Back in May of this year, I bought a used Mitsubishi Raider from a local used car dealer. They had bought it at auction from Enterprise Car Rental. Well, I get terrible gas mileage, but it’s an otherwise great truck, so I’ve been thinking about selling it privately and getting myself a used Nissan Rogue. I used to own a Nissan XTerra.
My 2007 Mitsubishi Raider.
I’ve done a ton of research on Cars.com, AutoTrader.com, Edmunds.com, Consumer Reports and others. I found Hertz Rent2Buy on Auto Trader’s site, and their Rogues had sub-30,000 miles, though the price is higher than used car sites. I did a Google Search and found a review of Rent2Buy on Fiscal Fizzle. Read the comments to get an idea of how Rent2Buy is a mixed bag so far, though Wojo’s experience was overall pretty good.
There’s also Enterprise Car Sales, and it seems to be a little better in terms of having an actual office dedicated solely to selling used Enterprise rental cars. Hertz Rent2Buy is a separate company from Hertz Rental, and I’ve read you pick up the vehicle from the rental place, but they don’t always know it’s for a potential sale. I’m not sure if Enterprise Car Sales offers the three day cheap rental as a test drive, like Hertz Rent2Buy does.
You should also check out Wojo’s article (and tons of positive comments) on buying a rental car. In fact, you should read the whole seven part series (that’s part 1–you’ll find links to the other parts at the end of the article) Wojo wrote up about his experience of using one car between he and his wife, selling his car on Craigslist, new vs. used, extended warranties, etc.
I’m also looking at regular dealerships’ used cars, and off-lease or other used car dealers, and making sure I check the local Better Business Bureau (BBB) website to make sure the dealership is rated well (that and Google ratings). You can find the local brance on the BBB website via Google.
I have very little problems with my (former rental) truck, aside from some issues with the left blinker, the headlights sometimes staying on and the wipers sometimes slowing down on their own. Good news, the Raider came with a 5-year, 60,000-mile warranty, so that’s a covered repair.
My goal is to sell the Raider privately (it’s a re-skinned Dodge Dakota), since it’s an affordable truck compared to others in its class. MPG-wise, it’s similar to other vehicles. Besides, most people aren’t like me, working from home and driving only locally, which can sap gas out quicker.
I hope to get a used black, gray or silver Nissan Rogue in the coming months. I’ll let you know soon!
