Thoughts on purchasing a formerly leased 100-series?

[benchasephoto]

One of the 100-series I'm looking at as a potential purchase originally started out as a leased vehicle, the vehicle has stayed in AZ since it was first titled, has had 3 owners and has a pretty decent maintenance history starting at about 50k miles. Before 50k, Toyota has no records on that VIN. There is about 115k on the clock right now. It's listed at just under $17,000 which is way high, but assuming I can get the price down to something reasonable, I might make an offer on this one.

Any thoughts on purchasing a vehicle that started out as a lease? Are they typically abused like rentals are? Not sure what to expect as I've never owned a former lease vehicle and would insist on a 3rd party inspection regardless of the vehicle anyway.

Ben

 

[Moody]

I wouldn't sweat it. If it were a Chevy Malibu lease I would be worried. Most people who would lease a cruiser aren't going to beat on it.

 

[nuclearlemon]

leases aren't like rentals fortunately. with leases, the owners are expected to take some semblance of care of the vehicle and are usually restricted on the amount of miles you can put on them. rentals are a free for all...just ask wrongrog on ih8mud what can happen to a rental (or check out surf and turf from 2007 or so and his rental fjcruiser :Wow1

 

[86tuning]

The reason toyota doesn't have any records is because the car wasn't serviced there. Probably had oil changes done at quick-e-lube or whatever.

That said, if there was going to be a problem it would have shown up by now. And those engines are pretty good, even when neglected. If it has had regular maintenance since then, I would not hesitate.

 

[mph]

U might pull up the history from the toyota site if u know the vin...many leases use the dealership for service, etc.
mine had a nice, documented history...

 

[benchasephoto]

Thanks for the thoughts and insight, I'm hopeful I can get the owner to come down to a reasonable price.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I certainly wouldn't rule it out, like any other vehicle it could have had a fabulous life full of maintenance and care... or it could have hauled troops of soccer teams to the McDonalds and back, fries in every orifice

 

[benchasephoto]

I certainly wouldn't rule it out, like any other vehicle it could have had a fabulous life full of maintenance and care... or it could have hauled troops of soccer teams to the McDonalds and back, fries in every orifice

LOL, I absolutely hate French fries on the floor of any of my vehicles...so that image inspires true horror!

 

[Klierslc]

There is no major maintenance needed before 90k so no worries there. What year is it? As said above, I wouldn't let the fact that it was a lease factor in to your decision at all. A well maintained cruiser is a well maintained cruiser...

Pics?

 

[Flagster]

LOL, I absolutely hate French fries on the floor of any of my vehicles...so that image inspires true horror!

The good thing about anything MCDs is that it doesn't degrade/mold/rot/etc...I found some fries between the carpet and trim of my 95 LC when I was cleaning it and they were surprisingly tasty...

 

[benchasephoto]

There is no major maintenance needed before 90k so no worries there. What year is it? As said above, I wouldn't let the fact that it was a lease factor in to your decision at all. A well maintained cruiser is a well maintained cruiser...

Pics?

It's a 2002 w/114K on it : http://tucson.craigslist.org/cto/3481079498.html

 

[stonepa]

Gotta love that color!

 

[tyler93]

My 98 started out life as a lease vehicle according to the carfax. It now has 180k and runs great. Maintenance is key.

 

[stonepa]

My experience is that lease vehicles get taken car of. Every single one of my current vehicles was bought off lease as a one owner at a mainline dealership with 15-30k miles. The dealers typically can pull up the full service history and print it out for you.

No problems with any of the vehicles and I drive them until the wheels fall off.