Should I pull the trigger? (from hertz)

could be the tires now on the back are the originals from the front...
who knows with rentals, I avoid them.

 

I don't think that is accurate if my Gen2 Prius is an example.

Firestone would not align the rear tyres and I was annoyed by uneven wear so I took the car to an alignment shop. The rears were shimmed and the problem solved.

OP: find a Hertz offer with even wear on the tyres and buy that one

 

I have always been leery of buying rental cars for the reasons mentioned above. My daughter bought a used Accord that had been a rental and had no trouble with it. You can do better than $300 per tire! Try Costco

 

you're correct. i just didn't want the o/p to think it's easy, buy the car and have the first place he took it tell him it cannot be done. even the dealers won't align the rear end, it takes a qualified shoppe to pull it off correctly.

 

Unlike some, I don't completely buy the abused bit about rentals these days, especially compacts like the Prius. I've rented a ton of cars over the years, including in England/Germany, and never drove them any differently than I drive my cars. Well, in Germany I did go a lot faster on the autobahn, but nothing out of sync with other drivers. I believe that even of one thrashes the Prius, the worst that's going to happen is they'll get poor mileage. Even if it was driven all 55,000 miles in PWR mode, there's only so much "thrashing" one can do. The main concern is regular maintenance and on the Prius that amounts to only 5 oil/filter changes. What generally concerns most people is the "high" miles and multiple drivers, but 55,000 on a car that's probably almost 3 years old isn't that bad, we've already got over 32,000 on ours and it's barely a year old.

I'm suspicious of the tires and surprised that the dealer gave it a clean bill of health. I'm always leery of a car with different front and rear tires unless there's a plausible explanation, like road hazard damage, etc. And standard size tires shouldn't be anywhere near $300 each, maybe $300 to replace both rears. A qualified tire shop should be able to confirm a high-speed stop created flat spot, but I'd hate to buy the car, replace the tires and find there is still a problem. The rental period should give you a better idea of how sound the car is and how it rides with the tires.

 

Then there is no point complaining about the worn rear tires. Just replace them. As previously pointed out, if rear wheel alignment is an issue, it must be adjusted by a specialty suspension shop using shims. This is not an approved Toyota service practice.

I am surprised that Hertz is keeping their cars until 55K miles before selling them. In the not-so-distant past it seemed to me that the major rental car fleets would only log ~30K miles on a vehicle before selling it.

At least with a rental vehicle there is a high degree of likelihood that the engine oil/oil filter was replaced per the manufacturer's schedule. This cannot always be assumed to be the case with a vehicle owned by a private party.

Good luck with your decision and the purchase, should you decide to go ahead with that particular choice.

 

Why is it cheaper ?

Anyway, your choice: Save $1100 now and hope you did not buy a car with rear alignment/suspension/frame issues, or spend $1100 more to get a car that you have good confidence that none of those issues are present.

I'm curious -- Does Hertz provide repair and insurance claim history ?

 

i don't think i've ever rented a car with more than 10,000 miles. but they are always common midsize. maybe they turn those more often.

 

That's kind of why I've changed my advice over the years. I use to say..No, don't ever buy a used rental. BUT...the results seem to be proving that advice wrong. I've actually never read a post where someone claimed to of bought a rental vehicle and then had a problem directly related to that reason.

 

all the best!

 

CollinPark- The very likely scenario is that the tires were never rotated which resulted in cupping of the rear tires and the front tires wearing out before the rear tires. There is probably nothing wrong with the car, just lack of tire rotation. I would ask the seller to reduce the price by the cost of two new tires, four new tires if the front tires are more than 25% worn; or, have them install the new tires.

BTW, my father and other family members have purchased numerous rental cars. None of them have had any problems with them. The reason I don't buy them is they are usually the lower trim models and lack all of the features I want in a car, i.e. Prius level II rather than a level IV. You did a smart thing by having a Toyota dealer do a pre-purchase inspection and should have no reservations about buying this car.

 

thanks for the update, all the best!

 

I would never buy a rental car. They lead a tough life but that is your call.

 

My guess about the odd tire wear would be due to front end alignment. To be more precise, the toe- in is off. The rear tires have obviously been on the front at one time or another. The fact that the fronts are different type or brand is not good. You should invest in a complete set of tires. Tire rotation is critical (5000 miles) too. I don't think rental car companies practice due diligence when it comes to proper tire management. Another thing to consider is, a Prius renter is probably going to load the car to the hilt for a long trip with fuel cost in mind. It only takes one cross country trip with under inflated tires to cause significant wear.
In the long run, I think you are getting a pretty good deal on the car.

 

I would stay away. I rent cars all the time for work and I treat the gas pedal like a drum pedal. I floor it at every light and power brake them numerous times to try and chirp the tires. God help them if they have a hand brake. I can't think I'm the only one who does this.

 

My oe rear tires were cupped when I changed my tires at 40k miles. I had the dealer check the alignment and it was in spec. My tires were wearing funny at 25k and I stopped rotating my tires at 30k miles due to the odd wear and they were, near the end of their life. It might just be the tires. My new tires are wearing normally so I just ble it on the oe goodyears not wearing well at the end of their life span. If I had to guess I would Den49 has it right, they probably didn't rotate the tires enough and the front tires wore out prematurely.