Okay, so I am something of a perpetual cynic, which does not always make for the best person to get along with. Anyway, that is a story for another day. My cynicism, when it comes to cars, stems from the fact that I bought my 1st car from an action. It actually looked good at the onset. Of course, it had the minor problem of the clutch pad that was rather unresponsive. It could, nevertheless, still be driven.
Never buy used company vehicles
Later, I discovered that the car had belonged to one of the fuel companies that have been making the news for all the wrong reasons. Not that that had anything to do with the problems that I encountered with that Mazda 3. Here, in any case, is why you should never buy a used company car;
- People drive company cars as if there is no tomorrow. Nobody takes care of these vehicles and they are rarely serviced. Even where servicing is carried out, not much care is taken to ensure that things are done properly. In short, company cars are rather unloved.
- Company cars change hands too many times to be any good. Take a pool car as an example. It may get driven by two or three people each and every day. This means that no one really takes ownership of such a car and the result is the abuse that I have just mentioned at the top.
- People in Zimbabwe and elsewhere abuse company cars. I know of someone who build a house with the aid of a company issued Toyota Yaris. When this person got this car, it was brand new. However, a year later, the condition of the car had drastically deteriorated. The axle had snapped in two, probably when this car was being used to carry bags of cement!
- Used company cars that are brought to auctions are usually at the end of their tethers. Under normal circumstances, a company will put off buying a new vehicle till the decision can no longer be put off. This usually happens when the car that is currently being used has irrevocably broken down. It also happens when the costs of repairing such a vehicle have become too many to be economical. If you buy such a car, you will be inheriting all these problems and you will soon wish you never made your purchase.
- Changing ownership on a used company car can also be difficult. That is particularly the case if the company in question has been liquidated. Trying to track down the relevant people may prove to be rather difficult in this case.
So, if you are looking for a car, you are better off choosing one off BeForward because used company cars are liable to getting you into grief.
