Many drivers?

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Richard Brookman

Guest
A person called Honest John has a column on car-related issues in the Daily
Torygraph. In this week's offering, someone was asking about the wisdom of
buying an ex-rental car. (A guy had bought a car as "one owner" from a
dealer. It turned out that the one owner was a car rental company.) I
would run a mile, but Honest John advised that this would be a good
purchase, as it would have properly run in (what?), well serviced (probably)
and that "a lot of different drivers is a very good thing for a car".

Is this true? And if so, why?

Just curious.

--
Rich
==============================

I don't approve of signatures, so I don't have one.


 
On or around Thu, 25 May 2006 22:04:38 +0100, "Richard Brookman"
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>A person called Honest John has a column on car-related issues in the Daily
>Torygraph. In this week's offering, someone was asking about the wisdom of
>buying an ex-rental car. (A guy had bought a car as "one owner" from a
>dealer. It turned out that the one owner was a car rental company.) I
>would run a mile, but Honest John advised that this would be a good
>purchase, as it would have properly run in (what?), well serviced (probably)
>and that "a lot of different drivers is a very good thing for a car".
>
>Is this true? And if so, why?

I offer as anecdotal evidence the observation made by a chap I used to know
who ran no car himself but rented one when he needed one, this after having
hired a rover 800...

"is it my fault they put the rev limiter all the way down at 7000?"
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young / In a world
of magnets and miracles / Our thoughts strayed constantly and without
boundary / The ringing of the Division bell had begun. Pink Floyd (1994)
 
Richard Brookman wrote:

> A person called Honest John has a column on car-related issues in the
> Daily
> Torygraph. In this week's offering, someone was asking about the wisdom
> of
> buying an ex-rental car. (A guy had bought a car as "one owner" from a
> dealer. It turned out that the one owner was a car rental company.) I
> would run a mile, but Honest John advised that this would be a good
> purchase, as it would have properly run in (what?), well serviced
> (probably) and that "a lot of different drivers is a very good thing for a
> car".
>
> Is this true? And if so, why?
>
> Just curious.
>
I suppose that one reason it could be true is that multiple drivers not used
to the car are more likely to spot problems and insist they get fixed. But
I doubt this effect, if it exists, would outweigh the "I don't own it so I
don't worry what I do with it" effect.
JD
 
Austin Shackles wrote:
>
> I offer as anecdotal evidence the observation made by a chap I used to know
> who ran no car himself but rented one when he needed one, this after having
> hired a rover 800...
>
> "is it my fault they put the rev limiter all the way down at 7000?"

That's the same problem I have with the exceptionally horrible shared
pool vehicle from work - it develops a funny miss at 80kph in 2nd.
Worst bit is that depsite being driven significant distances hard on the
rev limiter it refuses to die (and the boss has promised me that he'll
buy a new one if I manage to do it a terminal injury).


--
EMB
 
Richard Brookman wrote:
> A person called Honest John has a column on car-related issues in the Daily
> Torygraph. In this week's offering, someone was asking about the wisdom of
> buying an ex-rental car. (A guy had bought a car as "one owner" from a
> dealer. It turned out that the one owner was a car rental company.) I
> would run a mile, but Honest John advised that this would be a good
> purchase, as it would have properly run in (what?), well serviced (probably)
> and that "a lot of different drivers is a very good thing for a car".
>
> Is this true? And if so, why?
>
> Just curious.
>

I'm not sure about many drivers, but I bought an ex-rental car - the
nice thing about with it was that it had a printed out list of
*everything* that had ever been done with it - even down to changing
the windscreen wipers! It was obviously not a pool car - I know how
badly they are treat! but given the vehicle was more likely some
middle-management type had it, I guess you just have to think about
who is likely to have owned or driven the car.

Matt
 
EMB <[email protected]> wrote:

> Austin Shackles wrote:
>> I offer as anecdotal evidence the observation made by a chap I used to
>> know
>> who ran no car himself but rented one when he needed one, this after
>> having
>> hired a rover 800...
>> "is it my fault they put the rev limiter all the way down at 7000?"
>
> That's the same problem I have with the exceptionally horrible shared
> pool vehicle from work - it develops a funny miss at 80kph in 2nd. Worst
> bit is that depsite being driven significant distances hard on the rev
> limiter it refuses to die (and the boss has promised me that he'll buy a
> new one if I manage to do it a terminal injury).

heel-toe right foot
slip-clutch left foot

that should do it

Company Cars? Bl**dy marvellous - never need oil, water etc. run for
miles.

--
William Tasso
 
In a couple of days time my wife's car will be traded in. When she
bought it we were rather unsure if we were doing a wise thing -- it was
an ex-rental Fiat Cinquecento (of all things!), but there were various
complicated reasons why it was the only example of the model that she
could find at the time.

That little car has been a trojan -- she's tripled the mileage on it,
and it still storms about, doubling as an economical run-to-the-city
car and a farmer's truck. That's why it's been so difficult to find a
modern replacement, and it's only going now because it's just beginning
to make the 'hot' smells that herald not-wellness. Oh, and I've been
underneath and seen what a couple of years of farm lane mud have done
to the underside!

So in our experience at least, an ex-rental car has proved to be a
delight... but I must admit I'd probably not feel so happy about a
rep's motorway chariot Mondeo/Vectra etc.

GRAEME ALDOUS
Yorkshire

 
Ours apparently don't need fuel either. Every time I've used one the fuel
light is on and this appears not to have been noticed by the previous
driver!

"William Tasso" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:eek:[email protected]...
> EMB <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Austin Shackles wrote:
>>> I offer as anecdotal evidence the observation made by a chap I used to
>>> know
>>> who ran no car himself but rented one when he needed one, this after
>>> having
>>> hired a rover 800...
>>> "is it my fault they put the rev limiter all the way down at 7000?"
>>
>> That's the same problem I have with the exceptionally horrible shared
>> pool vehicle from work - it develops a funny miss at 80kph in 2nd. Worst
>> bit is that depsite being driven significant distances hard on the rev
>> limiter it refuses to die (and the boss has promised me that he'll buy a
>> new one if I manage to do it a terminal injury).
>
> heel-toe right foot
> slip-clutch left foot
>
> that should do it
>
> Company Cars? Bl**dy marvellous - never need oil, water etc. run for
> miles.
>
> --
> William Tasso


 
On Fri, 26 May 2006 08:51:24 +0100, Matthew Maddock
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Richard Brookman wrote:
>> A person called Honest John has a column on car-related issues in the Daily
>> Torygraph. In this week's offering, someone was asking about the wisdom of
>> buying an ex-rental car. (A guy had bought a car as "one owner" from a
>> dealer. It turned out that the one owner was a car rental company.) I
>> would run a mile, but Honest John advised that this would be a good
>> purchase, as it would have properly run in (what?), well serviced (probably)
>> and that "a lot of different drivers is a very good thing for a car".
>>
>> Is this true? And if so, why?
>>
>> Just curious.
>>
>
>I'm not sure about many drivers, but I bought an ex-rental car - the
>nice thing about with it was that it had a printed out list of
>*everything* that had ever been done with it - even down to changing
>the windscreen wipers! It was obviously not a pool car - I know how
>badly they are treat! but given the vehicle was more likely some
>middle-management type had it, I guess you just have to think about
>who is likely to have owned or driven the car.
>
>Matt

There's a big difference between "rental" as in Avis etc, and "rental"
as in 'been to one user on contract hire'. I wouldn't touch the
former with a barge pole - I drive them regularly. They are with
customers from mile 0 and get no running in at all.

--

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 88" aka "Stig"
'03 Volvo V70
'06 Nissan Navara aka "The Truck"
 
On 2006-05-26, Teeafit <[email protected]> wrote:

> So in our experience at least, an ex-rental car has proved to be a
> delight... but I must admit I'd probably not feel so happy about a
> rep's motorway chariot Mondeo/Vectra etc.

My Defender was ex-rental, in the first month it had a new gearbox and
some transfer box bits replaced under warranty, but the engine has
been as sweet as a nut all the years I've had it. Given that I've
only ever driven one landy extensively, I had to take the dealer on
his word that it was very "revvy" and quick off the mark for a 300TDi,
even before I put the Fearns intercooler on. It doesn't use a drop of
oil between services, even when I was doing higher mileage in it than
I do now.

Not sure if the rest of the truck had been damaged due to ex-rental
use as I replaced most of it within the first year due to being too
brutal on the pay 'n' play sites at first.

--
Blast off and strike the evil Bydo empire!
 
On or around Fri, 26 May 2006 13:14:19 +0100, Tim Hobbs <[email protected]>
enlightened us thusly:

>
>There's a big difference between "rental" as in Avis etc, and "rental"
>as in 'been to one user on contract hire'. I wouldn't touch the
>former with a barge pole - I drive them regularly. They are with
>customers from mile 0 and get no running in at all.

The main point is that the customers care not a fig for the longevity of the
thing, as per my earlier comment about rev limiters. I've never revved any
of my things to the limit on the road, far less as a habit.
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
Satisfying: Satisfy your inner child by eating ten tubes of Smarties
from the Little Book of Complete B***ocks by Alistair Beaton.
 

"EMB" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Austin Shackles wrote:
>>
>> I offer as anecdotal evidence the observation made by a chap I used to
>> know
>> who ran no car himself but rented one when he needed one, this after
>> having
>> hired a rover 800...
>>
>> "is it my fault they put the rev limiter all the way down at 7000?"
>
> That's the same problem I have with the exceptionally horrible shared pool
> vehicle from work - it develops a funny miss at 80kph in 2nd. Worst bit is
> that depsite being driven significant distances hard on the rev limiter it
> refuses to die (and the boss has promised me that he'll buy a new one if I
> manage to do it a terminal injury).
>
>
> --
> EMB

Nah mate you are doing it the wrong way round 110kph ( 4th?) then drop it
into second you can walk back and find out what snapped later or wait for it
to break while somone else is driving it.In my younger days the hardest
driven cars at autotests were always hire cars and I did hear of one getting
rolled.
Derek


 
JD wrote:

|| Richard Brookman wrote:
||
||| A person called Honest John has a column on car-related issues in
||| the Daily
||| Torygraph. In this week's offering, someone was asking about the
||| wisdom of
||| buying an ex-rental car. (A guy had bought a car as "one owner"
||| from a dealer. It turned out that the one owner was a car rental
||| company.) I would run a mile, but Honest John advised that this
||| would be a good purchase, as it would have properly run in (what?),
||| well serviced (probably) and that "a lot of different drivers is a
||| very good thing for a car".
|||
||| Is this true? And if so, why?
|||
||| Just curious.
|||
|| I suppose that one reason it could be true is that multiple drivers
|| not used to the car are more likely to spot problems and insist they
|| get fixed.

That reason was given in the article: all faults would have been reported
and rectified before the next customer. Seems fair enough.

|| But I doubt this effect, if it exists, would outweigh the
|| "I don't own it so I don't worry what I do with it" effect.

That's my thought exactly. Wheels will have been kerbed, clutches fried,
gears crunched, engines slogged or over-revved.

--
Rich
==============================

I don't approve of signatures, so I don't have one.


 
Matthew Maddock wrote:

||
|| I'm not sure about many drivers, but I bought an ex-rental car - the
|| nice thing about with it was that it had a printed out list of
|| *everything* that had ever been done with it - even down to changing
|| the windscreen wipers! It was obviously not a pool car - I know how
|| badly they are treat! but given the vehicle was more likely some
|| middle-management type had it, I guess you just have to think about
|| who is likely to have owned or driven the car.
||
|| Matt

I think the point was that a rental car (as opposed to a lease car) will
have had a squillion and one drivers in its life, most in a hurry, most
unfamiliar with the car, and not caring a hoot about damage or wear as long
as it wasn't visible. You prove the point about good maintenance, though.

--
Rich
==============================

I don't approve of signatures, so I don't have one.


 
On Fri, 26 May 2006 17:14:52 +0100, "Richard Brookman"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>JD wrote:
>
>|| Richard Brookman wrote:
>||
>||| A person called Honest John has a column on car-related issues in
>||| the Daily
>||| Torygraph. In this week's offering, someone was asking about the
>||| wisdom of
>||| buying an ex-rental car. (A guy had bought a car as "one owner"
>||| from a dealer. It turned out that the one owner was a car rental
>||| company.) I would run a mile, but Honest John advised that this
>||| would be a good purchase, as it would have properly run in (what?),
>||| well serviced (probably) and that "a lot of different drivers is a
>||| very good thing for a car".
>|||
>||| Is this true? And if so, why?
>|||
>||| Just curious.
>|||
>|| I suppose that one reason it could be true is that multiple drivers
>|| not used to the car are more likely to spot problems and insist they
>|| get fixed.
>
>That reason was given in the article: all faults would have been reported
>and rectified before the next customer. Seems fair enough.
>
>|| But I doubt this effect, if it exists, would outweigh the
>|| "I don't own it so I don't worry what I do with it" effect.

I've driven hire cars with all manner of defects, and have never
insisted that they were fixed for the next customer!

--

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 88" aka "Stig"
'03 Volvo V70
'06 Nissan Navara aka "The Truck"
 

"Richard Brookman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> A person called Honest John has a column on car-related issues in the
Daily
> Torygraph. In this week's offering, someone was asking about the wisdom
of
> buying an ex-rental car. (A guy had bought a car as "one owner" from a
> dealer. It turned out that the one owner was a car rental company.) I
> would run a mile, but Honest John advised that this would be a good
> purchase, as it would have properly run in (what?), well serviced
(probably)
> and that "a lot of different drivers is a very good thing for a car".
>

I remember someone telling me that Ford wanted to homologise ? their Mustang
( Shelby ) for racing and persuaded Hertz to have enough to qualify the car
as an everyday one ! Hertz then could'nt work out why the cars were coming
back knackered after weekends. ( Apparently they were hired, the blueprinted
engine removed and raced in a lighter car and returned after the weekend
thrashed to death :))


 
In article <[email protected]>, Derek
<[email protected]> writes
>Nah mate you are doing it the wrong way round 110kph ( 4th?) then drop it
>into second you can walk back and find out what snapped later or wait for it
>to break while somone else is driving it.In my younger days the hardest
>driven cars at autotests were always hire cars and I did hear of one getting
>rolled.


Reminds me of the (probably apocryphal) tale of the motoring
journalist's test drive. On returning to the office he was asked how it
went. His reply was "sort of OK, but second gear isn't in the right
place", colleagues asked what he meant, so he dug in his pocket and
produced part of one of the second gear components.


Adrian
--
To Reply :
replace "news" with "adrian" and "nospam" with "ffoil"
Sorry for the rigmarole, If I want spam, I'll go to the shops
Every time someone says "I don't believe in trolls", another one dies.
 

"Adrian Simpson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, Derek
> <[email protected]> writes
>>Nah mate you are doing it the wrong way round 110kph ( 4th?) then drop it
>>into second you can walk back and find out what snapped later or wait for
>>it
>>to break while somone else is driving it.In my younger days the hardest
>>driven cars at autotests were always hire cars and I did hear of one
>>getting
>>rolled.
>
>
> Reminds me of the (probably apocryphal) tale of the motoring journalist's
> test drive. On returning to the office he was asked how it went. His
> reply was "sort of OK, but second gear isn't in the right place",
> colleagues asked what he meant, so he dug in his pocket and produced part
> of one of the second gear components.
>
>
> Adrian
> --
> To Reply :
> replace "news" with "adrian" and "nospam" with "ffoil"
> Sorry for the rigmarole, If I want spam, I'll go to the shops
> Every time someone says "I don't believe in trolls", another one dies.

ROFL sounds about par for journalists I recall a story about Ferrari
launching a new high speed money pit.Before they let the scribes out on the
road they wined and dined them in grand style - like Bertorelli (allo
allo) would say "whata mistak-a to make-a" and a fair bit of work for the
mechanics and body shop.
Derek


 
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