Missing nut cover syndrome and buying ex-rentals

[seadog]

Have noticed there is a high number of Seat leons 1.4, 1.8 FR spec which have missing wheel nut covers (the black plastic caps). Some have all 5 missing off one wheel. cars are being sold by manufacturer approved SEAT dealerships and car supermarkets. Whats with this? is that normal? surely the dealers should be ensuring they are not missing before taking pictures?

Can anyone advise me if buying an ex rental SEAT which has been owned by the likes of Europcar an OK thing to pursue or should this be avoided at all costs due to them being possibly being thrashed? i did wonder why they are cheaper than normal 1 owner cars.

 

[BenWilliams21]

I'd never touch an ex rental. Ok they're serviced etc but we've all seen how rentals are driven. No no no

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[SRGTD]

The plastic wheel bolt covers don’t fit particularly tight, so it’s not unusual to loose the occasional one.

I’ve seen some pictures of used cars for sale in the approved used section of the manufacturer’s website (not just Seat) that have clearly been taken before the car has been prepared for sale. Missing bolt covers might be an example of a car that hasn’t been prepared for sale yet, or the wheels have been removed by the dealer if brake or suspension work has been carried out prior to resale, and the tech has forgotten to put the bolt covers back on.

I personally wouldn’t buy an ex rental car. There’s a high likelihood that it will have been driven ‘enthusiastically’ by hire company customers with little regard to mechanical sympathy for the car. Also, if you care about the paintwork being in good condition, an ex rental car will probably have been put through an automatic car wash, or washed with a gritty sponge and single bucket of water multiple times in it’s short life. So the chances are that paintwork will be quite heavily swirled, and require machine polishing to remove the swirls and marks inflicted from a poor washing technique.

 

[Stevan]

Mine's an ex rental and been absolutely fine for the last 12 months.
It was 12 months old (1.4 ACT FR ST, Jan 2016 manufacture date), 14K miles and looked to be un-taxed for several months before I bought it. It drove and looked fine to me and I had an independent specialist take a look over it (Star Performance in Kirkcaldy) in it's first week with me (I bought on the understanding that the sale was subject to that inspection). They gave it the all clear, £40ish.

Oh and yes, it's missing a fair few wheel nut covers as well, need to get some replacements at some point.
My main gripe with buying an ex rental is the regionless number plate code.

 

[silles]

i drive a lot of rentals and I trash them
had 0 millage cars a lot as rental and i didnt care about running in, i wanted to have fun and had no time messing around for 1000 miles on holidays

on the other hand i drive my own cars carefully, make sure all is warmed up before giving the beans ...

I'd never buy ex-rental

 

[Philh46]

With the discount you can get with the likes of drive the deal etc you aren't talking that much difference in price. I was looking for a petrol ST second hand which were sometimes more expensive than a new broker car.

Ex rental aka drive it like you stole it.

 

[kevster184]

I'm sure there was an issue with an amount of wheel nut covers being loose, a dodgy batch. Not sure when.

 

[SRGTD]

I'm sure there was an issue with an amount of wheel nut covers being loose, a dodgy batch. Not sure when.

I think you may be correct. I lost a couple on a previous VW Golf; don’t think they were stolen. They cost just a few pence each to replace.

 

[kevster184]

I think you may be correct. I lost a couple on a previous VW Golf; don’t think they were stolen. They cost just a few pence each to replace.

Often gone white from acid wheel cleaners too. Just think what that does to the laquer that was on the wheels.