dent or scratch, £150 for a panel respray!!, all have full dealer SH also as this is a condition of the plan. All car registration no.s start with either GV, GY, GU or GR and have Toyota GB on the no. plate...I got a price of £5200 to buy my 2 year old 1.6 T3, so we don't get a bad deal...but I'm swapping for a TS.....can't wait!

[Twincam.GTi]

QUOTE(Twincam.GTi @ Feb 20 2005, 03:22 PM)

Do the cars get abused? ... We work with the British army so what do you think!     

Well if mine wasn't before it certainly is getting some welly now........they just beg to driven hard.........................

I didn't really mean 'Thrash engine' or 'Driven hard', it's more of a case of what we carry in them ("oops sorry officer, you mean the boot hasn't got a 30cwt carring capacity" :D ) and where they get driven (and stuck/bogged down! ).

[ColinM]

Another reason for manufacturers selling on their own cars, be it ex-rental/management/lease or whatever, is that they can control the supply of used vehicles onto forecourts at particular times, and hence to some extent maintain the desired resale value and depreciation rates.

[charlaph]

Is this a recent thing - ie only 2003/04 cars? I'm thinking of buying an 51 T-Sport with 63k on the clock, which is obviously a large mileage for a T-Sport and this thread got me wondering whether it might be an ex-lease/rental.

[westwood]

Why should this be a bad thing. My last two cars have been 6 month old ex hire or lease cars. These cars are good value. They are considerably cheaper than brand new, have only 8,000 - 12,000 on the clock. They have been serviced and repaired by main dealers and will go on to give excellent service to the new owners. Having owned a couple of these I would be very reluctant to purchase new again. Seems a win win to me to let someone else pay the first years depreciation.

[scionic]

I think it's a mistake to assume *all* rental cars are deliberately abused. Sure there is always some fool who thinks its funny to try and throw the rental into reverse at 45 mph, but I think that is the exception rather than the rule.

I've never abused a rental, have any of you?

One thing you *can* be sure of at least, with rentals, is that they generally have their scheduled maintainance done like clockwork. You can't say that for a non-rental lease returned car or other used car.

That said, would I buy a used rental car? No. But I am a perfectionist. Mostly I have purchased new cars and broke them in properly myself, or I buy used from someone I know well.

I would rather have a cheaper new car than a used nicer car when I have no way to know it's true history or how it was broken in, but that is more a function of my neurosis than it is sensible thinking.

[T128]

i love these topics :D how do you know these ex rental car's has not been clock,everybody knows clocking a digi speedo is dead easy,of course they are good value NOW! but u might need a new engine in a year or two's time who knows

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.

).

how hard do you think it is for toyota to change ashtry,cigarette lighter ,repair bodyworks, repair interior parts,clutch or wheels etc.... ? the answer is,dead easy and cost hardly anything to them,because they already made the money from leasing the cars out to these rental companys,when they get the car back by changing a few bits to the car,the car is ready to be sell again ,now to you it will all seen to be good value,good condidtion etc... ,just dont moan when other tsport same year or older beat you on the road,cos the differents are your tsport engine could of done over 100,000 miles already for a 2 year old car while the other tsport may only done 25,000 miles :D

all the above i wrote are just a example or speculate, please dont try to sue me toyota :D :P

[T128]

sorry deleted :D

double post :P

[scionic]

Well I don't know about the UK, but in the U.S. odometer fraud is a serious offense and I really don't think a reputable company like Toyota is going to have institutionalized fraud as a standard practice. It's actually not as easy to tamper with a digital odo as it is with an analog one, that is WHY they went to digital.

Not saying it's impossible, but it is highly unlikely IMO. Toyotas retain excellent value, there is no reason to commit fraud. Besides that, rental companies don't keep cars for 100,000 miles, they sell them at 30-50k generally because people who rent a car want a new-ish one and the rental companies don't want the expense of maintaining a car with higher miles.

[T128]

It's actually not as easy to tamper with a digital odo as it is with an analog one, that is WHY they went to digital.

i am no expert but please tell me you are joking :D

if a company or somebody break the law they are not gonna tell the world about it. :P

maybe the whole speedo has been replace. :D

maybe the car has been clock and toyota dont know anything about it. :D

who knows :) what i do know is i wouldn't touch any ex-rental car's

i rest my case :D

[dave5282]

Lets face it buying a second hand car is risk anyway.

Toyota are doing nothing different to any other dealers, and are a damn site more reputable than ther decond hand dealers I could mention.

Ford direct cars are supposedly <cough> ex rentals.

The bit that bothers me is that I do a hell of a lot of miles, I used to use a hell of a lot of hire cars, and I know they do not all get serviced on time, I once drove a golf, that had a light flashing on the dash saying service due, in actual fact it was some 5.5+K overdue, I contacted the hire co. and they said dont worry we checked the oil it was fine, I kid thee not that was all they said they checked as they said that was all that could go wrong at that distance ummm whatever.

But to be fair most people getting hire cars are people who will do lots of constant motorway driving and that sort of driving is the healthiest to do!! and cars these days are designed to live long and clock up the miles so I would'nt bother..... if however you saw the documentary on yes car credit and have bought from them..well!

[Twincam.GTi]

dave5282 Posted Today, 03:10 PM

  ..... if however you saw the documentary on yes car credit and have bought from them..well!

Yes I saw that and at first i couldn't stop laughing ... and then I did realise how serious it was!

[scionic]

Digital odometers are harder to change fraudulently, yes.

Do you really think they would advance the technology by incorporating something more subject to fraud? Not very logical is it? Any mechanic with a little knowledge can turn back the clock on an analog odometer. Not so with digital.

Any time you buy a used car there is a (slight) risk of tampering like that. I would trust a car that is certified by Toyota, or yes, a former rental, more than a used car from some guy named Mike who has his own car lot.

[daktari]

Digital odometers are harder to change fraudulently, yes.

Do you really think they would advance the technology by incorporating something more subject to fraud? Not very logical is it? Any mechanic with a little knowledge can turn back the clock on an analog odometer. Not so with digital.

Any time you buy a used car there is a (slight) risk of tampering like that. I would trust a car that is certified by Toyota, or yes, a former rental, more than a used car from some guy named Mike who has his own car lot.

←

Actually digital odometers are easier to alter due to the fact that you dont have to dismantle the clocks to do it. Anyone with the necesary know how can do it and without recourse to having to use any tools.

The only way you can be sure of a cars history is to

A/ Own it from new or

B/ Ensure it has a fully documented service history. And thats not 100% guaranteed unfortunately. :(

[scionic]

Actually digital odometers are easier to alter due to the fact that you dont have to dismantle the clocks to do it. Anyone with the necesary know how can do it and without recourse to having to use any tools.

Really?

Why don't you tell us how it's done then.

Press a few buttons?

[yvvan]

Actually digital odometers are easier to alter due to the fact that you dont have to dismantle the clocks to do it. Anyone with the necesary know how can do it and without recourse to having to use any tools.

Really?

Why don't you tell us how it's done then.

Press a few buttons?

←

Ermmm .... yes.

Yves.

[scionic]

Wow.

That's too bad.

In that case, I guess odometer fraud will be widespread soon since so many cars have digital odometers now. It will be an epidemic soon.

Funny that this never occured to the car companies.

[Tawse57]

Is this a recent thing - ie only 2003/04 cars? I'm thinking of buying an 51 T-Sport with 63k on the clock, which is obviously a large mileage for a T-Sport and this thread got me wondering whether it might be an ex-lease/rental.

How much for?

Yes, this has been going on for a few years and, of late, has become increasingly a common ay for manufacturers to get good ales figures. If you look around long enough you can get a car with just a few K on the clock. I have seen brand spanking new Mondeos on forecourts with under 1K on the clock.

[streetracer_starlet]

These cars are 1 or 2 yrs old so have warrenty left, it would not bother me about it being ex rental