Corporate Fleet Lease Vehicle?!?

[UKCat123]

Hey guys, I have posted before on here and recieved excellent info...and I am in need of some more of the same!

I just ran a carfax on my '97 SOHC Explorer and found out that when the vehicle was first made, it was under the name/owner of a "corporate lease vehicle." I am not sure what exactly that means, but I assume that it was owned by Ford? They had this vehicle for nearly 7 years then got rid of it and was bought by a private buyer.

For anyone who has any knowledge on these "corporate lease" vehicles, how well do they mainatin these vehicles? Do they baby them? Or just drive the hell out of them and then get rid of them?

Also, can I reasonably expect that the 7 years it was under their control, that they repaired the timing chain defect? That is what I am really after.

Thanks....if more info is needed let me know.

I know this is probably a question out of reach for most, but any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[96eb96]

Hey guys, I have posted before on here and recieved excellent info...and I am in need of some more of the same!

I just ran a carfax on my '97 SOHC Explorer and found out that when the vehicle was first made, it was under the name/owner of a "corporate lease vehicle." I am not sure what exactly that means, but I assume that it was owned by Ford? They had this vehicle for nearly 7 years then got rid of it and was bought by a private buyer.

For anyone who has any knowledge on these "corporate lease" vehicles, how well do they mainatin these vehicles? Do they baby them? Or just drive the hell out of them and then get rid of them?

Also, can I reasonably expect that the 7 years it was under their control, that they repaired the timing chain defect? That is what I am really after.

Thanks....if more info is needed let me know.

I know this is probably a question out of reach for most, but any insight would be greatly appreciated.

You can take the VIN number to a dealer, and have them run a report that will give any warranty work or recalls.

As to the car being babied or not, your guess is as good as mine.

 

[rollinstone]

My '97 5.0 AWD was about 3 years old when I bought it. It had been leased. Never had a major problem with it. Got 136,000+ on it today.

I gave it a thorough inspection before I bought it. Both the exterior and interior were in excellent condition which gave me some indication that the car had been well cared for...but ya can never be 100% certain. Even "right off the showroom floor" models can be lemons.

Good luck.

 

[cybergasm]

any more info listed about the private owner that bought the vehicle? could be they might know something out it. depending on who they bought it from.

I dunno about "corporate lease vehicle" meaning Ford owned it since it can take on many meanings. my line of thinking is that it might have been leased through FMCC to individual buyer. before it was turn lose from being leased and sold.

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

If it was leased by a company then it was used either in the day to day operations of the company or for personal use by an employee who's employment contract included a comany supplied vehicle. Many vehicles leased by companies are in a fleet of leased vehicles. They could be used by service personel, field sales reps, executive management, etc.

Lease return vehicles can be a very good purchase. When something is leased it gives the person leasing the item full use, as if it belonged to them, but ownership remains with the party leasing it to them. It could be a car, apartment, plane, building, etc. The party providing the leased item is still in control of how the item is maintained. Every vehicle lease I have ever seen stipulates that scheduled maintenance MUST be performed at the specified interval. Many vehicle leases include scheduled maintenance to avoid any potential missunderstandings. Generally, a lease will include a security deposit to cover any damage done by the party leasing the item during the period of the lease. At the end of the lease the item must be returned to the owner, if there are damages they are deducted from the deposit. If the damages exceed the deposit then the party leasing the item will have to pay additional money to repair or compensate. It is in the leasing party's best intrest to take absolutely the best care possible in order to get back their deposit and not be penalized for damage. Vehicle leases usually also stipulate a number of annual miles included in the lease. If the mileage is exceeded then a per mile charge is levied, this can have the effect of keeping excessive mileage off the vehicle.

I have bought lease return vehicles in the past and have had nothing but great luck with them.

 

[tripplec]

I bought two, both Chrysler vehicals. First was better know as an Eagle Summit AWD Wagon. Great vehical but poorly maintained. Worn suspection components (rear wishbone arm, motor mount , alignment, brakes etc) all in immediate need of repair after purchase from the Chrysler dealer. Problems with the engine to the end even after multiply rebuild they screwed up on.

Jeep WJ I have was also build for leasing to a lease company but apart from extended oil changes it appear to be well maintained. Problem is if the vehical is set for 12,000km changes which is does on the panel. The owner won't be changing it before then. I could pave a road with oil after 5000km of dino oil. I use synthitic now and that is my change interval. I don't believe the lease company tracks or enforces it as they should.

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

I bought two, both Chrysler vehicals. First was better know as an Eagle Summit AWD Wagon. Great vehical but poorly maintained. Worn suspection components (rear wishbone arm, motor mount , alignment, brakes etc) all in immediate need of repair after purchase from the Chrysler dealer. Problems with the engine to the end even after multiply rebuild they screwed up on.

Jeep WJ I have was also build for leasing to a lease company but apart from extended oil changes it appear to be well maintained. Problem is if the vehical is set for 12,000km changes which is does on the panel. The owner won't be changing it before then. I could pave a road with oil after 5000km of dino oil. I use synthitic now and that is my change interval. I don't believe the lease company tracks or enforces it as they should.

Mine have always been Fords :

 

[UKCat123]

Thanks fellas for all the info!

On the carfax is stated that when new it was under the fleat lease title for nearly 7 years. They put 80k on the truck and then sold it to a private buyer in '04. The Explorer was then traded to a ford dealer in Nov. of 08. During this period of time...'04 to '08 the private owner who drove it put only 12,500 miles on the thing in 4yrs! Amazingly low!

 

[gavin]

I'm not sure if my truck was a lease fleet vehicle, I can't remember. But it was a commercially-used truck.
170k miles and going strong
I bought it with just under 90k about 4-5yrs ago.

 

[patrick112390]

mine was first leased for 3 years, then for another 7 it was used as a service/survey truck for an electricity company and it was well maintained by them with all highway miles until i stumbled upon her with 123,x.. and i think i have given her more off road abuse in the past year ive owned her than the first ten years of ownership yet ol' blue hasnt left me on the side of the road yet

 

[Cobraguy]

I received a new leased company vehicle every two years. I treated it like it was my own because the company buy back was so darn good on it that I always bought it myself. I could sell the one I bought two years ago for the same price I was buying this one for.

 

[ronniew]

Think of it this way, how many miles do you drive in a yr? They put 80k in 7 yrs, that is just over 11k miles in a yr. that is normal mileage. The second guy put 12500 in 4 yrs that meant he babied it. If it was me I would buy it.
I just bought a 2000 xlt with 98k on it, the original owner traded it on with 68k and the second guy 30k in a yr that is all highway, so I jumped on it. Highway is the best type of driving.