Buying a Loaner

J

JaCkaL829

it was my first time...
Would you?



I'm trying to help my younger cousin get a nice, used Acura TSX. Between her being particular, and my strong disapproval against black, she's limited down to two exterior colors (gray and white) with an ebony interior. We looked at some last night, and they had two gray 05s, but not with the black interior. They had about 35k, and 38k on the clock for around 20k. Now the guy mentioned a black one that was just returned that day from a lease. He was saying it was an 07 with 9k miles and would probably go for 22k. My cousin though that was a better deal, but I expressed my dislike for NBP :)



The guy did mention they will be putting up an 08 loaner with about 7-8k miles on it for around 24k. It was the color scheme she wanted, and she's thinking it can be negotiated since it was a loaner. It wouldn't be certified, but it would have the existing new car warranty.



I'm just wondering if buying a loaner is a smart move? IMO buying a used car is already a gamble, because you don't know how the previous owner drove it, but I would think a loaner would increase the odds of problems down the road, which is what she is trying to avoid. I think there solid cars, but I'm worried they we're not broken in correctly, and beaten on. I mentioned 'loaner' cars to two friends later last night and they both commented on 'how they beat on them', which I think a large majority of people would do.



Just wondering what your thoughts/feedback are? I know she's anxious to get something, I just don't want her to rush something that she'll later regret.
 
Ive bought a couple cars off lease, and they've been fine. I mean you know for a fact they've been dealer serviced, which is good
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Setec Astronomy said:
I can't see a loaner being any more beat on than a lease, and it was available at the dealer all the time for timely service.
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I, OTOH, would expect a loaner to be *MUCH* more beat than a lease vehicle. Leasors often still think of the vehicle as "theirs" and the many service loaners I use are always *VERY* beat for their miles.



The '08 Toyota loaner in my driveway right now only has ~8K on it and the poor thing is just *TRASHED* inside and out.
 
I would say go for the 08 with low miles. For the price she will pay for the warranty on one of the 05s and the cost of the car itself it could be close to the price of the 08 with the new car warranty. Plus resale value on the newer car will be higher down the road. But make sure she takes it in for every little thing that could possibly be wrong with it while it is still covered. And remember to keep all the repair paperwork and all the oil change receipts and or dates. I find if someone has any hesitation about buying a car that was once a loaner, having maintenance records help to ease them more than anything else.

Plus it’s the one she really wants. She won't be happy until its in the driveway.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I can't see a loaner being any more beat on than a lease, and it was available at the dealer all the time for timely service.
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I don't know, I feel there are varying degrees of 'beating' on a car. My car was from a lease, and knock on wood has been fine. Now I'm sure there are instances where people take just as good as care of a loaner than their actual. But I feel most people's mentality are upset/angry when then drop their car of because it broke, and take it out on the loaner. Not to mention looking at cars on this site shows us people don't even know how to take care of their car, let alone a dealers.



Robb said:
Ive bought a couple cars off lease, and they've been fine. I mean you know for a fact they've been dealer serviced, which is good
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I'm sorry but I don't think oil changes and brake jobs will help a car that hasn't been broken in properly, not to mention all the other components of the car (transmission, suspension, etc.)



Accumulator said:
I, OTOH, would expect a loaner to be *MUCH* more beat than a lease vehicle. Leasors often still think of the vehicle as "theirs" and the many service loaners I use are always *VERY* beat for their miles.



The '08 Toyota loaner in my driveway right now only has ~8K on it and the poor thing is just *TRASHED* inside and out.
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I kind of agree with that, and most likely not going to recommend this car for her.



Setec Astronomy said:
I guess I have perhaps too much faith in people.
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Haha Setec, don't forget what state your in. :D



miahman98 said:
I would say go for the 08 with low miles. For the price she will pay for the warranty on one of the 05s and the cost of the car itself it could be close to the price of the 08 with the new car warranty. Plus resale value on the newer car will be higher down the road. But make sure she takes it in for every little thing that could possibly be wrong with it while it is still covered. And remember to keep all the repair paperwork and all the oil change receipts and or dates. I find if someone has any hesitation about buying a car that was once a loaner, having maintenance records help to ease them more than anything else.

Plus it’s the one she really wants. She won't be happy until its in the driveway.
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The 05s are certified and actually have a longer warranty than the 08 since it only has whats left on the factory warranty. Resale isn't a major concern since she plans on keeping it for a while.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I guess I have perhaps too much faith in people.
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Well, I sincerely doubt that anybody ever said that about me :D



Coincidental to this thread, my Toyota loaner seems to have an unhappy sound coming from its front right suspension now and then :nervous: I could fix the car's paint issues easily enough, but that interior....
 
Accumulator, I must confess I have never had a loaner car. I have such distaste for letting anyone else touch my cars, I almost never bring them anywhere for service, and on the few (warranty) occassions, I have never been offered a loaner. I also am valet-phobic.



EDIT: I based my opinion on the overwhelming goodness of today's cars, the limited break-in required (although the brakes on the test drive car I bought a couple years ago were horribly bedded and it took me quite a bit to get them corrected), and the fact that most engine/trans damage comes from overheating, which is not so easy to do today, especially if the car is at the dealer often where it can have fluid levels checked (presuming the lot jockeys actually do that).
 
Setec Astronomy- Heh heh, I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum from you when it comes to loaner cars. My friends have often joked about my serial-loaner-car approach to having a beater car :D
 
Most people who get loaners drop their car off for serivce and use the loaner to get to work and back. As long as the dealer maintained it, it should be fine. Besides, it's a Honda (Acura)...bulletproof. I have two Acuras ('04 MDX, '06RL) and haven't had a singe issue with either. I've had Hondas in the past that have been just as reliable.



LL
 
I believe loaners are a good option. Recently (last week) I was looking at getting a car and was trying to decide between getting a loaner or a normal "certified" used car. After talking it over with several people and looking at several loaner cars, I came to the conclusion that loaner cars in general were in better condition than other used cars. I believe the reason for this is that people know they will end up paying for any damage in the end as opposed to normal used cars, where they will not necessarily feel the hit from minor damage.



There is also the dealer maintenance on loaner cars, which I like because I've seen what some people believe to be "regular maintenance" on their cars... not all people are cut out to be mechanics.



Obviously there will be exceptions to every rule, and I'm sure there are loaners which are in awful condition. Really the only solution is to find a mechanic you trust and take the car in question to them as soon as possible because they can check out the car for you (thus eliminating most of the guesswork in buying a used car). To be honest, I wouldn't buy a car unless they let me take it to an independent mechanic to be looked at, as there are simply too many variables involved in car condition to just lump them in broad categories.
 
I'm definitely not a believer in loaners. Case in point, my aunt a few years ago bought a car from Enterprise that only had 12k on the clock. At 25k the engine had issues, suspension had issues and other issues I couldn't begin to get into.
 
I bought an ex rental once. It was 1 year old, and had 10K miles...I got it for a pretty good price. I kept it for 3 years, it was a good car with no problems, and I would still have it had it not gotten struck by lightning and totaled.
 
Labster said:
I'm definitely not a believer in loaners. Case in point, my aunt a few years ago bought a car from Enterprise that only had 12k on the clock. At 25k the engine had issues, suspension had issues and other issues I couldn't begin to get into.
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She bought a rental - way different then a loaner car. I work as a service advisor for Volvo and would not hesitate to buy an off road loaner. They are treated by every customer with utmost respect - because people are happy to have loaner cars in the first place. Our cars are taken off loaner duty around 7-9 thousand miles and are just as good looking as a brand new car!! Maybe its just Volvo but if the deal was right and its the USED car exactly that I wanted (doesnt happen often) I wouldnt hesitate.
 
Yes, loaners are *usually* maintained(at a bare minimum), but they are more likely to be abused more too. I always treat them like crap! In adddition, when ever a rental needs any kind of collision repair, they get done really sloppy. Shops will avoid removing trim, sanding flat and blending because they know they won't get inspected like a retail customer vehicle.
 
I have purchased 2 vehicles from rental car agencies. They were well maintained (had all the maintenance records) and completely reliable. My current commuter vehicle is a 2001 Mitsubishi Mirage (bought with 20k on the odometer). It currently has 150k trouble free miles. ( only 1 non preventative maintenance repair: an A/C high pressure line broke at the flange)



Basically, I change all the fluids when I buy any vehicle. I keep up on preventative maintenance and fix any small problems before they become large problems. Between that and properly detailing the vehicle, I still get compliments on its condition.
 
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