If a car has had three owners in five years, is that a red flag? (rental, insurance)

[trlhiker]

I purchased a Tacoma one time that had 27K miles and 3 owners before me. The truck sold in Michigan, then in Louisiana, and then in NC and finally me. Only one issue and that was covered under warranty. If it was an expensive vehicle then I see no issue. 1st one lease, 2nd owner probably couldn't afford it, and the 3rd had it for awhile and traded it in for something either newer, cheaper, or bigger.

[notnamed]

Not a red flag for me. Yellow at best. Life happens and people suddenly find themselves needing a minivan or the seats just don't end up being comfortable for their frame or they get laid off or one of many such circumstances come up.

Just as with any used purchase, have it inspected by an independent mechanic first.

[lchoro]

Originally Posted by Drago45

I've been looking at a five year old car that is priced very reasonably. It's so low that I think there must be a catch.

I checked the CarFax and the only possible red flag I could see is that there were three owners. The first was a personal lease and it was driven about 35k miles. The next owner only drove it a thousand miles. The next owner drove another 15k.

Maybe it was a lease, got resold to another used car dealer, and then sold to a customer. You'd have to check the identities and locations. I came across a similar used car profile which ended up with my having to have the transmission rebuilt after 8 years of ownership. The car was originally an Arizona lease, sold to several used car dealers in-between, and owned in San Francisco which is a red flag for transmissions. The dealer I bought it from had a good reputation so I went with the purchase. There were 145,000 miles on the car when I decided to get rid of it.

[ukiyo-e]

There's a 2008 car in our family that has had 3 owners. We keep giving it back and forth to each other as our needs change. Not a thing wrong with it.

Just have a mechanic check it out for you. I did that once buying a used car and the cost was minimal for the peace of mind it gave me. I ended up buying the car and had no unusual problems with it, just routine maintenance, etc.

[unit731]

Originally Posted by ukiyo-e

There's a 2008 car in our family that has had 3 owners. We keep giving it back and forth to each other as our needs change. Not a thing wrong with it.

In family cars are different. As you know the entire history of car and you can speak to all owners.

The OP is seeking a car that was a lease. We don't know if it was a corporate lease or a private lease.
I have driven corporate lease vehicles - and those when turned in require a lot of detailing and cleaning.
Sorry, but many corporate leases - some people just don't care about the cleanliness of vehicle. Nor parking dings if driven in large cities. And then there can be multiple drivers such as a "pool" lease car. Sometimes requiring paint and body work before turned in.


Then there is the 2nd owner who changed their mind OR found issues with the car. We just don't know do we?

[camaro69]

Get it checked out by a good mechanic and then decide.

[kitty61]

Yeah I'd be suspicious. I don't know about everybody else but I think a person owns a used car for about 5 years. If you don't feel good about it that is a good enough reason not to buy it.

[ukiyo-e]

Originally Posted by unit731

In family cars are different. As you know the entire history of car and you can speak to all owners.

If we traded it in and someone wanted to buy it from a dealer, Carfax doesn't know we're related. It just shows three owners. It doesn't give names. And the car has been registered in three states.

[johnd393]

If your buying it from the 3rd owner, ask him about who he bought it from.

[Rocko20]

I have a used car with multiple owners. It allowed me to get it for a good price but generally you want to stay away from such cars. Multiple owners means it probably wasn't taken care of pretty well or some other issue arose during ownership.