Ex Company Car?

jmc160

Hi all,

My wife and I have been furiously looking for a new car and following advice on here, have been looking primarily at Ford Focuses.

We've found a really nice one, it's only a couple of years old and is a very high spec. The only trouble is the mileage. It's done 107,000 miles, which equates to about 35,000 a year. (it's a diesel). It has a full service history and is an ex company car.

Should we be put off by this?

Judas

Yes; It will have likely been trashed by its previous driver although well maintained.

Lum

It's a bit of a gamble.

My company, for example, stick to the servicing schedule as required by the leasing agent, but no more. Tyres aren't allowed to be replaced until they're on the wear marker and generally cost is minimised.

If it's a base model focus then chances are the driver isn't a particularly valued employee and probably hated the car as the base model Focus isn't very nice for long motorway tripe, and thus there's a good chance they thrashed it up and down the motorway so that they can get home quicker. Ultimately so long as they don't destroy the car during the lease period there is no comeback on them for doing this.

A higher spec model may have been better looked after, it all depends.

For clues look at how the car was optioned, if they went for the poverty spec interior with the cheap radio but sports suspension and big alloys it was probably driven by a grade a tw@. OTOH if they've gone for a more luxurious interior (ie. cruise control and climate control) and an understated exterior then it may well have been driven by someone who just wanted to plod along in comfort.

It's a gamble, not one I'd be prepared to take unless the price was really good, it's not like the Focus is a rare car.

jmc160

Oh, it's a very high spec as far as I can tell. It's the Ghia trim and has cruise control, climate control, integrated bluetooth kit, parking sensors and probably a few other bits I've forgotten to mention.

Lum

Well that's certainly a bit more promising but still very hard to say.

The big problem with buying ex company cars is you don't get to meet the driver and get an idea of what they're like.

That could've been a sales reps car, thrashed about by an up and coming 20 something who is desperate to prove himself, or it could have been an older rep with an established network of customers that provide him a satisfactory income and thus no need to rush about, just visit them regularly enough to keep them happy.

That said the latter would usually tend towards a Mondeo type car.

Sorry this post wasn't very useful was it? I'd probably pay for some sort of inspection, or just keep looking if you're in no hurry.

jmc160

Actually it was very useful, thanks

I think I might just look for something slightly lower spec, with much lower mileage.. It'd be nice to have the extras but they're not essential, and we need this car to last at least 6 years, so the lower the mileage the better.

Strider590

You pays your money, you takes your chances.

My car was ex fleet and apart from a few marks on the interior (from people trying to carry large objects no doubt) its perfectly ok.

I mean.... Whats more likely to get thrashed? the sporty little hatchback that mommy and daddy bought for their son when he passed his test, or the ex fleet car?

There are no general rules, you just have to go on instinct.

Lum

Well yes, buying a second hand car from a spotty teenager is a definite no-no.

I'm just saying that with fleet cars you really have no idea how it's been driven but do have to bear in mind that the driver does not have to worry about maintenance costs unless they can be shown to have grossly neglected or abused the car.

It's the same as with ex rental cars except they will have seen many different drivers and it's a pretty safe bet that at least one of them was a !!!!!!, only the fleet car will have had only a small, possibly single, number of drivers so it's harder to say.

TBH it sounds like the OP may be stretching the budget a little, in which case the gamble may not be such a good plan.

ukjoel

Always going to be a risk but you have done your research and think your on the right track.

A ghia spec with all the toys is a car that has been specifically ordered by an individual to drive around in day in and out for 3 years. Its not a car that someone was given and told deliver this in that.

In terms of how its been looked after - is there any way you can see the lease company history. Its a computer printout with details of every repair they paid for. Only available on 'maintained' cars ie ones where all work was paid for by the fleet company.

If you see new breaks every year, along with new tyres etc then maybe walk away but if not then whoever drove it didnt thrash it too much.

I have seen Mondeo, and Galaxies certainly hitting 500k miles as airport and taxi cars and the Focus you are looking at is a newer car. Its engineered to do 150k as a minimum and I know that some of the engine test guys I worked with have hit the 2 million mile mark with some of the engines in the focus but only fair to say this was in a lab with the engines no longer connected to a car.

The reason the fleet company are letting it go is they understand maintainance costs will go up significantly in this vehicle from now on.

Maybe forgo the xmas tree car and find a zetec spec with half the miles and a year older?

Lum

That depends, some companies such as mine the amount they can spend on a car is based on your grade, so someone of an appropriate grade will be able to order a top spec Focus or a mid to low end Mondeo.

This works because cars with lots of nice options can command a higher resale price after the 3 years so the leasing costs to the company are lower, so providing the driver is prepared to stomach the company car tax you can get a much better car for your grade, after all who wants to buy a 3 year old base model Mondeo?

All it means is the driver played the system to their advantage, doesn't mean they gave a damn about the car.

forumfan_2

I would say that there a large number of comapny car drivers who take care of their car like it is their own. Many of them appreciate the fact that they are driving around in a car that they probably couldn't afford/justify having under normal circumstances.

I used to have a company car and I made sure everything was well maintained because a) I wasn't having to pay for it and b) I was travelling a lot of miles and wouldn't want to take the risk of being stranded