Hey,

I'm new to this site, but have been looking here for awhile in read-only mode. I have a 96 GLE and love it and am thinking about buying a used 2K2 SE. My question(s) is:

There are some good deals on base 2K2 SE's out there - in my area prices are high 17K thru 18K. The cars are obviously ex-rental fleet as they usually have 15-25K miles and no sunroof or leather. What are your opinions on buying an ex-rental fleet 2K2 SE? Anybody have past good or bad experiences buying a rental?

Thanks Everyone,

Paul

 

I would never buy a car from a rental company. I've rented cars in the past and treat them like crap. the last car I rented was a 2k2 maxima and I drove it like I was running from the cops.

 

HEL#L FUKCING NO. I was watching a video of what people do to rental cars. NEVER NEVRRRRRRRRRRRR!

 

I have 5 rentals within this month, 3 of them are 02 maxima.
Only 2 maxima running smooth and strong, the other 2 are like craps, one is jeep liberty and the other one is pondiac bonneville.
One of the maxima made clicking noise whenever involved with gas peddle, I returned it and asked for another one.

Unless you do know a lot about the condition of the car, it's not a bright idea to buy a rental. Most ppl treat it like shat.

 

I would if it was dirt cheap. I'll say for $15K for 2K2 isnt so bad. Just use the $$ u saved and GO ALL OUT MODS! GOOD AS NEW.

 

Never buy a car that was used for a rental!

 

The man speaketh the truth. Never, ever, ever, ever buy a used rental unless you're looking for a demolition derby car or something. We know how people treat rentals. I wouldn't want a car that had been heavily abused.

Stereodude

 

I would buy one... and pay for it with 3$ bills.

You buy it, you smoking the good stuff.

I have never had a rental that I have not abused, and intentionally so.

 

ya dude havent u seen mischief? lol

 

Well the real secret is that rental car companies sell the majority of their cars at auction and dealers buy them there for resale. So even if you buy from a reputable dealer, most of their "certified used cars" are rentals anyway. I used to work for Enterprise for 6 years.

 

I rented two 2002 Max's. First one had 2500 miles and was perfect. Second one had 4000 miles and had a bad clunk in the front right suspension and get this....both front shocks were blown. The car bounced down the road. I drove it 800 miles on the highway laughing it the way it floated. Then when I got home I pushed down on the front bumper and it bounced up and down like 5 times!!!!!Both shocks blown. Someone had a good time with that car. I would belive at least 25% of renters beat the shiit out of the car. I run um hard.

 

come up here to Canada and buy yourself a BRAND NEW maxima for almost the same price

 

I tried that when I bought mine in March 2002 and was told by my dealer, a canadian dealer, and a guy on this board who offered to help set up deals (because that's how he bought his) and all three said it's not allowed any more.

Is it?

 

I bought mine Feb 28th in Canada. I'm not aware of any law change, but... Caveat Emptor.

Stereodude

 

never!

 

That's exactly why I always stick to the modo, when you buy a used car, your buying someone elses problem. May not always be true, but it's alot of money to disprove the theory.

 

OMG never! When I rent a car I beat it like a red-headed step child

Did you ever here the noise when you put a car in park at 20 MPH? I have

 

My first Maxima was a 2k GXE ex-rental from Hertz Car Sales. It was by far the best deal at the time. The car was actually in great shape. There were a lot of chips in the paint but nothing unusual and the interior was in great shape. 5000 miles later, the rotors were warped. 7000 miles after that the rotors were warped again and the rear brakes were having problems. I also had to have the coil TSB done.

The biggest shocker was when I was getting ready to sell it. I was vacuuming the rear seat. I always noticed that the rear seat cloth was not very soft and the carpet on the floor in the rear and under the drivers seat was actually hard. I found a spot underneath the drivers seat and started to clean it. This was a tan interior and the more I cleaned it, the more I noticed a red color starting to show through. I stopped at that point and examined the carpet completely. From what I can tell a lot of red paint was spilled in the car. Enough to flood underneath the drivers seat and the both sides of the feet positions for the rear passengers. The reason everything was so hard was because they painted the carpet a tan color to match the interior, effectively covering up the problem. I sold the car and now I am more than happy with my 2k2.

Sorry so long, but after this if you don't see the point, then all I can tell you is "<a rental car> is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get."

 

Everyone, thanks for your wise advice, you have talked me outta buying the used rental car.

So, tell me where to find a used private seller 2K2 SE at a reasonable price. I don't have the $$$ to buy new.

Thanks again,

Paul

 

i'd never buy a car from a rental car company no matter what...
and if you'd know what i do to rental cars, you'd never buy one from them either!

 

good to see you changed you mind

on where to get a car.. since your profile say OH I plugged that into www.autotrader.com and here are those results...


http://www.autotrader.com/findacar/r...used&x=29&y=18

 

Used car prices are down like never before (I know, I've been trying to sell a 2k SE for months). You should be able to get a good deal without going to the rental rejects. That 17k - 18k price you quoted is probably not what the cars actually sell for. Try private owner first, someone local. Then work your way up from there.

 

I will never forget when my friend and I both had rent cars. He had a Countour and I had a Camaro Convertable. We had rent car wars. Racing Forward, in reverse, Donuts etc... Man I need to do that again.

 

 

hell no! me and my cousin got an infinty I35 and we ran that ***** to the ground! never buy a rental

 

Don't do it, more than likely the car was treated like $hit. I know from my own experience of renting a car ( the things I've done to it)

 

well, i know u can't buy a 350z and bring it down to the states because you can get it a lot cheaper up here, and if u bring it down to the states, they will get ****ed off at you, and shred your contract when you are on the waiting list..

 

Well you could buy it and not tell them what you're doing with it. They can't legally stop you from buying it. Generally if the car is selling well they don't want to sell 'em to a US buyer. Like last year when I ordered my Max he didn't care cause they weren't selling all that well. But he wouldn't have sold me an Altima cause they were selling like hotcakes and he could sell them all locally.

Personally I'd think they would prefer to sell 'em to US buyers. Cause they know you'll never be back for any warranty work.

Stereodude

 

My 2k1 GXE was a rental car. Didn't think about that when I was buying it. It's a reliability nightmare and I will never by a rental car again. Least i got a good deal this time (bought it in Oct 2001 for 17K and change)

But it works well and is an absolute blast to drive when it's not sitting in the Nissan dealership waiting to be repaired. Oh well.

 

When I tried in March, I was told is was Nissan that wasn't letting the dealers do it. It had nothing to do with laws or other crap, just Nissan Corporate flexing muscle with Canadian dealers to not sell to US customers.

I can't remember the guy's name, but there was a guy here who offered to help set up deals ... quick search... there...

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....threadid=98901

I contacted that guy and he, an american dealer, and the canadian dealer he told me about all said the same thing... Nissan won't allow a Canadian dealer to sell to a US customer.

So, can they "legally stop you?" I think so if that's their corporate policy.

 

What kind of problems do you attribute to it being a rental car? Did you have it carefully checked by a mechanic?

 

Odd, he gave me all the info on how to do it. I did it sucessfully, so...

In truth no one can legally stop you from doing it. However if Nissan North America (corporate offices) isn't willing to help you'll have a much harder timer. You need that letter from them saying that the car with your VIN complies with US emissions and crash standards. If you can't get that letter you'll have a harder time sweetalking the guy at Customs.

With all that said though the only thing that Nissan can legally do is refuse to transfer the warranty to you in the US. The dealer that Jon set people up with in Toronto supported US buyers being able to buy over there. Even the Canadian government wants US residents to buy stuff over there. Seems kinda odd that they just changed their mind. Your best bet would be to call Nissan Corporate and ask if the Warranty will transfer from Canada to the US. Don't mention that you're buying a car in Canada and live in the US. My theory is that you can probably still do it.

But, as always, Caveat Emptor.

Stereodude

 

good thing rental car places don't rent manual tranny maxima's

 

Don't do it! I would never buy a used rental car, no matter what company it came from, or what kind of car it was. You can guarantee that it's been used and abused...