I’m about to buy a new (to me) car.

I have my eye on this 2011 Peugeot 308.

Assuming I have no knowledge of cars (which is true) what checks do I need to make? Is an AA vehicle inspection (or similar) worthwhile or should I just take it for a drive and check nothing falls off? I assume if I’m buying from a company I don’t need to do HPI / stolen checks.

This particular car is an ex-hire car. Is that OK?

3 years old is quite old for a hire car, most are kept 6-12 months ?
Definitely still do HPI etc checks
AA inspection not worth much IMO for such a new car

Find a mate who knows about cars and take him with you to see it / drive it.

Have you ever hired a car?

The Rev limiter will have been tested for starters

“Fastest car in the world… A Rental” Said Jeremy Clarkson, I think he’s right.

Have you ever hired a car?

The Rev limiter will have been tested for starters

Indeed! The fastest car I’ve ever driven was a hired 1.2 Fiesta 🙂

I look elsewhere after reading this on the listing:

“We are a small hire company who sell on there older vehicles”

Yep I’ve off roaded focus hire cars in Spain more than most UK 4×4’s have ever done, a mate decided to see if the electronic hand brake in the passat would work at speed…

So two things that would put me off

1. Its a Peugeot

2. Its a Hire Car

Apart from that, no issues buying a three year old car

Bought an ex-hertz mondeo estate – it’s been grand up to 160K so far (I’ve also bought ex-police cars too).

Honest john gives you a model specific list to look for (or might be parkers), then go looking for misaligned panels etcs, check liquid levels.

Definitly drive it, see how starts does it pull left/right that kind of thing. Make sure the fact it’s ex-rental is reflected in the price.

Assuming I have no knowledge of cars (which is true)

Tip no. 1 – don’t buy a Peugot. I’ve heard so many horror stories, I wouldn’t bother. There are other brands with much better reputations, you can buy one of those easily for £5k.

So, if we’re starting with the basics…

You do know new cars don’t have to have an MOT for the first 3 years and then after that they need them annually.

Something to know if you’re looking at cars of this age.

Anyone else read the headline as buying a 3 year old a 2nd hand car?

Anyone else read the headline as buying a 3 year old a 2nd hand car?

Yep, was going to suggest a red one. My friends daughter loves red.

There are pros and cons for all car makes, I happen to quite like Peugeots, have a look at the Honest John website and check the price against Parkers guide (or similar).

I was certainly (in other car buying thread as before) put off – “they are ex-rental / hire cars” No thanks!!

Having referred to the latest Which? report on cars, they suggest the 307 and 308 are cars to avoid due to faults with exhausts, lights, aircon and Central locking, causing average annual repair bill (ie on top of service costs) is £185.

In that class of vehicle, hunt yourself out a Skoda Fabia, Skoda Octavia, VW Golf estate, Toyota Avensis Tourer or even good old beast of a Mondeo.

Thanks all – lots of useful advice.

“Don’t be gentle, it’s only a rental” 🙁

OP, the fact its a rental isn’t necessarily bad but it does suggest it should be looked at carefully

Mileage is low for a 3 year old hire car. Look for signs of wear that might indicate the mileage has had a haircut before each service..not uncommon with ex private hire / hire cars from small firms.

As above, I wouldn’t touch a 2nd hand hire car with a barge pole. It will have been red-lined from cold many many times!

One thing I noticed on a Peugeot 308 I drove as a hire car a few years ago (not the same one linked!) was the windscreen wipers.. They had not been switched over for RHD so instead of getting a splash of water where the 2 blades overlap in the passengers line of sight it was in the drivers.

I don’t want to be rude so I’ll instead suggest you look again.
The 308 is about the least reliable medium hatchback and as for buying an ex-rental – have a word with yourself.
As well as being unreliable, the 308 is a very ordinary car. It isn’t good at anything, merely adequate. They tend to be bought by people who know nothing about cars.
Damn, I said I wasn’t going to be rude…

Keep looking – if you can only afford the cheapest possible 3yr old car then consider looking for the best 4yr old car instead – you’ll get a much better car and have more choice.

Try the auctions for an ex motability car. They are replaced about every 3 years. You may get panel damage, but motability cars are fixed under contract so you have a good chance of a well looked after car.

Also consider Hyundai/Kia. They come with transferable 5/7 yr warranties, so you get a 2/4 yr warranty.

I’ll repeat what many have said, rental cars get hammered.

I’d keep looking.

While waiting to return a rental car recently, I queued behind a charming American lady who was explaining that the hire car she’d just driven from Manchester to Edinburgh and back had been rather noisy. After a brief discussion, the guy behind the counter worked out she didn’t know how to drive a ‘stick shift’ and it had done both journeys in second gear. I dare say that has now found its way on to the second hand market….

Like your passat molgrips .

Nothing wrong with peugeots at all .

On my third now.

The best part is they are cheap to fix if they go wrong , like mondeos

Vw /skodas/ seats like to eat pound coins quickly when they go wrong

Stop the french bashing
My citrone has outlived and a4 and my almost dead golf tdi
Both the vag cars have been a huge pain in the ass and are not as reliable of myth would have you believe

The vag stuff is nicer finished inside but mechanical average

Why the hell would anyone buy an ex-rental car when you could buy something that had a sympathetic first owner?

Ask yourself that….

I had a Peugeot, it was a nightmare. I ended up having to drop a new engine into it before moving it on (it went in P/E to a dealer as I couldn’t face passing it on to a normal punter). Never again.

And i had a vw golf that i ended up replacing the steering rack and engine in to trade it in. What a bucket of shite.

Worse thing was the replacement engine wasnt any better than the original due to an inherrant flaw in the design and both items cost an arm and a leg thanks to the vag tax and i had too much into it at fair market value to walk away without fixing it – was only fetching 170 scrap.

I wouldnt never condone buying ex rental but i would always buy a peugeot in a line up of cars, and i used to be a french car hater till i had one – liked it so much i bought mrs t-r one.

But then i buy 10year old cars – when a peugeots made it to year 10 its probably a good un 😉

It’s a French ex rental car.. What could possibly go wrong?

We bought an ex rental, only noticed later after going through the history more thoroughly.

Reckon you are OK with a rental firm that only keeps their cars for a year or so, ours was a cheapo (Fiat Punto) and I think it had been royally thrashed. It was reliable but felt like it was going to fall apart.

So you want to buy a car that is due its first mot in 3 months time, just as its warranty runs out? Where is the logic in that?

The full service history on that car is likely to be their own mechanic rather than a Peugeot dealer or possibly a local indie garage. They may well be OK but you don’t know, they will have minimised every possible expense on it.

I wouldn’t buy that one but IME Peugeots aren’t that bad and would certainly buy one over a VAG if I were paying the bills.

OK – I’m fully convinced on not buying that particular Peugeot. Will probably still get a 308. Have a 307 now that’s been fine.

So you want to buy a car that is due its first mot in 3 months time, just as its warranty runs out? Where is the logic in that?

Ignoring this specific car, there are lots of ex-lease 3 year old cars for sale, so they’re better value than a newer car. I wonder why someone would sell a 4 year old car which had no problems.

Lots of people want new cars and 4 years is a popular finance term, hence lots around

Most ex lease cars will have a MOT it has always been a requirement to get done on the ones I’ve returned at the end of the lease.

The mileage seems low for an hire car, they are probably not hiring that many out because 3 years seems a long time to keep a hire car.

The lease cars I use for the Driving School are kept for 3 years then sold on. I don’t keep them more than 18 months as you can tell they are getting tired as no matter what you tell the Students, they will always over rev, slip the clutch, catch a kerb etc.

I wouldn’t buy one…….

Data are your friends…. research the data… the data tells you everything…..
research the data…
data says Peugeot cars over 3yrs are highly problematic
data says many cars over 3 years are highly problematic
data says least problematic cars over 3 yrs are from Honda, Toyota, Mazda and Ford
data tells of their average annual repairs of £15 to £55
data tells of breakdown frequency, their fault count, days off the road… and more
check the data it has many stories to tell
stories of fact, not fables.
data is data are… read the data
data helps… enjoy the data.

Not every hire car is gonna get ragged. Every time I’ve had a car off the likes of Enterprise I’ve been ultra careful so I don’t lose my deposit.

Not every hire car is gonna get ragged. Every time I’ve had a car off the likes of Enterprise I’ve been ultra careful so I don’t lose my deposit.

I think most people just pay the £15 “drive it like you hired it” tax. Although the last hire I did specificaly excluded any damage above the drivers head height, either there’s some very low car parks or they got rolled a lot!

Is it ex hire or ex lease? Lease car’s I’d be less worried about, hire car’s I’d not touch.

Isn’t the 1.6 HDI a problematic engine?

If you’re nearby, I’d recommend a visit to http://www.cargiant.co.uk/. All the prices are pretty reasonable, and the after-sales backup is pretty good should anything go wrong.

Just give the car a good look over, check servicing etc.. and if anything is due soon, ask them to fix it before you buy.