Ex-fleet cars: are they worth buying?
If you’re wondering which second-hand car is a better deal: one that comes from an individual seller, or one that comes from a company owning a whole fleet cars, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll demonstrate the pros and cons of the latter; in fact, we’ll even give you our verdict!
Fleet cars – what does it mean, what cars are these?
Fleet cars are any vehicles which previously were used by big companies. They include
cars purchased for cash, as well as lease cars and long-term rental ones.
The benefits of ex-fleet cars
Let’s start with the pros. The first pro is this: despite the popular belief, ex-fleet cars aren’t used up wrecks in general. True, a lot of them demonstrate impressive mileage; after all, they are bought precisely for being driven a lot.
The reason behind this is a change in the approach of companies which do have a fleet at all. A company car is no longer considered a “nobody’s car” that you can treat like junk and never suffer the consequences.
Quite the contrary: today, the users of these cars treat them almost as good as their own because the company policy obliges them to do so.
To be more specific, if you damage your company car, chances are you will need to pay for the damage out of your own pocket. Fleet owners are also obliged to have the vehicles serviced on a regular basis, which is a good thing to know if you’re into buying a car from them.
The second pro is the variety of ex-fleet vehicles available: you can pick the majority of makes, models, body types, engine versions and accessories. Virtually all segments of the car market are sold ex-fleet, from the city and compact cars, through the middle class, up until the representative premium class vehicles.
The drawbacks of ex-fleet vehicles:
Are there any drawbacks to consider, then? The first one is the considerable mileage we have already mentioned. The cars may not be old but they will have driven tens to a few hundred thousands kilometres. To put it in simple words, even if you buy cheap you will need to make quite an investment to bring the car back in shape.
The second one is the servicing which may or may not have been done properly. It all depends on people, as usual.
A driver that is being fair will be using an ASC but one that is mostly after savings will have the car repaired as cheap as possible. If you buy a car that was driven by such a person, it may turn out the repairs will need to be redone soon, and the replacement parts that were used will not last as long as the original ones would.
The verdict: to buy or not to buy?
Knowing all of the above, can you make a simple yes or no purchase decision? Of course not; nothing is ever simple when it comes to buying a pre-owned car.
A car that has finished its fleet life is definitely worth your attention if it is a higher class one. So if you’re after an ex-fleet drive, look for one that was used by someone more successful than a sales rep.
Secondly, it hardly ever makes sense to buy an ex-fleet car if you’re not sure it was regularly serviced an examined in ASCs for the whole time it was part of the fleet. Now is the time to ask the question: how do you check this? Check the history of an ex-fleet car.
The answer is simple: is you wish to find out more about the history of an ex-fleet vehicle you’re planning to buy, use our professional VIN decoder. Go to autoDNA vehicle history and find out more.
At autoDNA.com, the market-leading VIN decoding tool, you can free VIN lookup on a given vehicle. All you need for this is the VIN number. In the reports, on used cars, you can find information that will allow you to check whether the seller is telling the truth or not. In the report, you can find data on various topics. One of them is the vehicle history or stolen vehicle bases. You can do a VIN check for free 24/7 throughout the year.
What are the advantages of buying fleet cars?
The advantages of buying fleet cars include:
- They are often well-maintained, as they have to adhere to strict service schedules.
- They are usually sold after a few years of use, so they can be newer models.
- They often come with detailed service records.
- They can be less expensive than buying a new car.
What are the disadvantages of buying fleet cars?
The disadvantages of buying fleet cars include:
- They often have high mileage because they are used extensively.
- They may have more wear and tear.
- They may lack some features that individual buyers typically opt for.
- They may have been driven by many different drivers, which can lead to inconsistent care.
How can I buy a fleet car?
Fleet cars are often sold at auctions, but some companies also sell them directly to the public. You can check with local businesses or government agencies to see if they sell their fleet cars. There are also online platforms that sell used fleet cars.
Are fleet cars a good investment?
Whether a fleet car is a good investment depends on the specific car and your needs. Fleet cars can be a good value because they are often well-maintained and less expensive. However, they often have high mileage and may have more wear and tear. It's important to thoroughly inspect any fleet car before buying it.
